Tag Archives: airbnb damage claim

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Shameful Scam Condoned by Airbnb Staff

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I stayed at an Airbnb for three nights in February paying £1300 and thinking the outdoor Jacuzzi was included in this price. A few months after and just before Christmas, the manager asked for £250 to be paid directly to her for use of the outdoor equipment. I did not pay as I felt uncomfortable with the request and Airbnb recommended not do to do this type of transaction. The manager shared with me that she was fed up with Airbnb because “they have to accept bookings”.

Before leaving we ensured the house was tidy and in good order. The manager advised cleaners would be arriving at 11:30 AM after we had left but everything was left clean. The microwave was only used for sterilizing baby bottles but a very dirty picture was produced when a claim for £500 was made. Cigarette butts were all over the grounds and my sister cleared some away.

We were accused of leaving these and a difficult to see photo of a butt was evidence. A bed was shown with a mattress cover very stained. A clean sheet could be seen on the floor. It’s horrible to think only one clean sheet covered the staining and that one of us slept on that bed. The £500 claimed by the host manager was for a new mattress, mattress cover, pillows, cleaning of the microwave, and picking up the cigarette butts.

Airbnb did not contact me (they have my phone and email details) and agreed without consultation to a payment of £250. I cannot describe how angry I am right now but really want to warn others who might book this property. The photos were not dated. I think the manager was miffed we did not pay for the Jacuzzi and so got her money another way – a shameful scam. I have attached the picture, a very odd colour of red and green staining. We are all very worried who got this horrid bed if indeed it was in the house we rented.

Airbnb’s Fake Policies Include Not Paying Hosts

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I’m currently dealing with a broken air conditioner that cost over $5000. Case closed, no reimbursement from Airbnb. I sent in over 15 minutes of video taken as soon as I walked into the home finding all the destruction.

After 11 days, they finally responded to me. They gave me time to send in the evidence – pictures – to find replacements, and send in the receipts. Fine, but I needed more time for the AC since the repairman came and got here by the deadline.

This is what I learned: if they had offered me anything, any amount of money for reimbursement – maybe two dollars? – I would take it and run. Airbnb does nothing to protect properties whatsoever. I also had six people cancel at the last minute who were not entitled to any refund under my strict cancellation policy. Every single one of them made up some story and received a 100% refund.

One girl didn’t receive a refund because I refuse to “authorize“ it. She didn’t deserve it and it would be filing my cancellation policy I protested. The next day Airbnb cancelled the guest whom I had been looking forward to meeting and had a $1001 payout. They cancelled her reservation and told her I canceled it. She got a new place to stay and I completely screwed.

I’m only posting this summer, have received rave reviews from every single guest that stayed here, and I’m currently out over $6000. I counted I bought new towels, sheets, a portable air conditioner, fans, counting on $7000 and payouts that were anticipated due to bookings when I started. I received less than $3000 payout and now, I’ll be lucky if I get $3500.

Airbnb restricted my account weeks ago, because a guest falsely claimed I had a security camera in order to get his refund equal to 100% of the original payment. Ridiculous.

I wish I never did business with Airbnb; they are crooks, and they lie. I’m moving to VRBO.

Hosts: Beware of Airbnb’s fake policies. They will not do what is your best interest even if it goes against their policies. Airbnb caters to the guests, which in my case cost me over $6000.

Airbnb Didn’t Exercise the Host Insurance Policy

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We had a bad experience with our Airbnb case manager. Our Airbnb guest used an iron on the sofa bed and burned it. We contacted the guest, and they denied causing the damage. They said they didn’t do it. We contacted Airbnb to exercise the host insurance policy. Airbnb asked for some documents like an “invoice or offer of the repair, age of the damaged item, photos, etc.”

We provided all the information. After a few days, they asked for a “repair offer letter” showing the stamp of the company. It was Ramadan season in Turkey, and I told them that, during Ramadan, documents are always delayed. 31 days after the damage occurred, I received the letter and forwarded it to Airbnb team. They said, according to the policy, all documents should be received within 30 days. I told them I sent them everything they needed, and the only thing delayed was a “stamp on an already sent letter”.

