You can call back and point out that flooring needs to be installed and installation normally costs more than materials. If this doesn’t work you can ask to schedule an arbitration under their Binding Arbitration Agreement.
Thank you for the reply Ellen. We have submitted 2 different bids with installation and have been completely shut down. I am currently requesting a pre-arbitration but have yet to hear back after a week. The email we had for that was terms at airbnb com, if you have another email for them I would greatly appreciate it. As you can imagine this has been a horrible experience, we have been on airbnb support with twitter and they are now not responding as well.
Bryan
Do you have security footage to prove that a party and 50 guests happened?
We do kit have security cams, we had multiple neighbors call. We are going to add outdoor cams.
Excuse the typo. We do not have indoor or outdoor cams
Hi Bryan,
I’m sorry you’re going through such a horrible experience. If I were you, I would send a certified letter with return receipt to Airbnb, Inc., 888 Brannan Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103. In the letter, I would explain that I requested a pre-arbitrtion a week ago and have yet to hear back. If that doesn’t get you results, I would check on my lawsuit options. Good luck.
Sounds like you have gone through the pre arbitration process.
It reads to me that Airnb is only allowing replacement of the 10 sq feet of the damaged floor. What is the sq footage of the room the floor is in? Can you break down how many sq feet of foooring you are asking them to replace? Is it an 800 sq foot room?
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My first thought was somehow this was a math error and cannot be correct. Where did they get the ten feet from? Am I missing something?
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Ah good old Airbnb and their shut down tactics.
@unclebrio the damage is extensive enough you should consider instructing a lawyer. I’m really sorry this happened to you on your very first hosting experience.
I would also like to add “typical insurance tactics”. A few years ago during a storm a wooden construction of a neighbor made a 30cm cut in the middle of my mother’s flat roof. The insurance “expert” came over to look at the damages and told me: "Well sir, the roof isn’t up to modern standards because of lacking inclination… (Blah blah…) but what we will do is cut out 1 square meter and fix it."
Me: "Well sir, I’m an architect, you can’t fool me. First of all, that roof has never caused a problem for many years, it was watertight until a storm made a 30cm cut in the middle. Second, you also know that due to the type of construction of this flat roof, it took us a few hours to even notice there was a leak. (Note: We didn’t know the wooden construction had hit the roof on it’s way into our garden.) By consequence sir, our entire roof is now full of water, not only making the thermic insulation useless but also putting the structural integrity at risk. As a… (looking at his business card)… Civil Engineer, you most certainly must know this! Very luckily for the insurance the damage was caused on a smaller separated roof of 36 square meters and not on the 200 square meters big roof. But those 36 sq meters your WILL entirely replace!"
He: "Yes sir, you are totally right. We will replace the entire roof."
My mum would have been totally screwed by this man, luckily I was there. And later, when getting the quote from an “unknown” contractor, we returned them the favor.
Arguments to use in this case:
- Chances are slim or non existing that you could replace a damaged part in the middle without taking out (and reusing later) big part of the floor. Cost of all this work.
- In insurance should pay you back the cost of the floor that is there. Market value of the floor that is there?
- If your floor has already been there for a few years, you will probably not find the same floor to replace just a few planks (size, design, …). So it should be replaced entirely.
- Even if you find the same floor, if it’s another production lot, it will probably not have the exact same color. On the same note, the floor you have may (depending on exact material) already have lost some of it’s original color. So it should be replaced entirely.
Lots of luck, this story is just totally INSANE, and I would personally take it to the media.
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Thank you Ellen, I think that is a good idea. Does not hurt! We have got the Washington St insurance commission involved as well.
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Como, we have not yet gone thru this process. Airbnb has not responded to our request to go thru the process (it has been over a week since we sent the request). We can’t believe the lack of care and support by AIRBNB, been really hard to swallow.
Lousie, that is accurate. They have randomly chosen 10 sq feet with over 800 sq feet of damage. We have never been given a reason why, all we get is this reply;
Sydney F, Jul 28, 17:40 CDT:
Hi Bryan and Lisa,
I understand this is not the outcome you were hoping for. I want to reiterate that this decision was made after careful review of all documentation and communication from both parties, and is in alignment with our policies and procedures.
Please be advised that, per our Terms of Service, Airbnb reserves the right to make the final determination with regard to these disputes. We are unable to reconsider the decision made in this case — we’ve issued our final decision and will uphold it accordingly.
As further communication will not change the outcome of this case, we must respectfully disengage from further discussion.
All the best,
Sydney
www.airbnb.com/help
I don’t make that every time I rent. Remember, each person’s listing is different.
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This (unclebrio) should be a new topic. Can it be moved?
If the price is right, people will be just fine without a kitchen. We veto’d use of our kitchen early on as we just didn’t like the random smells guests would be cooking, or waiting for a guest to finish up in order to start cooking. We never changed our rates and we’re booked solid. At the end of the day, hotels also don’t offer kitchens (usually) and people manage.
Although I think it’s fine for hosts to not offer kitchen privileges, I don’t think it’s a good idea to compare Airbnb’s to hotels. Hotels offer a lot of amenities that we usually don’t: daily cleaning, daily change of linens, daily change of towels, a front desk clerk so the guest can check in whenever they like, luggage storage, etc. When guests tell me what hotels offer that I don’t, I say Airbnb is a different business model than hotels and not comparable.
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I hate hate hate this phrase they like to use…
Almost as much as I hate hearing them say they are reaching out and I hope this email finds you well.
I did get them to further engage in my case after “reaching out” to them on Twitter. Give that a try.
Very impressive @GutHend. Glad your mum had you to save her from shady adjusters.
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They tried a similar approach with me in April: we will give you $200 of your $2000. DO NOT ACCEPT. By accepting their small amount you waive your rights to fight them. I basically said I would not accept their $200 and I’m sure the local media would love to know that ABB encourages guests to host parties without any repercussions or compensation for destroyed property for the home owner. I got my full request approved about 48hrs later. I also CC’d every higher up at ABB I could think of.
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