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I just walked in the room where my guests was staying and it’s a few hours now before the next one will check in.
A piece of furniture is chipped.
Not a huge damage but very visible and it’s a good wooden cabinet.
Can I ask damages or use Airbnb insurance for this type of damage?
EDIT: I wrote “now a huge damage” but I meant of course “NOT a huge damage”. now fixed it.
Two questions:
Asking for the whole cabinet would be way too much.
On the other hand it’s very visible and it makes the room look sloppier now. That has a cost.
It’s a fair question you ask, I personally would think it’s a fair request but most people probably won’t and he hasn’t left a feedback yet.
I’m thinking of waiting after his feedback or after the feedback period is over.
Anyone has had a similar experience?
Have a look at how the Airbnb guarantee on it’s Help Centre (its not insurance).It tells you how to make a claim.
Key thing for you to note you can’t wait until after his review. You have to do it before your next guest checks in - for you that means doing it now if they are coming this afternoon.
Or else how would you prove which guest did the damage???
Lesson to learn here – never leave something like a nice wooden cabinet where guests can damage it. Assume almost everything in the listing can and will be damaged. Decorate with good thrift store finds, not you personal good stuff.
Chances are that without a dated ‘pre-guest’ photo and a dated ‘post-guest’ phot showing in detail the area where the damaged occurred, Airbnb isn’t going to do a thing.
I have before pictures and I have a done a whole video before the other guest checked in.
I can imagine the correct and best procedure is before the next check-in, however I don’t feel like taking the risk of a negative feedback for a 20-30 Euro worth of claim.
Plus I can imagine there is always the chance the guest will be honest enough to admit the issue and no proof will be needed -that was the case with a previous small damage-.
I’ll try this way and then report here for you to know.
Hi @lux7
As I thought I had made clear in my earlier post, Airbnb WILL NOT accept you asking for damages once your new guest has booked in.
Please read up on how the guarantee works.
For the small amount you mention, I wouldn’t even put in a claim to be honest.
As far as I can remember, that’s not been my experience in the past.
I wouldn’t put my hand on the fire right now, but I seem to remember quite well that in a previous occasion, with the guest admitting on the issue, Airbnb gave me the refund.
I’ll keep you updated
I’m not quite sure why you came here to ask for advice, if you have already made a claim and so know how the process works.
Airbnb says:
You must inspect the applicable Covered Accommodation to determine whether there are any physical losses or damages to any Covered Property and notify Airbnb of such losses or damages within the earlier of (i) fourteen (14) days following the date of termination of the Responsible Guest’s booking of the applicable Covered Accommodation *or (ii) the date by which the next subsequent booking of the same Covered Accommodation begins.* You can notify Airbnb either by opening a claim in the Resolution Center or by contacting customer support directly.
Mine was based on what Airbnb say in their T&Cs but if your experience has been that they pay out anyway even when you make a claim post other guests having checked in …
What lux is saying is that if the guest agrees to pay it doesn’t matter if the request is made after the next check in.
dont put good furniture into you guest room.
See if a claim processes for damage repair. Let us know the outcome. Every one has a different tolerance for damage.
I recently found an Airbnb rental with the description something like: “Historic home, lovingly furnished with antiques and unique accents.” The listing had a long list of rules.
It is a Beautiful home. Too easy for klutzy me to damage something accidentally & I envisioned the owner going into a meltdown. An amazing rental for the right person.
My rentals are furnished as @KenH mentioned: comfortable, 2nd hand and budget friendly so I don’t worry about the occasional ding.
Deliberate vandalism is a different topic. Fortunately, I’ve not had to deal with that.
Sounds like wear and tear to me. Would not go after the guest.
This is exactly my thought. Stuff happens. I’d get some of that wood repair stuff and try to make it not so obvious. We’ve had quite a few little things like that happen. People are banging around with luggage, etc. I wouldn’t make a claim.
Turns out like this:
the guest denied any responsibility
I opened the controversy after the check in time of the next guest
but I opened the controversy BEFORE the next guest physically checked in (with video proof)
I had a video that I started in front of my laptop to show the time (the zoomed on my phone for confirmation), then walked into the room proving it was empty and showing the damage
I escalated to airbnb with a link to the video and the claim was approved in a matter of minutes after I opened the controversy.
Here is the resolution: https://www.screencast.com/t/j8NWRnrgagGh
And this is a picture to the damage: https://www.screencast.com/t/AyIXMHOF39
Small stuff, but unluckily highly visible.
I would wonder now if airbnb paid it or if they are going to take it from the guest?
I’m guessing Airbnb is just paying it. Probably they find small claims are not worth the man hours to process. My suspicion.
Airbnb is going to pay it. Note they say “because the amount is low and you haven’t had other claims recently” they are approving.
Here is what you need to be aware of that you might not be: Airbnb’s payments are similar to insurance in that they aren’t going to pay every time you make a claim. They can’t “cancel your policy” (so to speak) but they can deny future claims. Think about it from their point of view. If they pay out for every stained towel, chipped table, broken glass, etc, that’s going to impact their bottom line. Also consider this: the host who never has a claim (me, 500 guests zero claims for damage) vs the host who has had multiple claims. After awhile you become the host who they turn down and quit replying to. I would save my claims for the important situations. I could easily repair that chip with wood putty and some stain myself.
Food for thought.
PS. Airbnb should probably go to an insurance model with a deductible so they don’t have to process all these small claims.
Indeed you are both right: I asked and Airbnb took care of it.
I get your point on “saving” claims for bigger occasions and keeping a spotless track record K9, but I don’t agree with it.
It’s not guarantee that your approach will help you when big dollars will be on the table.
And in the meanwhile you pay a rather high percentage of your booking while leave sure money on the table with smaller damages (plus in this case Airbnb paid, but with an honest guest you don’t even need to involve Airbnb).
Your approach might work and turn out to be the best course of action in the long run of course, but I’m not convinced about it.
However, the wood putty is a great idea 