Guest Broke House Rules & Brought Pets but Refused to Pay Pet Fees and Damages

[Mamedie0]

I had a guest in mid-September that decided last minute to bring his 2 dogs…that’s fine, but then he did not put them on the reservation and he did not pay the pet fee. In addition, the guests also broke house rules by smoking marijuana in my home.

I sent him the additional cleaning fees for damages and the pet fees.

He refused to pay.

I escalated it to AirCover. They barely paid for half of the fees.

Is it typical that Airbnb doesn’t hold their guests accountable and expects hosts to accept less than half of the fees the guest accrued?

If you’ve successfully collected all the fees from AirCover, please tell me how to go about that.

[Alicia753]

Hi Mamedie,

It's unfortunate but not uncommon for Airbnb to reimburse less than the full amount through AirCover, especially if the documentation isn't thorough enough. The key to a successful claim is strong evidence—clear photos or videos of damages, receipts for additional cleaning, and copies of all communications with the guest. Ensuring that your house rules are explicitly clear and easy to reference in your claims can also help.

Persistence in follow-up with Airbnb support is often necessary, as some hosts have managed to get a better resolution by appealing initial decisions or requesting further reviews. Direct communication with Airbnb, emphasizing any overlooked details or providing additional documentation, can sometimes lead to a better outcome.

If the system for charging pet fees is manual, it might help to automate those charges within your listing to prevent guests from bypassing them in the future.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

Upfish Management

[Mamedie0]

How would I automate pet fees?  Since this guest, I have turned my listing into a No Pets home, but I don’t really feel that way as I know families travel with their furry friends and I want to welcome them into my home, I just want them to be respectful of my home.

As far as documentation goes, the cleaners provided me with photos of the damages, an itemized invoice, and an incident report, which I provided to Airbnb…I did not send them screenshots of my listing details of conversations had with the guest as I imagined they would access that…but now I’m wondering if I should have included all that? 

[Marie8425]

 @Mamedie0 

Especially when a guest is not behaving correctly Y include them just because no one enthusiastically goes through someone else's messages.

[Mamedie0]

Oh man…is it too late to try again?

[Virginia244]

I had guests recently break the rules: brought 5 extra people, brought 2 pets (to my pet allergy home), smoked all throughout the house, left tons of garbage and dirty dishes everywhere, littered the grounds outside, took screens out (to smoke?) and left unscreened windows open- filling the house with insects, and my favorite- left dog poop in the middle of the kitchen floor as well as smooshed in and tracked throughout. I would have ignored the excessive garbage and food and dishes as CODB, but the animals and smoke and poop???? Guess what airbnb said?

NO compensation for that!

Even despite photos, invoices, and clear guest communications. I am STEAMING HOT. 

[Rebecca]

Hi @Mamedie0, 

I'm really sorry to hear you've had to deal with a challenging situation with a recent claim! Have you had a chance to read through the advice @Alicia753 shared above?

Let us know how things progress please. 🙂

[Mamedie0]

Thank you for commenting as I didn’t see the initial message from @Alicia753

i have responded!

[Guy991]

Hello @Mamedie0 ,

If you’re open to accepting pets, you can set a pet fee either as a flat rate per stay or as a nightly fee per pet. Setting a higher fee can help attract guests who are more responsible with pets and manage expectations upfront. If might be worth adding it to your listing. 

In my experience, if you have a clear pet fee in place and a guest refuses to pay, Airbnb will step in to support you, ensuring the payment is made! 

Here’s another approach to consider for properties that prefer not to accept pets: rather than marking “no pets” outright, try setting an intentionally high pet fee. This way, if a guest does bring a pet, there’s a clear fee from the start, and Airbnb is more likely to uphold it since it was established when the booking was made. Just a thought, but it may be worth exploring!