Host dog bit guest during long term stay

[Jennifer3446]

Hi! A friend recently came to for advice about a long term stay.

The airbnb he's staying in has 2 dogs which was not disclosed in the listing and they hang out in the living room which you have to pass by to leave the house. One of the dogs bit him and he had to go to the emergency room, the host just apologized and didn't offer to pay.

He still has 2 months left at the airbnb but the dogs are constantly barking at everyone and pretty aggressive so he's not comfortable there. And he's still waiting for a medical bill that he'll probably have to pay for.

Any advice? Would Airbnb cover his medical bill?

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@Jennifer3446  For the medical bill, your friend should initiate a claim on Airbnb's liability insurance. Send him this link: https://www.airbnb.com/insurance/create-claim/liability

If your friend doesn't want to complete the stay, he can give 30 days notice under the normal terms of the cancellation policy and relocate for the final month. Or he can request a booking alteration with the host to advance the checkout to a nearer date. The presence of undisclosed dogs would have been enough to have the whole stay cancelled and fully refunded if your friend had reported it within 72 hours of checking in.

Even if that window has passed, the host should still be reported for not disclosing the dogs. I honestly can't imagine what this host was thinking when they listed a room and took a long-term booking without ever mentioning there were dogs on site, but the fact is that Airbnb doesn't vet hosts or inspect listings. Unpleasant surprises like this are all but inevitable if you book the cheapest listing you can find and it has no prior reviews.

[Gwen386]

He needs to contact airbnb and ask for the reservation to be cancelled and for a refund, and also ask airbnb to assist him with finding another comparable space. He will get bitten again. It’s  obvious the dog doesn’t like him.

Also, in most states, a dog that bites someone must be reported. The dog is aggressive and could have rabies. 

https://www.shouselaw.com/co/personal-injury/dog-bite/