How true is that.
The federal rules on COVID quarantine is 7 days now and CSIRO data says that COVID-19 virus only lives for 3 days outside the host. So, how can they justify quarantining the house for 14 days? They have a cleaning regimen that we are supposed to follow and that is supposed to disinfect the house immediately so that new guests can come in without risk. It just shows how ignorant and medieval they are.
I had a similar experience once before with a flyscreen ripped out, a stainless steel fridge door obscenely scratched and mozzie coils burnt in a bedroom that permeated into all of the bedding and mattresses. Eventually, Airbnb came to the party and paid for the repairs. But not after the guest told a bunch of lies, then delisted their profile to try and avoid the extra charges. I got my money in the end. Just make sure you complete the additional charges form within 14 days I think and supply all of the evidence. You have to show that the damage was not there before - in my case I had a statement from my housekeeper who cleaned the property on the same day as this guest checked in. You also need to supply invoices or quotes for the repairs. As I said, I got my money but I don't know if Airbnb got it out of the guest. I didn't care in the end. it did take a few weeks.
The best thing you can do is initiate an additional charge to the guest and then it has to be processed by Airbnb. Eventually.
If you are in AUS, then I strongly suggest getting landlord insurance. It costs around $350 per year and it is worth every cent. I have claimed on it for my properties a few times and it always comes though. It also gives you peace of mind. Don't ever put all of your eggs in the Airbnb insurance policy basket. I have a home insurance policy (Hollard) that specifies short-term holiday accommodation and includes landlord insurance. I would suggest any Airbnb host in Australia does the same. EBM Rentcover offer the same, as does Terry Scheer, but I have found TS to be a bit expensive.
We installed the car park camera because we were getting so many freeloading additional guests sneaking in. When I could prove it, I sent them an additional fee, which I specify in my House Rules. All of them copped it sweet, apologised and paid up - except for this most recent ratbag. That is another thing. If you want to apply additional charges for damages or freeloaders etc, it is well worth specifying those additional charges in your House Rules. Otherwise Airbnb will cause you problems in justifying what you are claiming. I now have a whole table of "Additional Charges" at the back of my House Rules, which covers additional guests, damage, additional cleaning, smoking inside, etc. I even specify the hourly rates for my housekeeper to do the additional work and to be present while any trades are there - as I live interstate. Since I did this, I have not had any problems getting the money back - not that I have had that many issues of this type anyway. Most guests let me know if they accidentally damage something and they willingly pay for it. But there is a certain element who have a far lower standard of morality and honesty - if you have been hosting for a while, then you know what kind of people I am talking about.
