Hello all. Interested in your take on the new Air Cover expanded host insurance. I have been missing being able to buy extra host insurance as several players like Slice seemed to step out of the short term rental market.
It doesn’t seem to cover a lot more than previously in terms of actual property protected (art still not protected?), but I do like the 14-day filing window & income loss protection. So is it a major change, or an incremental one? What’s their angle, to protect listings from going to VRBO? Either way I’m still continuing to list on other platforms.
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Waiting to see what happens when there is an actual claim…
There were all sorts of promises with the Guarantee, but it wasn’t insurance and there is no way that I wouldn’t be carrying my own.
It remains to be seen, but it might be smoke and mirrors. Because you still have to go through their clueless CS reps.
Someone on another forum just messaged Airbnb re the new pet fee feature that was just announced. She got a response from CS that made it clear that the CS agent didn’t get the memo- she just sent her the same old instructions for charging a pet fee through the resolution center.
None of this new stuff that is supposedly better for hosts is going to be any use if they don’t overhaul their customer service dept.
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I expect this is nothing more than marketing fluff, like everything since Covid started. I’ll be happy if things change but don’t expect it.
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My main concern would be if I went back to my homeowners insurance, if they would void it out because I had an airbnb. I’d check with your regular insurance to see if this would not conflict with their rules.
We’ve never had a claim of any kind for any reason. BUT. I would never trust and version of a “host guarantee”. It will never cover liability.
If I wake up one morning and find one of two guests floating facedown in my (disclosed, properly maintained and protected) pool, or a guest gets totally stupid and takes the running hairdryer into the running shower and gets electrocuted, you know dang well that Air will disavow any knowledge of you. THIS is why we have homeowners liability insurance.
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I agree with Ken. This could never replace my own insurance so I don’t see the point. It would only cover guests who have booked via Airbnb - if indeed it really does cover anything.
I may have misunderstood it but the most promising part of the whole thing, to me, was that he said it would be an online claim process. The implication was that it would not be going through a CS but would instead be a form to fill out on the website (or app), an automated claim process.
It will likely still be useless but anything that could be more automated, e.g. anything that saved a host from having to talk to a CS, would be an improvement.
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If it’s not handled by a 3rd party insurer and claims adjuster, it’ll end up being just as worthless as the Host Guarantee.
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Yes, useless perhaps, but less of a time-suck at least.
So it only takes 3-4 hours of your time to collect and submit all of the info vs. 20+ hours of your time to collect and submit the info 3 separate times (because the CS reps ask for the same info again) and keep following up with the CS reps for weeks… 
and either way in the end be told you either get nothing or maybe 10% of your actual cost to repair/replace.
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3-4 hours??? I’m thinking 3-4 minutes. What takes 3-4 hours?
Write a description, take photos, dig up receipts and digitize them, get repair estimates. I suppose it depends on the claim.
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As a pet friendly listing I’m happy to see that pet fees can now be included as a line item and that “unexpected” pet damages can at least be claimed. In the past the advice in trying to claim pet damage was to say the guest did it. That might work for some things but saying the guest chewed the wooden cabinet pull would be absurd.
I’ve had very little pet damage and when I discovered it in time the guests paid without question but this is still an improvement.
Do you see that option in your settings yet? I didn’t expect to wake up to all of the new settings at once but I don’t have any of the new stuff.
No and I assume it won’t be available until this winter since they are calling it Winter Release.
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Ah, yeah, you’re right. In my mind, it is already winter. Our current weather is definitely what I grew up with as “winter” and sometimes I forget where I am. But once you really experience 4 seasons it’s blatant that Texas only has 3. 
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I’m wondering whether it will be available at all. Will this go the way of the “we will remove one outlier review for you!”?
We clamour for the thing, they promise the thing, then they “are working on it”.
Sounds jaded, I know. Maybe I just need a cup of tea.
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Just for you.
JF
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We have 12 seasons in NC. 
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