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Full agree with this thread. The guarantee is VERY misleading.
If you read through the actual policy - it’s misleading. My point of confusion is that a “Airbnb Host Guarantee Payment Request Form” is mentioned all over the place - but where is this form? I can’t find it on the airbnb site, it claims its done through resolution center.
Belay my response the form is here: https://www.airbnb.com/incidents/new
However, again the fine print states that this form must be submitted 14 days after guests leave or BEFORE the next guest arrives. So in our case, we have fully booked months of guests this policy is useless to us even if we correct the damage immediately.
I wish companies would be held liable for misleading customers 
@JonYork, I don’t think that you are being reasonable. If you don’t know who did it, you can’t make a claim of damage. Besides, replacing a microwave is not $300 unless you are getting a pricey high-end one. I had an elderly couple from the UK who managed to break the handle of the microwave; they reported the damage and I didn’t charge them or deducted from their deposit. It’s the cost of doing business. I’m sure my fellow hosts will disagree with me but this is how I feel.
This is very much like the host who tried to claim for two laptops and two iPhones being stolen by guests, he supposedly left them in the unit he was renting out, not where he was living. How stupid do you think folks are?
“costs $300-$350, plus another $100 To install” did you send Airnb a copy of the receipt for the $300 damaged microwave? Probably not.
I had a guest damage a dresser. I could have asked for a few hundred to replace it. Instead I asked for $80 to cover materials to refinish it. As I didn’t submit before the next guests arrived, the same day, my claim was denied. I was disappointed, but learned the rules. Didn’t freak out because I should have read the rules. I’m sure Airnb have seen much worse attempts to scam $.
That’s my whole point. The burden of proof can’t be met unless the guest actually admits to it. So if they decide to lie, as they did in this case, Airbnb doesn’t pay.
Oh and if they do admit to it - then Airbnb forces them to pay. From what I can see, their insurance never kicks in.
Thanks for your help in determining how much OUR microwave (which you have never seen) costs. You may be able to get a cheaper one, but we don’t have a cheaper one. The one we have is $300. It’s not a $50 counter top microwave.
No, but I did send them pictures of our microwave and a link to the exact same microwave where they could see the replacement price for themselves. And with the photos they could verify that that was indeed the microwave we had.
OK…I had spoken to an Air rep. when the recent rule change came out, and I specifically questioned the new rule part about how a claim needs to be made before the next guest checks in. I even gave her the scenario of having back to back reservations (same day turnover) and since I am the cleaner, I wouldn’t have time to submit a claim before a new guest checks in at 4 p.m. I am just getting done right at 4! She said Air would still allow a claim to be submitted.
Louise - how long was it in between guests - was it same day?
Same day. As far as I know it’s not a new rule. Also, guest doesn’t have to admit fault, money comes from deposit that you set and is administered by Air. You have to first ask guest to accept responsibility, but if the deny, then air takes evidence and makes decision. You must provide proper receipts., pictures aren’t enough on their own.
Thanks. So how long was it after the new guest checked in that you submitted the claim?
I forget, it was months ago and I’ve moved on. There was some issue with what browser I was using on my iPad, Firefox was not fully compatible. It could be I’d done it at the right time, but my ability to backtrack on what was done when on the iPad is limited. As I said, I learned the lesson and moved on.
The rule protects guests from being blamed fo stuff done by previous guests, I support that 100%.
That should be the intent. But Air isn’t taking into consideration that you might be at work or traveling, or just anything - and it’s not possible to file a claim. In my case, I cannot. My guests check out at 11 a.m. It takes me the complete 5 hours to clean the property so it is ready by 4 p.m. If I discover damage, I don’t have time to stop cleaning and get on the computer to file a claim. And is Air wanting you to already have had someone come out and give quotes, etc? The whole thing is just ridiculous.
I do a quick walk through first, that’s when I saw the problem. I’d suggest hosts do this before cleaning
I also do a quick walk through to assess the entire home and what I will be facing in general. Regardless if I discover something broken right away, I would not have the home ready for the next guests at 4 p.m…if I am sitting there on the computer trying to file a damage claim with Air.
I have an entire house to clean in only 5 hours. And sometimes you may not even discover that something is broken until you are in there moving furniture around and cleaning. It’s not as simple as taking a glance around.
So it seems the damage deposit is worthless if you only have a few hours to claim anything.
Unless your house is 5,000 sq ft or so, I think your cleaning time is excessive.i can have 1200 sq ft, 3 bdrms cleaned in 2 hours. Deep cleaning every time isn’t necessary.
No, my place is not 5000 square feet. And it’s not excessive to take 5 hours to clean the entire house. And I defniitely don’t do a deep clean every time.
If you don’t deep clean every time, your rating for cleanliness will decline.
Disagree. It most certainly is necessary if your guests are paying for cleaning before their arrival especially.
I airbnb my place to 3 group of guests thus far. 2nd group trashed my place and 3rd group trashed my place and stole a $2000+ of clothing and other little things including used and unused lotions and usb plugs and even medical cream. But they left expensive things like 4k TV, Vitamix, Aeron chair. The difficult part is knowing what they stole, some stuff I don’t know till I try to use it like the Perfect Push Up or wifi scale.
Filing for the host guarantee and police report. Keep you guys updated.
Anyone with experience in this regard?
Hi Sharky,
Many of us would be interested in the detail of the reservation, etc. and if there were any red flags during the booking process (in hindsight).
You will likely get more responses if you begin a new thread with your story. Let me know if you have any trouble figuring how to click on “New Topic.”
Our guest lost a key and ignored all my messages after he left and wrote saying he would pay £10 for a new key. We rent out a room in our home and had no idea where the key was. He then said the key had been “found” and would return it, but never did.
I put in a claim through the host guarantee and they asked for several items including messages off airbnb with the guest and a police report. Police here in the UK do not get involved with lost items but did copy a note from the police stating this.
Airbnb found in our favour and paid out £50 for a new front door lock and replacement keys.
Only a small amount I grant you but at least we are not out of pocket. I did change my rules after reading this forum too, I now ensure guests are aware they are responsible for looking after their key and will be responsible for any costs caused by the loss of the key.
