Claims for guest damage

[Kerry26]

Have any other hosts had experience of making a claim against the Airbnb host assurance policy? 
I have experience delay, rejection, obstruction & the claim to be recycled around the system for over 4 months now. 
I have not been offered even the guests deposit! 
It appears to me that Airbnb always favour the guest not the host in a very prejudice way on every occasion! 
the nature of Airbnb booking & communication procedures make it impossible to obtain guests address & other details to take the guest to a small claims court, and the host assurance procedure blocks matters up so long that the guest gets off Scot free while a host is potentially left in crippling debt, exhausted trying to rectify the guest damage & with an overwhelming sense of aloneness, distress, anxiety & impotence as all correspondence with a guest is difficult when they constantly refer to the host protection assurance & Airbnb constantly block any resolution!  
I am beyond disappointed.. I am now so frustrated I am going to take to social media & local press to discover who else might have experienced the same level of procrastination and obstruction. 
can any other hosts help me understand why this situation is allowed to occur? Is the only solution to have huge deposits or to leave Airbnb? Where does the community sit on these matters? 
Even a personal insurance claim is blocked by the lack of information given by Airbnb. They haven’t returned copies of all of our correspondence or theirs with the guests & they won’t offer any deadline to their processing my claim. Obstruction appears to be the fall back position in dealing with my claim.. why? They stand to lose hosts & public credibility... 

[Kerry26]

Badly Helen. 

[Kerry26]

@helen 1/5 of what I claimed, just over deposit sum

[Kerry26]

@Helen3  A couple of paltry payments 5 months later.. huge stress caused on top of the losses. Very very disappointed. I shall have little confidence in Airbnb as a result, I’m drifting away from this company to find a better one. 

[Helen3]

Oh dear did you take them through the Airbnb arbitration to dispute ? @Kerry26 

[Lannette0]

Unfortunately, our experience with the Host resolution agreement is very similar. Our properties are in a very rural area and our service people rarely know how to use a computer. We provide canceled checks, business licenses and abundant evidence of damage and AirBnB still denies claims or partially pays them. We have 5 properties being hosted. I am not sure if that is a lot or minuscule, but AirBnB is doing all they can to discriminate against us. I am a Hispanic female and I really believe they would not treat a white male like this. 

[Sarah977]

@Lannette0 "I am a Hispanic female and I really believe they would not treat a white male like this. "

You should spend some time reading through several pages of posts on this forum. White male hosts don't get treated any better. When it comes to Airbnb customer service, they are an equal opportunity host aggravator.

[Sebastian-and-Martina0]

We have experienced similar situation. Our guests took our key and made a copy of the key. They returned to me a key that looked different and hence I have to change the lock. After checked out, we saw the TV was chipped and there were small burnt marks from cigarette all over over the place. The smoked for days with the aircon on... I was going to call the police but Airbmb said I can apply for the insurance and they will cover the lock change and the damages and so I did that instead of calling the authority.  Now it's 2 months past. Airbnb is not calling me back and when I called they put me on hold and then the link cut out. 

Anyone had any luck? Or do you know how to get in touch with Airbnb to get an actual update?

[Anthony1303]

They are the absolute worst and will lie,mislead and do anything they can not to make a payment. To top it off they treat you like you did something wrong.  Their policy sucks and cannot be retired on. Get a security deposit. 

[Lina4227]

PLEASE can someone help me understand.  In May I had damages up to £600, I had photo evidence too.  The guest had broken into my storage cupboard and broke my shower causing a small leak (which again they did not inform me until checkout, I have text messages to prove that also).  Airbnb was not able able to help/and I was not able to claim for the damages.  Making me out of pocket.  I just need to understand where I stand and how I can stop this from happening again.  

[Liv]

Hey everyone,

We’re really pleased to share some details with you that were recently announced. All Hosts will soon have access to Aircover, a free top-to-cover protection. 

Please let us know how you like the new service by sharing your thoughts here on the Community Center once it has launched. Host feedback is always very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Liv

[Daniel9196]

@Liv 

Aircover should just be called Air (or Hot Air, whichever) because it doesn't cover anything. Read the fine print: they will pay out the amount to repair or replace "with proper deduction for obsolescence and physical depreciation." Meaning, as in the case of my washing machine that the guest damaged, they will pay you $0 because that's what think the value is of a 10-year old washing machine! (I'm not sure how I replace or repair what was a fully-functioning machine with $0) So what that means for my listing is that with the exception of the new fridge and hotplate, the guest could destroy every other appliance and piece of furniture in my listing and Aircover would pay me $0 to repair or replace the damaged items. Completely unacceptable. How long has Airbnb been around and they don't have a system in place to hold guests accountable for damages to property? I don't know for certain, but I feel like if you caused damages in a hotel the hotel wouldn't just go "Oh well, the guest doesn't want to pay so that's the end of that"

With the treatment I received from the resolution center over this, I can't believe they still have enough hosts to stay functioning.

[Robin917]

I am having the same problem! I just had damage for the second time. This time I had several thousands of dollars worth of damage and they only paid me $458 and told me they felt slicing all of my furniture with razor blades and burning my hardwood flooring was “normal wear and tear” so they did not pay me for the damage to my furniture or flooring. 

[Barbra0]

Liv, How are hosts supposed to feel supported when AirBnB, which I believe requires a credit card-based deposit from guests still, has to ask permission from guests before they use their filed credit card to pay for damages? This is the wording that became part of the legal approach here in the United States in 2023, at least:

• We clarified that we will obtain prior authorization to charge guests’ payment methods to collect Damage Claim amounts.

[David8474]

@Kerry26 Just read you earlier post. So sorry you had to go through this and hope by now Airbnb have compensated you .

I've just had my property damaged on the 4th of December here in Melbourne and I am experiencing all of the things that you have described on your post. I'm about to hand matter to the small claims court because I can't get passed the support team even though I'm assured that my case has been escalated to the claims department but no one rings me and when I ask to be put through to the Claims Department, the support team are not able to do so. 

The worse customer support I ever come across. Talk about aggravating the hosts, the same people who make their homes available for Airbnb's clients.

[Kerry26]

Hi David

it was very difficult as i felt blocked from making an independent claim as the airbnb process too so long! I did get a small pay out eventually but it didn't cover the damage caused, so we sold the property eventually as costs we incurred by previous tenants who left rent arrears , then those selfish airbnb guests costs, added to the lock down losses just meant we couldn't recover financially. Very sad. Now i have my own fuller insurance cover & have lost some faith in airbnb… @David8474

good luck!