The host of the Big Bear Lake, CA Airbnb we stayed at left a...
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The host of the Big Bear Lake, CA Airbnb we stayed at left a retaliatory response which, thus far, customer service claims it...
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Hi there,
I stayed at an airbnb in Oceanside,CA a week ago.
They had a small garage located in the backyard facing a back alley. We tried to park our car in it and it did not fit. After that we accidentally left the garage open for 3 days as we never used the garage again.
I feel horrible and this was a massive mistake on my part.
Unfortunately a bike was stolen.
The host is filing a claim for $3424.57 for the bike.
I am not able to afford this and don’t think this is a fair price.
Am I expected to pay this or will Airbnb?
Please share insight.
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@Madeline184 This is a tricky situation. On one hand, the owner is somewhat responsible for leaving expensive personal items in the home in which I assume is primarily a vocation rental. However, it is also the guest's responsibility to take basic safety measures and accountability to make sure the property is adequately cared for and safe during their stay.
That being said, you have a couple options.
1.You fully acknowledge the theft of the bike was the result of you leaving the garage open during your stay. Therefore, you can agree to cover the replacement cost and accept that you learned a valuable lesson.
2. You can try to come to an agreement on a price that is within your budget.
3. You can refuse to cover the cost and allow the host to decide what steps he would like to take moving forward. (I don't recommend this) Although I am familiar with aircover as a host, I am not sure if this situation would be covered by insurance. If not, he could result to taking legal action.
Lastly, I have an uncle who is an avid lifelong cycler. Bikes can easily be in the price range in which the host identified, so it's not too much of a stretch to think it may in fact have been worth 3k+. However, before agreeing to pay anything, as someone else suggested, Id ask for proof of the bikes value in the form of receipts or another form identifying the bikes make and model.
Assuming this was a bicycle and not a motorbike then the fairness would depend on the type of bicycle. I know plenty of keen cyclists who think nothing of spending more on a bicycle than I would a car!
Either way they should be able to provide photos with the make/model number. Trust me, ALL keen cyclists will have taken plenty of photos of them showing off their new piece of kit.
Assuming they've reported this to the police then some sort of report number you can check against should give you confidence that they are being honest.
@Madeline184 , how do you accidentally leave a garage open for three days? Moving forward, lesson learned and hopefully the owner will recoup some of their loss.
The garage was located a block away. We are sure we closed it. And we don’t got into the back alleyway the rest of our stay.
Looking at reviews they have had issues with it not closing properly for other residents.
@Madeline184 This is a tricky situation. On one hand, the owner is somewhat responsible for leaving expensive personal items in the home in which I assume is primarily a vocation rental. However, it is also the guest's responsibility to take basic safety measures and accountability to make sure the property is adequately cared for and safe during their stay.
That being said, you have a couple options.
1.You fully acknowledge the theft of the bike was the result of you leaving the garage open during your stay. Therefore, you can agree to cover the replacement cost and accept that you learned a valuable lesson.
2. You can try to come to an agreement on a price that is within your budget.
3. You can refuse to cover the cost and allow the host to decide what steps he would like to take moving forward. (I don't recommend this) Although I am familiar with aircover as a host, I am not sure if this situation would be covered by insurance. If not, he could result to taking legal action.
Lastly, I have an uncle who is an avid lifelong cycler. Bikes can easily be in the price range in which the host identified, so it's not too much of a stretch to think it may in fact have been worth 3k+. However, before agreeing to pay anything, as someone else suggested, Id ask for proof of the bikes value in the form of receipts or another form identifying the bikes make and model.
Hi there @Madeline184,
Have you reached out to the Airbnb Support Team to see what they say in regards to this issue? If not, I recommend speaking to them first.
Please let us know how you get on.