Damage caused by guest, Airbnb denying claim

[Jigisha0]

I had a guest stay and damage some items in the unit. Unfortunately, I was not able to submit the damage claim until 2 days after the incident. At the time of the damage, I collected photo evidence with timestamps. However, Airbnb is denying my claim because there was a same day reservation and another guest stayed after this guest checked out. This is so unfair, claiming that their policy is "You must notify Airbnb as well as the Responsible Guest about your complaint and attempt to resolve the loss or damage with the Responsible Guest within the earlier of (i) fourteen (14) days of the check-out date, or (ii) before your next guest checks in." So, since I noticed the damage at 2 PM and the next guest checked in at 3 PM, I only had 1 hour to make a claim??? This is ridiculous. Does anybody have any advice on how to win this claim and get compensation for the damage? 

[Sarah977]

@Jigisha0  Yes, the policy is ridiculous - I understand why they want you to document before the next guest checks in, but time and date stamped photos, as long as it's before your check-in time for the next guest, should be sufficent.

I would suggest you don't waste your time trying to fight this, though- you won't win, because you didn't follow their stupid procedure. It's designed purposely to make claims difficult. 

How is it that you only saw the damage an hour before check-in, though? You or your cleaner or co-host really need to assess the state it was left in soon after guests check out. 

[Jigisha0]

The guest who caused damage left at 11 AM and the next guest was scheduled to check in at 3 PM. That is such a small window to submit a claim. I don't know how anybody would be able to collect evidence and formulate a claim in that time period while also attending to other responsibilities like preparing the unit for the next guest. Just because I had another guest afterwards somehow reduced my window from 14 days to 4 hours? I'm mostly upset about the policy, not the money. This is not right or fair for hosts and it basically means that guests can damage my property penalty-free. 

[Linda108]

What a lot of pressure for you, @Jigisha0 .  While the policy is definitely flawed, perhaps you could also consider that you are not a hotel with other rooms to rent should there be a problem with one room.  What if the issue was not guest created damage but was something broke down?   How would you deal with the same day booking guest?  Best not to put yourself under such pressure if you can avoid it.  If you do not want to allow adequate time between check out and check in, then you might want to consider no IB so you can assess your ability to accept same day booking on a case by case basis.

[Michael7272]

I think if Airbnb cannot get the guest to pay, they deny the claim.  I've been a host since 2015, with very few claims.  All but the last one, the guests owned up to the damage and paid.  This past one, the guest badly scratched my refrigerator, denied the damage, and Airbnb denied the claim despite the fact that I provided ample documentation and pictures.  I'm going to host on VRBO now.  

[Jenny]

Hi @Michael7272 

Did you get any explanation about why the claim was denied?

If you can give us a little more information about what happened, I can pass this onto the team to see if we can get you some help.

Jenny

[Michael7272]

@Jenny , it would be great if you could help.  The final denial was a slight inconsistency with the form filled out by the technician and the guest.  There was a form question that the guest initialized that was inconsistent with what the technician wrote on the form.  However, I submitted many other documentation, including pictures, that showed the damage.  When I asked if I could make it right by getting the company to redo the form, Airbnb said I was out of time.  I spent hours getting information.  I paid $140 to have an appliance technician come out and confirm the scratches because that's what Airbnb said I had to do.  Airbnb denied it on a technicality.  They did not want to pay.  

[Raquel808]

JENNY, 

We had a guest stay 3-4months at our home. This was our very first guest. We remodeled and renovated our home. We took pictures and the pictures are as they seem. The guest just checked out and there are so many damages to our home we are DEVASTATED. The guest are not communicating and we are dealing with Airbnb now…they of course are denying the claim. i am willing to do whatever i can to make this fair. Our dryer was completely taken apart- we have pictures, evidence and even they signed our contract…i’m shocked how airbnb has given us such a hard time as a host…i have also another home on airbnb but man i almost don’t want to work with airbnb anymore because of this horrible experience.