Hi there. I had a guest who asked me to open the pool for his stay. After he checked out the guy who looks after the house for me sent a photo of a damaged filter cover st the bottom of the pool. I asked the guest what had happened and said I’d need to charge for replacement and fitting and he said he didn’t know and he and his guests didn’t end up using the pool in the end. What do you think I should do in these circumstances? Still send a request for payment? Thanks for any guidance you may be able to offer.
Who removed the cover, the guests or your manager or pool guy?
Will your STR insurance cover it?
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If he says he didn’t damage it and you don’t have proof they used the pool then you’ll have to pay for it yourself. Sending a request for payment will get you no money and possibly a bad review from a pissed guest being blamed.
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My pool guy removed the cover for them and he noticed the damage when he went back just after the guests had left
I asked because it might be possible that the cover blew or fell into the pool. That might be far-fetched, but if the guests took it off themselves, it would be easier to assume that it was their doing that it was damaged and in the pool. As mentioned by KKC, you can’t assume or accuse and request payment if you have no proof and the guest denies all responsibility.
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Yeah I guess. The fact that it wasnt broken before I left and yet it was straight after they left plus the fact that they also left a load of trash outside the house to just fester, leads me to strongly believe it was the guests - I’m still struggling to get it fixed cos everyone I’ve asked wants to drain the pool to sort it 
I’ll look into that!
I assume there are instructions as to what to do with the trash?
I can understand that. How are they supposed to haul out a heavy pool cover that’s underwater? Seems like they’d need diving gear if the pool wasn’t at least drained low enough to reach it without going underwater.
I thought it was a filter cover, & am imagining a smallish plastic thing🤷♀️ Not having a pool, I can’t speak to the replacement cost. I’d be for figuring out how to get a new cover on myself, even if it meant doing a sort of “snuba” thing.
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I’m not sure what you mean by “filter cover”, and draining the pool is a giant NO, that will cost a fortune in water and chems to replace. Surely it’s just a matter of diving in and picking up the pieces?
The other clue they’ve used the pool would have been: pool towels or excess towel use? I assume you don’t have ext cameras, this also would have been helpful.
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Yes clear instructions for the rubbish. It wasn’t the pool cover - it’s the hard plastic cover that goes over the filter. I’m trying to find someone that can dive down to unscrew it and refit. Not impossible but tricky! 
Yep. That’s exactly it.
The filter cover looks like a round plastic grate that sits over the drain. And I’m definitely not draining the pool. I found someone who is going to try and dive down and fix it. We’ll see how it goes!
gotcha. We don’t have a drain in our pool but apparently we did have one in a pool in our first house. I can’t imagine how on earth anyone could break it, is it possible it’s just dumb luck + wear and tear? hopefully it’s a simple fix; getting into the pool to repair things is part of the job (hopefully you’re somewhere where the pool temp is nice). Good luck!
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I don’t know how a person breaks something like that with ordinary pool use, especially if it’s tricky to dive down to fix it. A guest dove to the bottom with a rock? Hard to believe pool repair folks don’t have equipment to work underwater in a pool. Sometimes plastic simply breaks down.
Good point.
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Here are my experiences after hosting since 2018. You need camera footage. Airbnb will require it for charging for damages. 1. You need a camera over the pool. 2. You need cameras over all exterior parts of your property. 3. Airbnb will require footage of the guest using the pool and stills of the guest around the pool filter. 4. Just for future reference, you need to take photos on the inside of your Airbnb between each stay. In order to make claims, they need photos prior to each stay. This means photos between each stay.
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