Surprise and Impressed with Host Guarantee (Damaged Mattress Claim)

[Kaylee18]

I had 2 adults and 2 infants stay for one night.

The unit is 1 bedroom, and I assumed the guests would bring a sleeper/playpen for the babies as all my guests with infants have done this.  (lesson learned - never assume).

Next day I go in to clean and notice the mattress was soaking wet with staining. There was a strong urine odour and it was clear they had tried to clean the mattress. The mattress is memory foam. *There was a mattress protector on, however was not suitable for large amounts of liquid.. clearly. 

I contacted the guest. He admitted to his son peeing, however his version was the boy was wearing a diaper and a small amount of urine hit the bed sheets. 

 I contacted several cleaning companies to inquire if a memory foam mattress can be adequately cleaned after urine going through it. I was told no.

I had to cancel a 2 day stay that was checking in that day due to not having a mattress available at that time. 

I started a claim, and of course the guest denied it and refused to pay. 

I escalated the claim to Airbnb. 

3 days later to my surprise, they advised they would be refunding me for the mattress under the host guarantee coverage!!! 

I've read SO MANY negative stories here about hosts not being covered for damaged items, I was shocked with the positive outcome!

Just wanted to share my experience!

Anyone else have a positive experience with being refunded? 

[Emily487]

@Kaylee18 

Wow. Wow. Wow.

That's awesome!

[Lisa723]

@Kaylee18 yes, I've posted before about being paid over $1K for a broken hot tub part.

[Kaylee18]

@Lisa723  That is great to hear. It is nice to have that reassurance as a host! 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Kaylee18  Congratulations! So nice to hear.

BTW, any foam mattress can be cleaned if all it is is foam, but it's such an arduous process that it's probably preferable to buy a new mattress. Foam is essentially a giant sponge (as you found out when seeing all the urine it soaked up). But it can be taken outside and hosed down, then with a couple of people, laid on an incline so the water runs off, rolled and squeezed, just like a sponge, repeated until it doesn't smell, and then stood up somewhere in the sun and the breeze to dry out, turning it often, which could take days and days to dry. Like I said, more hassle than it's worth.

[Janice374]

I really appreciate your answer.  Hate that we are such a throw-away culture in the US.  I don't have a foam mattress, but have cleaned many large rugs by your process.  Yay sunshine!

[Emilia42]

@Kaylee18 Glad to hear it worked for you!

P.S. Put this on every mattress you own:

https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Bedding-Zippered-Mattress-Encasement/dp/B00U6HREPQ/ref=sr_1_8?crid=1OV...

[Kaylee18]

@Emilia42  Thank you!  I will definitely get it!! 🙂 

[Robin4]

@Kaylee18 

Kaylee, I will lay a bet you were nice to the support person you dealt with! These things should be handled on an analytic basis, but they aren't! You treat people nicely and you will be treated nicely in return.

I know that you went down this path because you have taken the effort to come back here to tell us. That tells us what sort of person you are, you have a desire to be nice and helpful.

Good for you, support are not as bad as many make out they are, just give them a bit of slack and they will do the right thing!

and, Kaylee......get yourself a proper mattress protector! Quality is always quality......rubbish never becomes anything but rubbish! There is an old saying, you can't polish a turd!

Cheers......Rob  

[Ute42]

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@Kaylee18 

Tank's for sharing Your story. How much money did airbnb pay to You? Did they pay the full amount You've requested or did they make any deductions?

[Jay1289]

Good question. Was there a deduction for depreciation?

[Kaylee18]

@Ute42  @Jay1289   I requested $400 and was paid out $379. They took $21 off for depreciation. The mattress was just over 1 year new. 

[Lourdes397]

@Kaylee18 Did they ask for proof of purchase of your old mattress? How did you prove the mattress was 1 year old?

[Ann72]

@Kaylee18 Thanks for sharing this!  And just wanted to add fyi - Target now sells Caspar mattresses in their boxes, so next time you need one in a hurry, you should be able to get one there.

[Kaylee18]

@Ann72  Thanks Ann 🙂 Unfortunately there are no more Targets here in Canada (I love target!!)