Host protection - Resolution team

[Antony36]

Can anyone help with this? (i just posted a long question here but again there was a convenient error)

I want to complain about the dreadful service i receive every time i have a problem with a listing and need to claim the host protection service. I am a host and this is the 3rd time i have had damage yet every-time i deal with that department it is a nightmare.
First of all it takes months to get my money back for work i need to pay.
Also the department itself is terrible, they do not have a number to call them and they literally take a week to respond to a single email and the worst of all they NEVER answer the actual questions i ask them, they are completely ignored. Of course no one else knows what i happening at it ONLY that department dealing with claims, yet they never respond.
The last two times i have had the misfortune of dealing with Lexi (if this is even a real person, i cannot tell as the responses i get a robotic and normally bare little relation to the email i sent). It is impossible to deal with her, she never sends what i ask for, the resolution she says has no relation or does not show on my account. I literally have no idea what she is referring too.
My last claim with her took about 3/4 months, which is a joke as i supplied everything in 24 hours.
This one i am waiting on now has already been a month and her responses make no sense at all.
I have asked to complain to her manager or speak with her manager but that request is just flatly ignored every time, same as many of my other questions.
Overall, as a host this is unacceptable. Damage to our places is the worst thing that could happen for us and the service from Airbnb in this instance is also the worst of all.
This needs improving.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jacob594 If the guest didn't cause the damage why would you expect Airbnb to pay? 

[Jacob594]

@Mike-And-Jane0 thanks for asking again. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jacob594 I can only conclude you don't want/can't answer what is a very simple question. If you think that non-guest damage should be covered based on the marketing material you have provided then I urge you to read any other cover that you may have for a house, car, life etc. No insurance policy (and Aircover is NOT an insurance policy where damage is concerned) covers every imaginable loss.

[Jacob594]

Nice conclusion. You're right, I am stupid for not doing a proper amount of research before hosting with AirBnB. I'll try to tell my daughter that when she doesn't have any Christmas presents this year because Dad got recked by not understanding AirBnB policies. 

By the way, if you actually cared, maybe you could've asked an actual question like, "what happened?".

[Sarah977]

@Jacob594  Maybe you could have provided an explanation of what actually happened. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jacob594 Nowhere that I can see even suggests you have had a failed claim with Airbnb. This thread started with @Antony36  but hey, while we are here, what happened ?

Also, I am sorry but if you are going to hand over the keys to a very expensive asset surely you should know what risks you are taking. Airbnb encourages hosts to think they can make easy money from STR but actually it is high risk if you don't take a suitable level of insurance.

[Traci138]

@Sarah977  & @Anthony36  I think what bothers me after my second claim filed (first one was a nightmare that made me go into tears for days) was that I requested carpet replacement due to some huge bleach spots (maybe a dog peed on the carpet, hard to say) and the claims rep said I needed to get verification that those spots could not be cleaned from a professional cleaning company.  So I got that done and submitted the receipt for that ($135) and now I am being told I can't get reimbursed by AirCover for that expense as AirCover only covers the damaged item.  I was extremely upset by this.  Why would you tell me that I need this done if they aren't going to cover that cost? Anyone can look at the damage on the carpet and see its bleached and can't be cleaned.  Then I discovered if you enter how old the carpet was at the time of damage they depreciate how much they give you.  So my estimate for replacement was almost $700 but the reimbursable approved rate was only $282 due to depreciation since I indicated my carpet was 10 years old.

[Elaine701]

Sheesh! This thread descended pretty quickly. 

@Jacob594 @Traci138 @Antony36 

Welcome to the real world. Set your expectations appropriately.

The so-called "Air Cover" Is an illusion. It isn't any kind of guarantee or insurance (read the fine print) and successful claims are rare. This is no secret. 

Contacting Airbnb support about anything is often at a minimum frustrating, and at a maximum can actually cause you harm or even delisting. You should avoid it if possible. This is also no secret. 

The most effective means of damage avoidance is to carefully vet your guests before they book, and prevent them from booking if they appear dubious. There's plenty of info and advice on prevention tactics here in these forums.

Good luck 🤞

[Maria17430]

Hye Antony, 

I believe you have either being terribly unluky because your case was taken by an Airbnb representative that was simply not doing his job or maybe has not been providing the necessary information for the claim to be succesful. 

I run 20 listings and have submitted lots of Aircover claims been successful for almost 100% of them. I have asked for fair amounts and submitted all the requested information and documents in every case. Sometimes it was difficult because I faced obviously automatic responses and the person in charge was not responsive and competent but after insisting I got the cover. 

My experience is AirCover always work, and I hope it will still do in the future. 

Just sharing my experience with you as it may help you to change something on your side or be hopefull. Good luck!