They didn’t accept it. They didn’t pay for the damage. I sent them the letter before the 30th day, and this was the only additional document they asked for. I even told them about the delay in advance, and they ignored it.

Hosts Beware: The Host Guarantee is a Crock

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911 to all hosts: a must read. I had a $42,000 claim due to damages to my newly renovated $400,000 home. These Airbnb guests were the first people in the home since its purchase. They carved into furniture; two large dogs were brought into the home destroying furniture, carpets doors, paint, and more. Upon discovering this, I had the guests removed. I immediately filed a claim with Airbnb and their $1,000,000 guarantee. I was told that the insurance team would be in touch within three days.

After five days with no answer, I began calling and emailing, again with no response. When I called, they told me that they had everything they needed and they don’t know why there is a delay. Still, there is no substance to their promises or guarantees. This went on for three months. I had to pay out of pocket to repair and replace everything in the entire house that I had only finished remodeling and furnishing a month before.

After three months I received an email stating I had 72 hours to respond or the offer will be withdrawn. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I was forced to accept a disrespectful amount to cover at least some of my losses. I have since watched Airbnb Nightmares on Netflix and have learned Airbnb has a history of not paying its hosts for damages by the guests. We are business partners and I have been a Superhost for over 2 1/2 years. Why would they not compensate me for these damages? Hosts beware.

 

*****Update 10/17/2018******

Boynton homeowner takes on Airbnb over damage

Out of Pocket Thousands Doing What Airbnb Told Me

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I had my first group of guests cause damage in early June. I contacted Airbnb; they seemed great and told me to send photos with quotes for repairs. They approved my claim, asked for a link to the items that were damaged, and told me they would cover the costs to replace the damaged items – I just had to cover them first.

They haven’t covered the costs of the item I sent them the links for. This had taken some time to get here and so I waited to hear back. I got an email that simply said I had 48 hours to accept the first amount offered or my case would be closed. I called straight away and spoke to someone in guest services who told me not to worry; the case can’t be closed until the items being covered are sorted out.

I told him I had been given 48 hours. I had been patient in getting a response but I could not wait anymore; I needed to speak to someone straightaway. I was told my case was made urgent and someone would contact me in 24 hours. He calmed me down and put my mind at ease, even said maybe the lady in charge of my case might not be the right person to look after me. I waited and after 24 hours called again, as the 48 hours was disappearing and I was worried about it even thought I had been assured.

Again I was told the same thing and I was also told to write back saying I was not accepting that amount as it didn’t cover all the damaged items and that someone would call me in 24 hours. I waited and called again. This time I was told that after my first conversation my case had been transferred to someone else and that I needed to wait for them to call me. He did say someone might not be able to call in 24 hours as this had not been happening, but a new person would call me; I shouldn’t worry.

That night I got an email from the first person telling me I didn’t take the money in the first 48 hours and now my case was closed. I am no longer getting any compensation for not following their guidelines. I wrote back saying I was told my case was with someone else and that my advice was that the items being covered would be sorted and to wait, which is what I did. So because I followed advice from his colleague and they didn’t contact me within the 24 hours and ignored my email about forgetting some items they asked for links to, I am now out of pocket more than $3000.

I called again. I was so upset and was told that they did not have my case and a new person would be in touch. Again I have had emails from the first person saying they had to follow the guidelines and they weren’t there at the booking – they can only go off the evidence.

This doesn’t make sense I showed the same evidence of damage to the BBQ as I did for the lights, just a photo. If it’s good for one it should be for both. If I hadn’t been told to wait the 48 hours wouldn’t have passed and I wouldn’t be out the full cost of the damage. All I did was follow the advice I was given by Airbnb. Because I did what I was told and waited when I should have been pushing, I am no longer getting any reimbursement. At the same time I am being told that someone else is in charge if my case and they will contact me and sort this out.

