Fake damage claims from the host

[Sandra4965]

Hello airbnb community,

I was wondering if anyone had false damage accusations against them after their stay?

I have booked a flat in Bergen to celebrate my dad’s 55th birthday with the family. We have cleaned the dishes, took out the rubbish, gathered used towels and cleaned the surfaces for the flat to look presentable. 

After our departure from the property landlord opened a case for severe damages i.e. deep damage to the counter, paint on the walls, missing glasses and the key fob missing from the key ring, floors being sticky from spilled alcohol and so on. He is claiming over £4,000 in damages that we didn’t do!

every other day last week and this week he comes back with yet additional damages and this sets me to have panic attacks, as this is just absurd! It was a quiet weekend away with the family and NOT a house party for 20 teenagers! And my reviews during the time I have signed up for Airbnb is spotless: all precious hosts have mentioned me being clean and respectful guest.
I can see some pictures being fake and I have already reported it to Airbnb.

Did anyone have similar experience and how you dealt with it?

I am considering even reporting it to the police.

Any recommendations or advise would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[Yasser72]

I see that this is a widespread issue. Airbnb relies heavily on hosts, so it’s clear they prioritize keeping them satisfied.

I stayed in Rabat, Morocco for one night to visit family, and the manager or handler—whatever his role may be—made a blatantly false claim. In fact, he mistakenly sent evidence related to another ongoing claim with a different guest! His intention was to get funds from Airbnb’s insurer, Aircover, and it seems this has become an easy way for hosts to stage false claims for quick money. Once the funds are paid out, Aircover then seeks to recover the costs from guests.

This has been a distressing experience, and I will be seeking legal advice. This kind of behavior cannot be allowed to continue, and we need to raise our voices to ensure it stops.

[Stefania1153]

Wow I had no idea this was so frequent. Same situation with me,  I stayed at place in Amsterdam and one full week after I left the host started a claim and stated that I broke a window.
I have a perfect record, have been using Airbnb for travel/work from home for years now, always leaving everything nice and clean. I would have reported and got it fixed if I had done it - but I absolutely didn't. 
Airbnb is siding with the host with zero proof (aside for a photo of the corner of said window taken over a week after I left, where one can't even see what's supposed to be broken). 
It's crazy - really disappointed about the whole situation, but as many said here, there is no way I will pay for this. I'd rather not use Airbnb ever again.

[Alison1216]

This is happening to me now in Atlanta, GA USA. The host was a complete liar about many things through my stay. I wrote two pages to Airbnb in a request for a refund and wrote a bad review. I believe in retaliation, the host submitted a claim for $1600 in damages which are 100% fraudulent. She claimed I broke the door on the standard deadbolt lock and went and bought herself a new one with a keypad (hey, free upgrade!!), claimed I damaged a chair and actually had the nerve to attach the photo that I took and attached to her in our messages where I told HER that the chair was broken upon arrival, in addition to two other chairs. She also just claimed $1000 in extra cleaning - a complete LIE. Airbnb is reviewing but it's been 4 days in review with them, so I'm actually afraid they're taking her seriously. I vow to never ever ever book an Airbnb ever again. This has been a total nightmare and I've lost many hours of sleep over this.

[Michele2233]

I’m in a similar situation to others. I booked 2 nights, and then host communicated by WhatsApp. They sent a photo with a warning about how to open the sliding door to the roof terrace, and wanted me to be gentle as it is fragile. ( this indicates to me there was an known issue).

1. We opened and slid the door  carefully, holding it in place on the roller,  and kept it open for our stay, to ensure it kept in place on the roller

2. I also asked to add a 3rd night to the stay, and the host told me to leave cash, and did not request my booking through Airbnb. We stayed  2 nights booked through Airbnb and then 1 night private arrangement, outside of  Airbnb .

