Me and my boyfriend decided to go away for holiday so he booked a place through airbnb, everything is fine until im having a shower and i get out to close the door. I close the door until its about 2cm away from the wall/attachment and then it completely shatters all over my right side.
I never put any strength into closing the door so it is completely baffled me to how it broke.
Anyway, my hands were bleeding as well as my feet and blood was everywhere in the appartment and instead of being worried about myself i worried about the door and how i was going to fix this.
I went to the hospital and got stitches on my right hand and my foot has a deep cut as well as my toe is now missing a toenail and skin is flapping off (quite deep as well)
So heres the issue.
I ended up paying €150 for my medical bills.
And my host now wants me to pay €613 for repairing one shower door and replacing the toilet seat because there are scratches on there.
However i feel i shouldnt have to because all i did was close the door like any other person would do.
Not to mention it set me back a few days of my holiday because of the hospital and money issues since that €150 was all i had and im 17 and this was my first ever hospital experience in another country with people who dont speak english.
I feel instead of her asking me to pay it she should look more into why or how it could have broken.
Is she being fair?
It doesn’t sound like it but we only have your side of the story. You should be aware that this is a HOST’s forum, not affiliated with the official Airbnb site. Most forum members are strongly supportive of our fellow hosts and are somewhat skeptical of guests complaints even when they have evidence. That said…
It sounds like you have serious injuries and airbnb or the host’s own rental liability insurance should cover your costs. No shower door should just shatter upon closing. Or even upon being bumped or slammed. A shower door should have a tempered glass that crumbles (like in a car) not sharp shards, which is what it sounds like you experienced. Do not pay for the shower door. This host should be paying all your costs and hoping that she doesn’t suffer any worse repercussions. If airbnb doesn’t help you the first time, don’t give up. Keep trying, tell your story on twitter or facebook or your local media. Report this host to the local authorities as she is violating code in her rental. This is assuming this happened in a EU nation.
added edit: People will try to scam you and treat you like an idiot because you are only 17. They will know you don’t have the knowledge or resources to fight them. Don’t let them get away with it. Depending on what country you are in you might also contact your embassy for advice about your options in the country where you were injured.
First of, out of curiosity, I wonder which EU country would charge €150 for medical care? (I am French).
In any case, I agree with @KKC that this is a safety issue, not a damage issue. Your host is charging for a door replacement that she should have done in the first place.
Absolutely report that to Airbnb and force her to attempt to charge this through Airbnb’s resolution center. As most users of this forum usually regret, this is a process that is very difficult to win for a host. Get as much pictures and documents as you can think of.
Totally agree. Host should take FULL responsibility for your injuries. A non-tempered glass door in a shower is pure insanity!
I agree too. It is the host full responsibilities.
Quite a few European countries have charges attached to healthcare. In Spain they have several private hospitals, also in Germany if you don’t have insurance you’re going to pay. In Ireland you also pay. In the UK everything is free through the NHS but not if you’re from certain countries outside the EU.
Netherlands, it was under emergancy medical care because i had an ambulence come out to access.
Ive tried to explain it to the woman like that as well, she wants someone to pay and we are leaving tomorrow.
It is her first time hosting though so im not sure she understands much, we are currently trying to call airbnb and seek a bit more help with it but…eh
We just wanted to enjoy our holiday together since we are long distance and this has put us back because of the accident.
Tempered glass may shatter at anytime if it was fragilized before by a shock during shipping or installation. As an interior designer i know that it is relatively frequent that oven doors shatter spontaneously because they were fragilized during shipping/handling/installation.
I am sorry but surprised that you were hurt to the point that you needed stitches. Did the door shattered in large uneven pieces or tiny square pieces ?
When my daughter was 14 she was babysitting one night, and she leaned on a coffee table that looked very sturdy to reach for a book and the glass top broke into thousands pieces. She did not injured herself luckily but was scared.
The mother of a child came home and was furious that my daughter broke the table. She wanted us to pay her 500$. I asked my daughter what happened and she told me that all she did is reached for the book leaning on the glass with one hand. There is no way a 90 lb girl could brake that table and if she could have done it then there was something wrong with that table.
I refused to pay anything to that woman. I told her that she was very lucky that my daughter didi no hurt herself and she did not have to pay her medical bills.
Few days later the woman convinced our common friend who we knew for years to come and talk to us about money. So the friend came and first thing he said is that he can not believe that a skinny 14 year old could brake a table after a 200lb MAN FELL ON IT THE DAY BEFORE AND DID NOT BREAK IT. He even asked my daughter if she was jumping up and down on that table. When myhusband heard about 200lb man falling on it the day before he immediately said that this is why when out daughter only leaned on it the table broke.
It was because it was already fragile from that fall and all it took is for someone to slightly lean on it to break it.
my husband called the woman and asked her if hat was true if a heavy man fall on it before. She admitted. Then my husband said that she can take us to court if she wants and try to win the case. Of course she did not go to court and it all became past.
i am sure similar situation happened in your case. DOnt pay the bill, and ask for her homeowner insurance pay your medical bill.
You are totally right, but if it was tempered glass it would not have hurt the girl to the extent that she needed an ambulance.
Yes, that’s why i asked the original poster about that, if the glass broke into tiny squares or uneven pieces. If the shower door was not made of tempered glass, it’s obviously dangerous for anyone using this bathroom and totally inappropriate for a rental.
In Spain it could cost that much if you are not covered by the national health care…we have had American friends go to the ER and pay upwards of 300E for stitches.
I agree with everyone else, do not pay, if sounds as if the glass was previously compromised and the OP was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was mainly small pieces but there were a few bigger ones, i didnt pay much attention to what the glass looked like. I havent gone near the glass or shower since the accident and my boyfriend cleaned it all up.
It was sharp though, even whilst cleaning my boyfriend managed to get cuts on his foot that bled a bit as well.
It’s a good idea when you know there’s a glass breakage on the floor to protect your feet.
They were tiny, not to mention that the majority of the glass i dusted off me ended up all around the house.
I thought id do an update, my boyfriend recieved an email from airbnb that they require his side of the story as well and if he doesnt reply to the email the €613 she is charging for the door is going to be taken out the account used to pay for the place.
I thought id also upload some photos from what happened :’)
Wow! That doesn’t look normal! Something is wrong with that glass!
I’m very sorry for what happened to you and I hope you’re fine now, having come out of hospital.
However, this sounds very strange. Looking at it from a host’s perspective, how would we ever be able to claim damages a guest may or may not have caused, with Airbnb helping us to collect the money from the account the guest used to pay for the stay?
I’ve never heard this kind of thing happen before, and I have been a host for more than four years now, hosting hundreds of guests. Why, I even heard stories of hosts having difficulties even hanging on to the deposit the guest paid, since this is usually refunded to the guest after check-out.
No, it is normal, this is exactly what tempert glass should do. The problem is that they do this spontaneously, even when noone is in the room.
@Chiienna Send this piece to AirBnB.
I, as a professional business, am not allowed to have this glass in our bathrooms, It is to dangerous, I am only allowed to have plastic.