I’m in tears with no idea what is going on and waiting yet again as I don’t know what else I should be doing. If the staff in different departments aren’t sure of other departments’ procedures and the consequences are thousands of dollars, they shouldn’t tell you to wait. All I can do right now is wait and hope someone does actually have my case and they are sorting it out. Otherwise I have been misinformed and due to that, out of pocket thousands.

All you can do is take advice from the people you can talk to. If they work for Airbnb, how can that advice lead to me being out of pocket? If this is true, it’s a great scam. “Yes, we will cover you, forget a few items, so you contact the only department that you can speak to…”

They tell you not to worry, so you don’t and wait. This puts you outside the claim timeframe and bam – you don’t get any reimbursement. It’s a great scam if this is how they keep their host guarantee costs down. I’m so disappointed and hoping the first person I spoke to that got my claim sent to someone else has been trained correctly. Please let the person who I have been told has my case contact me soon and put my mind at peace. Up until this point Airbnb has been great, but this stress is just not worth it. Even if I turn out to be okay, all the emails from Airbnb have put me at my breaking point.

Thought I was Protected by the Airbnb Guarantee…

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I’m a seasoned host on both Airbnb and HomeAway/VRBO. I have never any real issues with guests until my experience in May. Little did I know a band was staying in my home after some show gigs in the Raleigh NC area. There was everything from cannabis left in potted plants to cigarette butts, empty beer cans in the yard, etc. I was not happy with the findings but thought my $300 dollar security deposit would easily cover the damages and excess cleaning charges. Four weeks later and I am still waiting on compensation for my damage claim. This was my first claim involving an Airbnb guest and I am now aware the Airbnb site provides little protection for a host. My customer service experience with Homeaway/VRBO has never been this poorly executed. I was told my claim/concern has been escalated and that was three weeks ago. I have been calling every week and the Airbnb agent just verifies ‘someone’ is working on it. Long story short, I am no longer hosting on Airbnb. Anyone considering hosting on Airbnb: don’t blindly think you will actually get paid out of the security deposit you post. You have no control over it.

Account Cancelled After Guest Makes False Claims

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I have been an Airbnb Host for about five years. My reviews were mostly five stars. Even when they were less they were always good to outstanding reviews. I made Superhost twice. About two months ago I was warned that my listing was not conforming to discrimination rules. I was not permitted to limit single women to a maximum of three nights (or lose my girlfriend). I was not permitted to limit people who were heavily medicated or using drugs. I was not permitted to state that my place was not a good fit for handicapped people. I fixed all that and then they reactivated my listing. I was also warned that if I had one more violation that I would be barred from using Airbnb and never be able to reactivate or list again. I booked several guest and had five-star reviews from all in the next two months.

Then I booked three guests, two of which I had booked at an earlier date for three or four nights and had given them a very good review, stating they were trustworthy and clean. The three guests were booked for four nights. They did smoke (often in their car). They tried to hook up the living room TV with the HDMI for a PlayStation. Before I went out for the evening I noted that they left the TV on with unknown source. I turned it off for them and went out for the evening. The next morning the TV was in internet mode. The guest had tried to pull the TV off the wall which is not possible because of the custom mounting. The cables for the sound bar and TV were in wrong places. Of course the TV and sound bar would not work. I could not find the controllers and so pulled the power plug to turn it off until I could get help to remove the TV, check it out, and cable it properly and then do the required setups. After two hours it was working fine.

The guests violated house rules by not closing their window and turning off their intake fan in the daytime. They could have been violating the no-smoking house rule. On the third day I was out and about most of the day and returned to find the house unlocked. A short while later, the guest returned and parked in my neighbor’s parking space. I called them to move the car. I was then confronted with one of the guests. He said that my place was full of rodents and insects. I said that was impossible unless they brought them.

He then screamed racial slurs at me. I asked them to leave and he stated that they were on the way out. I called the police who arrived shortly after they left. The officer and I checked the room for rodents. There was something on the sink and a few leaves and sticky spots on the floor. Nothing had been stolen. I noticed that a computer desk caster was broken and called the next day to make a claim.

