Guest cracked glass shower door

[Marcus615]

Hello to all.  We are fairly new to hosting and all of our experiences have been pretty good with guests. We have never had any substantial damages.   After last night's guests(5 people in a 2 bed, 2 bath) left, an "x" shaped crack, 5-6 inches long, was found in one of our glass shower doors like something had hit it.  It isn't the easiest to see the crack(it isn't shattered), but we clean these doors between all guests and could never miss it. 

I'm looking for advice on how to proceed.  I fear if we contact the guest about it, we could end up with a bad review and no compensation in the end.  Our reviews have all been really good and we don't want to jeopardize that.  Most of the threads about this subject suggest waiting until 14 days has almost passed before submitting the claim.  Many hosts site otherwise happy guests leaving retaliatory bad reviews when billed for damage and I'd hate to have that happen.  I feel if the door was shattered or the damage was otherwise obvious and undeniable, a guest would be more likely to be receptive.   With the damage as it is, I think the odds of someone saying "it was already like that" and leaving a bad review are high.

Am I better off just eating the costs?  Replacing the shower door could be around $1000 and we get around $160-$180/night for the place.  Any thoughts from the pros?  Thanks in advance for any input.

[Helen3]

I think you've already outlined the pros and cons quite well of claiming/not claiming @Marcus615 

How do you think it could have been broken?

[Marcus615]

We just opted to eat the cost and have no idea how it cracked.  Since the door was less than a year old, the manufacturer offered to provide a new one for free if we paid for freight, which was still $386.  

[Joan2709 · Accepted solution]

@Marcus615 

Were the guests all adults? I have found that damage of this sort usually results from teenagers or children, but one never knows?

Aircover

You will find that making a claim under Aircover is not an easy process. There are various restrictions on when you can report and how you report. You'll need lots of evidence (photos etc.) and hope you have photos/video of the listing before the guest stayed. Otherwise, as you mention, it may be difficult to prove they did the damage. If you do make a claim under Air Cover, you'll only be reimbursed (if they agree) for the current value of the shower door, not what it costs you to replace it. There are lots of ways to minimize the potential for a negative review (do some searches here or on the internet), but that is always a possibility.

Insurance Claim

If you have a STR rental insurance policy, you may consider making a claim with them instead. If you only have a typical Homeowners insurance policy and make a claim, if the insurance company finds out you are operating an Airbnb (commercial operation), they could not only deny your claim, but also cancel your Homeowner's policy.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but these are the realities when Hosting a STR I'm afraid.

[Bhumika]

Hi @Marcus615 ! It surely sounds like a daunting experience, especially as a new Host. 

As you mentioned about waiting for the 14 day review period to get over, how did you deal with this situation in the end?

Did you submit a claim for this damage eventually? Did this guest leave a review for you since you posted?