Beware: Host Damage Protection not dependable, Airbnb refuses coverage of damage caused by guests

[Delphine-and-Markus0]

Hi, 

We have been Airbnb hosts for over 6 years, superhosts and have never filed a claim before. Now for the first time, we had guests cause substantial damage to our house. We are shocked to find that Airbnb refuses to cover the damage. Damage was directly caused by the actions of the guests, but Airbnb says it's weather and higher forces of nature. 

In the middle of a wind storm, the guests extended two large motorized sun awnings. The guests  were not allowed to use the awnings and instead of contacting us immediately when they saw them come out, they watched as the storm destroyed them over the course of the night. We got a quote for the repairs, which will be just under $10,000.

The guests even acknowledged that they accidentally extended the awnings. We know from our caretaker and blink cameras that before check in of the guests the awning were completely in and everything was ready for the storm. We also got a report from an expert stating that it's virtually impossible that this damage was caused when they were all the way in, so the guests must have extended them by accident. The same awnings were through much harder storms over the last years and incurred no damage at all. 

It is common sense (just like not leaving windows open) that such awnings should not be extended during a severe storm. So this damage was a direct consequence of the actions of Aribnb guests. Nothing would be damaged if the guests had not stayed in the house. 

Yet Airbnb says it's all natural events as an argument to not cover. We find this just silly. If the guests would have opened all the windows in the middle of a storm, is that natural events that will not be covered? 

We are extremely disappointed. Over the last years, we accepted the 30% or so total fees under the assumption that we get some kind of protection. Other hosts beware. We will try to explore other options and other platforms.

Markus and Delphine

[Helen3]

For such large amounts it's definitely worth claiming on your home insurance for STR . Airbnb's guarantee is limited. I'm not sure if Airbnb are correct - have you read through the T&C for the guarantee? 

how do you accidentally extend the awnings @Delphine-and-Markus0 

If guests  are not allowed to use them what measures do you have in place to stop them doing so? 

[Delphine-and-Markus0]

Hi Helen,

Thanks a lot for your advice. We will think about the options. 

Airbnb just says it's weather related and therefore not covered according to their T&C, but we think this is crazy because everything was ready for the storm and the guest actively extended the awnings, resulting in the damage. It would be same as if they would open all the windows in the middle of a storm. Airbnb would probably not cover in that case either. It's clearly an accident and clearly not intentional, but that's what insurance should be for.

These are electric motorized awnings. They are huge and impossible to miss when they come out. We will need to have dedicated breakers installed so we can disable them for the guests in the future once they are repaired. We just figured that even if someone would accidentally push the buttons, no one would leave them out in the middle of a storm.

We clearly learned our lesson for the future, but essentially lost faith in the Airbnb insurance. It seems like they will find any reason to avoid coverage. I know that VBRO has a deductible, but we would be fine with that if they are actually reliable. 

Thanks a lot and have a nice day

[Fred13]

I think most veteran hosts know that submitting a bill for $10,000, for a feature worth that much that guests could turn on (even accidentally) and cause it to break, is not going to happen. At 3% host fees they charge (I think you added an erroneous 0 to the 30% figure you stated) for bringing the customers and handling the finances many undoubtedly consider that more than enough, me included. I wish they would drop the whole 'guarantee' angle all together and maintain the 3% host fee forever.

[Delphine-and-Markus0]

Hi Fred, 

Thanks for your take. You are right that I miscalculated and the 30% is only if you include all taxes and fees. But why are you not factoring in the fees paid by the guests that can hit 20%? The total fees matter because they influence the price you can charge. 

The fees from our listings exceed the amount of the damage, but that's not the point. What is the purpose of insurance if they don't cover large unforeseen damages cause by the guests? They should not be advertising 3 million host damage protection if they refuse to cover damage that the guests are responsible for on technicalities or if it doesn't seem economical in a specific case. That's what insurance is supposed to be for.