HI Everyone,
Has anybody experienced the following: my guests checked out last weekend & as I am doing my walk through, I notice significant scratches on my sectional leather couch.
Originally we put the leather couch in that house for 2 main reasons: easy to clean & to keep it away from our destructive pets back at home.
Guests never mentioned anything to me after check out, and now I have to figure out how to fix this. Not to mention, the half a dozen cigarette buts in yard outside, the 8 trash bags left in the garage and the house left really dirty.
Do you file a claim on the security deposit?
If yes, for how much and based on what criteria?
TIA
Take pictures and submit to the resolution center for payment against your security deposit. Hopefully the guests will pay without escalating, because I expect Air will deny based on it being “regular wear & tear” if they’re asked to intervene.
As for how much: You can get a pro’s estimate on what it would cost to fix, or your cost of time and materials to DIY.
2 Likes
Hello @mag2977
Have a look at the Airbnb Help Centre and it will show you how to make a claim through the Resolution Centre either under the deposit or host guarantee.
You need to get quotes for repairs, photos and video’s of damage and do this within 14 days I think or before your next guest arrives.
Best case scenario your guest agrees to pay.
Do ensure you leave an honest review.
Good luck let us know how it goes.
1 Like
You can send photos to a local leather restorer for an estimate. Definitely file with airbnb because it will likely be in the hundreds of dollars ( just got a couch estimate myself – unrelated to guests)
1 Like
You do want to get it repaired – I left ours alone thinking, “it’s a tiny tear” but of course, it grows larger and the edges start to fray and the tiny tear makes the sofa look pretty thrashed and ratty within just a few months. The estimates in my area are around $300 to repair small tears.
1 Like
This reminded me of this story I saw a few years ago…
I copied pasted the text here…
Fancy-Butt Jeans Blamed For Scratching Furniture, Says Nebraska Courthouse
Caretakers of the capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska, have noticed scratches on some of the Statehouse chairs and benches and are blaming “fancy butt jeans” for the blemishes. Chairs and benches around the Capitol are nearly 80 years old, and the wood and leather upholstery are suffering damage, according to Bob Ripley, Capitol administrator.
One of the trending fashions is jewels, buttons, shiny rhinestones, crystals, and basically half a jewelry store sewn into the back pockets of denim jeans.
Between 500 and 600 school children visit the Capitol each day, and Ripley recently told a group that if they are wearing “bedazzle bottom” jeans, they’ll have to stand while in the Supreme Court.
Caretakers have had to repair the benches in the court at least a couple of times in the past 12 to 18 months, and the bling-bottomed jeans are to blame.
1 Like
@mag2977 -
This may not help you right now, but I found a great source for leather dye and repair kits.
Leather Touch-Up Dye
They are based in Canada and ship pretty quickly. If the scratches are shallow, you might be able to use their repair kit.
Good luck!
2 Likes
Guests spilled BLEACH on my velvet sofa, Air BNB considered that normal wear and tear 
2 Likes
absolutely. I ruined the creamy beige leather seats in my car with my jeans before I figured out what was going on. I thought the leather was substandard.
1 Like