Guest damage, property theft, and leaves when they want.

[Tyson60]

I have had only 2 very bad experiences with horrible guests in the 1 year I have been a host. I took great pride in making my stay a nice and clean environment. With that said. 

I had a guest stay for 4 nights. At first it was normal, easy checkin and did not hear from them the entire time. Until checkout came. I sent my normal message for reminder of checkout time and procedure with no response. Finally 2 hours after checkout I knock on the door and met with a woman that has just woken up. I tell them it's time to go and pack up. 1 and half hours later they are finally gone. My cleaning crew is reporting pot's, pans cutlery and decorations missing, Furniture broken, dog pee and poop (dogs aren't allowed). I call airbnb they say I need to communicate with the guest that I will be filing a claim and that I need to do it in 14 days in the resolution center. 

I told the guest that I am filing a claim for the theft and property damage along with a unexpected cleaning claim, and I will be reporting them to the police for the theft and property damage. 

The guests responds with the standard denial, along with the threat of smearing me all over for their wrongdoing.

I am at a loss with how there seems to be no help at aibnb. If and when they do pay the claim, I will most certainly be left with a unremovable 1 star review that is unjust. I have loss of revenue because my cleaners need at least 1 more full day to clean my space. Do I just have to take this on the chin? 

[Joan2709 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tyson60 

So sorry this happened, but this is unfortunately a part of Hosting. Hopefully the guests' threats are on the platform, so if they leave a 1star review you can try to get it removed as retaliatory. You need photo/video documentation of the damage and receipts for what was necessary to repair the damage and do the extra cleaning. If you have to cancel any reservations due to the extra time needed to clean, this should be included in your Aircover Resolution Claim and be sure Airbnb does the cancelling of any reservations NOT you as Host.

2 important dates to remember:

- 14 days to file the claim 

- 30 days to submit the proof (video/photos/receipts)

Many Hosts file the initial claim, but miss the 30day cutoff for submitting the proof.

Guests have 24hrs to pay the claim, deny the claim, or ignore the claim. If they deny or ignore the claim, Airbnb gets involved. If Airbnb accepts your side of the story, you may only get a partial amount back on the damages. This is why it's always good to have your own insurance specifically covering the short term rental. Many Hosts aren't aware that their homeowners insurance policy will not cover a short term rental property as it is considered a commercial activity. Some have had their homeowners policy cancelled if they try to make a claim. Most Hosts who do have a separate policy for their STR, only use it in cases of extensive damage, and only if Airbnb's Aircover won't cover the damages. Not sure if there are limits on how soon to file a police report, so if you're going to do that, be sure you have verified that with local law enforcement. Be sure to include the police report with your proof to Airbnb.

Filing a Resolution Claim 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279/

Strategies for the Future (Opinion)

Many Hosts have learned the hard way that it's best to not give the guest a heads up about the damages and just start the claim, but not complete it until closer to the 14day window closing . Then just before the 14-day review period closes they complete the claim and write their review about the guest damages. Some also send a message to the guest right before the 14day window closes and just say there were some damages and items missing and unfortunately you will be having to file a claim with Airbnb and asking if the guest could shed some light on this? This will hopefully cause the guest to miss their 14day window for writing their own negative review.

Airbnb will tell you to contact the guest right away about the damage, but you see what the result is. You may be able to remove a retaliatory review, but it's an involved process and you may still not get it removed. Better to not give the guest an opportunity to write a review in the first place. However, if you are notified they wrote a review before the 14 day window, all bets are off and just write your honest review about the damage and proceed with your claim meeting all the Airbnb deadlines. This is just an opinion. What action you take is of course entirely up to you as a Host.

Perhaps other Hosts can chime in here as to what their advice is. Again, so sorry this happened, but this is part of being a Host unfortunately. 

[Tyson60]

Thank you very much for your information and opinion. All good info.

I did some deep thinking on the matter, and found there's some teaching moments here.

First I submitted the claim and luckily I kept all threats from guests in the app. My cleaning crew notated their finding very clearly in a report with their letterhead, pictures and items taken.

What I think I did wrong. In my area there is about 20 airbnbs close to mine. Our entire county is 30k people and the main draw is our summer tourism. In the winter there's really not much need for this type of accommodation. So what I thought was a good idea was to lower my price down below most if not all competitors. I left out the crucial step of quality not quantity. It taught me that although I may attract a few more bookings, the downtime, headache and fixes attached to that is not worth the few extra bucks. I guess that could be considered a hotel vs motel mindset. 

There is the side thought that this was just one of those one off nightmare guests, and the price had nothing to do with it. 

I would love to hear others thoughts.

[Kia272]

@Tyson60  I think you hit the nail on the head. I'm a big believer in quality over quantity, and I never lower my price. EVER. 

I've decided what it's worth to stay at my place, and there's a certain demographic that fits my property well. They can afford my price, and that's it. No discounts. If they can't afford it, they can book elsewhere.

It's known that low prices attract low quality guests, and that's a mantra that needs to be repeated to new hosts over and over again (not that you're a new host.) 

Some hosts believe that higher capacity is somehow better, and are cramming 8-10 guests into a two bedroom place. Since higher capacity generally equals lower prices for the guest group, that's another recipe for disaster. You are correct: the downtime, headaches, and fixes are not worth the few extra bucks. 

I'm so sorry this happened to you, and I hope AirBnB pays your claim. You should bill for late check-out as well. IF AirBnB pays, it won't be the full dollar value, so claiming for late check-out might get you a few more bucks. 

Good luck. 

[Rebecca]

Hey @Tyson60 👋 

Did any of the advice given support/help you? If so, it's always a lovely gesture to mark it as the best answer. It's like a big virtual hug to the member who supported you. 😊

If you need any help, just shout.