No payout for damages when guests have admitted fault

[Tamsin12]

Hi , I wonder if anyone else has had the issue whereby guests have caused a large amount of damage which was reported as they lefty he property  direct on the phone to AIRBNB. There was so much damage that we had to work around the clock to get te place cleaned and repaired for the new guests . I was not able to collate all of the paperwork needed to make the claim for a couple of days until all the works had been carried out and I had sourced replacements.  I also felt that I would not send the bill on Christmas Day as it was poor taste so waited till the next day. Therefore the claim went in after the new guests had checked in . ( had we not focused on the cleaning and repairing we would have had to cancel these next Airbnb guests over Christmas ) Airbnb have flatly refused to deduct from the guest deposit , even though  I called Airbnb and have a massive amount of timed and dated evidence as well as correspondance with the clients . There can be no doubt as to the fact it was them that caused all the damage .  I am a super host and turn over around €80k  per year through Airbnb. Until now I have been  impressed with Airbnb , and am so shocked that they are happy to allow these guests that urinated And vomited on carpets and walls and smashed and burnt objects  and kicked down doors in my home off without paying a penny . I have personally paid out for the repairs as well as spent a lot of time and effort to ensure my new guests were not impacted . I have appealed and received a second reply within an hour saying they had reviewed the case and it was a final NO . ( they didn’t ask for any additional evidence ) . They have suggested I pick up the issue directly with the guests ....If I had the deposit there is not a chance in hell that they would have gotten it back . I also have no address or details of the clients , and of course they won’t return my calls , why would they when they can get away with paying nothing.  Has this happened to anyone else ? Is there any way to make someone see logic that it is not in anyone’s interest to encourage guests like these to use the Airbnb platform in the future.  I seriously would have gone to the police and had the guests stopped as they left resort  if I had any idea of how little support I would be getting , ( and how much it would cost me personally )  thanks everyone . 

[Kaylee18]

@Tamsin12   What are the exact steps you took when contacting airbnb about the damage? 

I just had a guest damage a mattress and the steps I took were: 

1. Called ABB 1 hour after guests checkout out to tell them about a damaged mattress. (They first make you try to work it out with the guest through the online "request money from guest."

2. I filled out the Request money from guest, added my photos and receipt of damaged item. (The guest has 72 hours to respond before you can involve ABB). 

3. The guest responded within 2 hours and declined payment and wrote his reason why. 

4. Now I was allowed to open the online claim involving ABB. I opened the claim, added photos of the damage along with the cost to replace it. 

5. I received an e-mail saying they were reviewing it. 2 days later I received another e-mail saying they are going to refund me the cost of the mattress ($400) under the Host Guarantee. 

What I've learned in my first year of hosting is report damages immediately and do not wait to request money from the guest or to open the claim with ABB. It appears they expect everything to be done right after you find out there are damages (based on  my conversations with customer service). 

I hope it works out for you!! 

[Tamsin12]

Hi there - yes I called Airbnb right away on the day and explained the amount would be over €1000.  I have messages from the guest saying that they broke the door and sent me pictures , so there is absolutely no doubt on admission or the fact they actually did the damage. They sent via WhatsApp but I added the screen shot to the Airbnb messages board. 
the  problem was there was so much additional damage and cleaning that had to be repaired/ replaced and I had to research and source similar replacement items .  I couldn’t get a quote right away for the door as it was impossible to find someone so close to Christmas on a weekend to custom fit a door. I also had to spend a lot of time actually cleaning (carpet cleaning etc ) so that we could hand the chalet over to the new guests .  So the actual request with the exact amount (€1300 ) did not get sent to the guest until a couple of days after .  I did however use the message function to send the pictures to the guests about 10!minutes after they left so there was a record . ( they left before the agreed check out but I knew they were still in the resort as their taxi was not due )  I get why there is a procedure  to eliminate doubt on fault ,but when it is so clear cut and  the guests have admitted fault ( by sending me the pictures of the most expensive item )  o just don’t understand why Airbnb don’t use the facts to make a decision.