Airbnb told me that the guest had submitted images of rodents and insects everywhere. I wanted to see the pictures since I said they had to be planted by the guests. I lived here since 2004 and my sister was here ten years before that. There was never a single mouse. Insects were not welcome and well under control. I noted that several extra washcloths were used. Probably to catch all the mice and remove them from the house. They were all gone.

I purchased glue traps and other traps to make sure since I had a guest coming in two days. That guest was an Airbnb host. I told her about the three guests and the rodent pictures. She had never placed a claim with Airbnb. I tried to place a claim and had pictures taken of the broken desk; they kept up a non-response procedure.

They refunded one day’s stay to the guest. I questioned that and then the fee was restored since the first Airbnb person had not consulted with me. A second Airbnb person had overruled the first since they had not followed Airbnb procedures. Then the broken desk claim still needed to be processed. That became impossible, since about five days after the guest left, my account was cancelled.

I was able to book one guest on another site. He emailed me to say his stay had been cancelled. I had not recorded the contact information of the other guests – my mistake. At one time in the past Airbnb had cancelled one of my guest for some issue. When he showed up, he wanted his money back and called his friend for help. The friend burst out laughing.

However, if I had not been home, that guest who had the keypad code could have been in my house. Then what? My general feeling with Airbnb over the years is that they tend to keep changing their rules. Sometimes, I feel that they tend to be very nasty. I have listed my place on VBRO and had my first booking within five days. It seems like most of the places are higher priced. Not so with Airbnb.

Generally, hosts should not expect too much from Airbnb if you ever have to file a claim. Airbnb prevents you from writing a bad review for a guest when your account is cancelled. The fraudulent guest at my place had three okay reviews and one was from me. Any guest can do the same fraud or similar schemes. They do it against many companies. It’s a lot to consider if you host. I think the best thing is to raise your prices high enough for any strangers that you are willing to host. Don’t expect Airbnb, who got too big too fast, to really care about losing you as a host.

Extremely Bad Airbnb Host Protection Experience

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I wanted to share my extremely bad experience related to Airbnb. I just recently started hosting and had my first bad guest. The guest stayed for two nights, she violated multiple housing rules (that they were supposed to agree to and comply) and damaged my property. After the guest left, I noticed the damage they caused to the bedding and found out from neighbors that the guests didn’t comply with my house rules. I didn’t know how exactly I was supposed to ask for so-called host protection and it was not properly explained on the website, so I asked Airbnb support how I was supposed to file a claim for damage to items in my apartment.

I had to wait for almost three days before getting a reply, even though they promised to reply within 24 hours. When I finally got a reply explaining the procedure, I opened the claim. Here I must mention that guest checked out on March 18th and the claim was opened on March 21st. I couldn’t open it earlier, because I didn’t know how. My claim for a refund of the damaged items was immediately rejected by the guest (didn’t expect anything out of that, but this is procedure), so I escalated it to the host protection request.

Little did I know my request got denied on March 23rd (the same month, I must mention) because I didn’t submit it within 14 days. Ridiculous, you would say? No, not for Airbnb. Apparently, I had 14 days to submit a complaint and I didn’t follow this timeline, when there were just five days that passed between the guest leaving and the answer to my request for host protection being received. I have contacted Airbnb to inquire why they gave me such a ridiculous answer that didn’t make any sense.

After two days of silence, I received a message saying they declined my host protection request because my next guest had already checked in and I had to submit requests only between the check-out of one guest and the check-in of another. Here comes the interesting part: the guest who caused the damage checked out at 11:00 AM on March 18th, but next guest checked in at 11:30 on March 18th. As per Airbnb policy, I had precisely thirty whole minutes to:

• Discover the damage

• Document all the damage

• Find similar items online or buy new items that needed to be repaired or replaced

• Submit a claim via Airbnb

• …apparently also have time for cleaning and greeting the new guest

Who they think I am, Barry Allen? Airbnb rejected my host protection claim on bogus reasons like these. They left me to pick up the bill, they made up ridiculous excuses not to assist me in any way and this is how their host protection works.