3. We left on a Saturday at the agreed time.  It was a dry day ( this will become relevant)

Then a day later,  I get a claim from Airbnb, with photos of the  door, slid just 4 inches open, and hanging at an angle between the upper roller and the ground.  ie hanging open and off the roller.

i can see in the photos that it was very wet or raining outside. In the background, I spotted that chairs on the terrace had been placed on 2 legs on a sloping angle to drain the rain. This means that the host had to open the door to go outside and move the chairs. Then go back inside and  position the door to an opening of maybe 4 inches, while removing it from the roller, to angle it, in order to take the photos to send to Airbnb.

It didn’t rain for some time after we left, so likely the host arrived by lunchtime. Yet they got a repaired or replacement door  done on the same day, and  supplied Airbnb with a printed receipt the same day. It was prearranged. I mean, did they really get a repair person out at zero notice on a Saturday on an Italian island when everything closes by 1pm?  It was 100% planned to coincide with our departure.

Thus I have proof from the  photo; and proof that I was forewarned of a fragile door; and also my booking was extended outside of Airbnb.

So far they are siding with the deceitful host, and I am on round two of a fake fraudulent claim which I will not pay. Whatever the outcome, it is completely unacceptable that this fraud is even entertained by the company.

How to stop fake claims, except to go public to the press? 

[Monika777]

Here's a polished version of your message:

---

We are in a similar situation right now, and it has been ongoing for 83 days. Airbnb’s resolution team has not called us even once. They keep sending emails saying they will update us, but there has been no meaningful progress. On day 82, they sent a message saying they are siding with the host.

The host is claiming we caused damages, but we never even touched the items they are accusing us of damaging. We also pointed out to Airbnb that the host’s receipt is not accurate and does not align with their claim. Despite this, Airbnb is allowing the host to claim USD 10,000 from us.

We’ve had 28 perfect reviews from other hosts, with no issues during any of our stays. How can we possibly pay such an amount? We are just an elderly couple, and this has put us under so much stress that we feel completely hopeless.

It seems like Airbnb’s policy is to side with the host no matter what, assuming the guests are guilty without question.

We take pride in keeping the apartments or houses we stay in clean and well-maintained, as we would expect the same respect if the roles were reversed. In fact, I am meticulous about cleanliness and always deep-clean every property on the first day of our stay.

We need help. Please help.

[Joan2709]

@Monika777 

So sorry this is happening, but I can assure you that Airbnb is more likely to side with a Guest rather than a Host. 

Since we don't know the details of the situation, we really can't comment or provide suggestions. $10,000 USD is a substantial amount. Perhaps this includes the costs to the Host having to cancel upcoming reservations due to the damage and is not just the actual damage to property.

[Monika777]

Hi Joan,

I completely understand and agree with what you are saying. Thank you for taking the time to comment =0)

We have stayed in 28 Airbnbs over the past 2.5 years, and hosts have consistently reviewed us as honest guests who leave every place in pristine condition.

In this case, the host is claiming damage to items we never even used, like the coffee machine. As I mentioned, we had to buy our own coffee press because their machine was not functional, we did not even attempt to touched it as it looks so old and dirty. The floor already had stains and scratches when we moved in, the walls and doors were marked and stained, the kitchen oven was dirty (which I cleaned myself), and the sinks in both the kitchen and bathroom were full of limescale. We even went to a hardware store to learn how to clean it, but locals informed us that the hard water in northern France makes it nearly impossible.

We informed the host about the lime scaled dishwasher, which we couldn't use, and even provided photos. He acknowledged the issue in the chat but later claimed we caused the damage. Airbnb should be able to verify this in the chat history.

Additionally, the host provided a receipt for an old, rusty coffee table, claiming it cost €500, but the receipt clearly shows it was only €61, etc etc. 

I hope and pray that Airbnb will be fair in resolving this situation. We have spoken to several representatives from Airbnb’s Help Center, and they all agree that this doesn’t make sense. We have recordings of all the conversations so far. All the representatives agree with us. 

[Dina976]

Just happened to me in Palmyra, PA.