I’ve been an Airbnb host for over five years, mostly without problems in terms of damage. I’m also a very regular Airbnb guest, as an individual and with frequent group travel. I very seldom use VRBO because I find the Airbnb platform makes more sense (eg we have to list the number of beds, not just bedrooms and total capacity). Recently I booked a large property only listed on VRBO for a summer trip that could include as many as 10 people. The host basically offered two types of damage protection: Either I give him $5k as a hold on my credit card, or I pay roughly $100 for an insurance policy that covers up to $5k in damage. If I chose the first option, it’s up to the discretion of the host of how much to return to me should he/she decide I caused damage. It made more sense to just pay the hundred bucks up front to an insurance company. While I didn’t like the extra $100 charge, it gave me a certain peace of mind. I mean, what if someone in my group inadvertently creates damage (a kid wets the bed ruining the mattress, for example)? Is something similar even available with Airbnb? As I understand it, should a guest do a lot of damage we have to pursue payment through Airbnb, which could be a royal pain at best. I recently sold my airbnb property and when the existing bookings are completed I’ll be de-listing them at the same time as the new owners add them to their listings. Someday I do hope to acquire another property, but for at least a while I’m going to be happy to live my life as a guest, not a host.
Asking YOU to pay the insurance premium is pretty bold. You actually hand over $100? Whose name is on the insurance policy?
Clever way to make money as a host…
For $100 you can get a $1million liability policy that will cover the whole group. I do it for an annual gathering of traditional dulcimer players I belong to… Take out the policy yourself and send the host a copy of your paid invoice/policy statement.
It’s called damage protection rather than insurance.
Our policy is $79 for $3K of coverage. Yes, the guest pays.
On OwnerRez the Host can offer damage protection options and can even markup the cost of the coverage.
With VRBO the Host ‘makes’ nothing on the arrangement. Each the Host and Guest have peace of mind that they’re protecting teed up to the limits of the policy.
Why do you say that? The guest is the one who benefits from the insurance policy - $5000 in covered damages for $100. And the OP enjoyed the peace of mind it gave them. You also seem to have missed that the OP was given an option of a hold on a credit card so they would not have to pay a penny UNLESS there were damages.
Whether the host actually even buys a policy shouldn’t be important to a guest. Some owners “self insure” - put that $100 into a savings account and then pull from it when damages happen. The value to the guest is that they will not be held accountable for damages up to $5000 for their $100 payment.
@LuckyMindy - answering your question. No, nothing like this is available from AirBnB. However, if you integrate with OwnerReservations (mentioned by @HostAirbnbVRBO), they offer damage insurance policies that the host can purchase. That’s probably what your Vrbo host was doing.
‘Insurance’ for that amount of money is outrageous and overpriced, when you can get $1 million dollars for the same premium.
Please send me the information on where to buy $1MM of damage insurance that will cover damage done by my guests. I’d be happy to buy cheaper insurance than what I’ve found.
@Rolf Please provide a link to " $1 million dollars for the same premium" cmparable to the Damage Protection through Owner Rez. I purchase and apply the Damage Protection option of Owner Rez for every booking. So far the reiumbursment process has always been simple, well worth the premium, and (I feel) a good value for both the guests and myself. I hope to avoid making bad financial decisions regarding my STR, and am open to learning how I can get this coverage for less overhead. I look forward to getting more information on this topic from you. Thank you.
looks like we are requesting the same info
You call your insurance provider and ask them for damage insurance for your STR. You do have insurance for your STR, don’t you? My STR rider is $65 per month.
What is your deductible? That’s the gap that this insurance covers.
My personal experience with insurance companies is that they also increase my rates as soon as I make a claim, no matter how small. So using a specialized insurance product that doesn’t look at your individual claim history is a prudent business move to avoid long-term cost inflation.
My rates do not go up if I make a claim. And a small claim is usually covered by airbnb. Usually if a guest does something, my insurance company will go after them, just like an auto coverage policy.
Then you are lucky. We are in the Caribbean and our insurance options stink.
And I don’t have the same experience with AirBnB AirCover that you do. I got under 50% of the replacement cost of a three year old TV.
My insurance covered the entire building, which has several downstairs commercial tenants as well as the two upstairs apartments. But it had a $1000 deductible. My post was originally made to see if Airbnb offers something similar to what I had to purchase for a recent VRBO booking.
Everything depreciates……
AirBnB didn’t cover my cost of shipping and duty. It wasn’t a depreciation issue. I paid $800US in total to buy and ship a 50" TV to St Lucia. If I had bought one in St Lucia it would have been $1100US. AirBnB gave me $400.
My understanding is that the OR insurance covers replacement value and not depreciated value. I purchase the enhanced insurance which covers damages from the guest, $1 million in liability insurance, and bed bug infestation protection including lost revenue during treatment.
I’m happy you are satisfied with your STR rider and hope you never have to make a claim on it. I hear lots of full-house owners struggling to find decent insurance, so you are one of the lucky ones!