As an employee of quite a powerful Belgian law firm, we already had to deal with multiple complaints against Airbnb showing total disrespect for personal belongings or damages caused by guests towards the hosts. It doesn’t matter how severe the damage is and what kind of proof you have, Airbnb will always find the way to dismiss your claim and to not give you deserved and promised protection.

What is interesting is that once hosts start to file complaints, lawsuits and go to the press, Airbnb immediately settles cases, pays the demanded compensation and then begs them not to leak the story to the press any further. Anyway, if you have problems with Airbnb, my advice is complain, complain, complain. The best way is to complain to the California Better Business Bureau, then your complaint will be published in multiple places and will be forwarded directly to Airbnb headquarters. They will have to read and act on it. To lodge a complaint, you don’t have to be in the US; it’s enough that business office is there. We have to force them to respect hosts’ and guests’ rights and stop treating us like cows to be milked.

Airbnb Guests are not Protected from Bogus Damage Claims

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Last month, I was part of a group of seven people who were visiting New Orleans for a wedding. We we very careful to take good care of the house. Everything went seemingly smoothly with our check-out, until we were notified of a lengthy list of bogus damages that amounted to $178 out of our security deposit. There was no evidence that demonstrated we had caused any damage (because we didn’t), only a few very low-quality photos with no context for when or where they were taken in the house or what damage they were supposedly showing. Furthermore, I feel that the evidence that we submitted in support of our innocence was pretty solid. It was the text message exchange from when we all found out about the damage claims. It clearly demonstrated our bafflement at the bogus claims. After being contacted about this claim, we of course formally disagreed, leaving it to Airbnb to determine how to resolve the dispute. Despite our strong denial of causing any damage and despite the lack of evidence to the contrary, Airbnb blindly sided with the host, and now we are left with almost $200 stolen from our security deposit. This is an unacceptable experience, and we will contest this whatever way we can. Users of Airbnb should be warned that even if you respect your rental house and follow all of the rules laid out by the host, you are not protected from being held liable from bogus damages.

Airbnb Colludes with Host to Fraudulently Charge Guest

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A few months ago I rented a large property on Airbnb in Cape Town, South Africa. During our stay we accidentally caused minor scratch damage to one of the interior walls whilst moving our belongings up a stairwell. I notified the host via email of the damage to his wall (including attaching a photo of the wall) and offered to immediately arrange for repair work to be done (i.e. a refill/replaster of the scratch and repaint of the affected wall in the existing wall colour).

After no response from the host, I decided to go ahead and call a local contractor to do the repairs on our last day at the property and then sent a picture to the host of the repaired wall and asked him to confirm if he was satisfied. A couple of weeks later, the host sent me an email demanding to be paid R4000 (USD 300) for the cost of repair of the wall damage and the replacement cost for a couple of broken wine glasses. I naturally queried this, as the wall had already been repaired by a professional for half this cost claimed by the host, and at my own expense. I therefore asked the host to provide photos of any additional repairs he had allegedly done and invoices for those expenses.

He refused but instead sent a formal complaint and damages claim to Airbnb more than a month after my stay at his property (which according to Airbnb policy is not permitted beyond two weeks following a stay). I then sent several emails to the relevant Airbnb consultant, disputing this claim. Airbnb never responded to any of my emails. Several calls to their call center/”help centre” also proved fruitless. A month or so later, without warning, Airbnb summarily deducted USD 400 from my credit card account (claiming those funds would then be transferred to the host for damages.

The host has yet to provide a single shred of evidence that any such expenses were ever incurred and why his damages claim suddenly jumped by a further USD 100 from the initial USD 300 the host had first claimed to me directly. Should you ever find yourself in such an unresolved dispute , I recommend you cancel or block your credit card before Airbnb can make such fraudulent deductions on your card.