Deposit? What’s a security Deposit?

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Had my first guest that nightmares are made of. After successfully hosting for over a year almost 60 guest with no negative review and 45 good ones; Airbnb was no were to be found when I had a 19 year old kid break every rule in the book (including bringing a gun into my house, didn’t know that was a rule as host we had to specify did you)

I expressed concern with this guys before he checked in due to red flags (no valid reason to be in the area, last minute booking when we had corresponded weeks previous, 19 years old, from the area ect.) Bnb cut and copped a stock reply of ‘he has agreed to your house rules’ when I asked them if they have taken a deposit from him.

Cut to the cops getting called, neighbors calling me; speaker as big as me in the house, fog and light machines, smoking in house drinks spilt everywhere including in new bed. Burns holes from blunts on wooden furniture and original hard wood floors. Freezer left open waisting food and then eating a bunch of stuff on top of what I leave out. Trying to brake back into my house, over 30 people in a 2 bedroom that I confirmed with guest was a double occupancy.

All of this to say even with great documentation sending picture and filing a claim before they even checked out I had to fight with my guest and bnb for weeks to even get my deposit. … so what do they call it a deposit if it’s not deposited?? Why would bnb not tell me I could cancel without penalties when I was so worried and my gut was telling me something is wrong. Why would bnb still have this kids profile active when I told them all that he did and bringing a gun in my house? Why would they want to keep someone like this in the ‘community’ (bc as we know my review on him didn’t go active for 2 week.

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Sorry to hear you had such an experience, but I’m sorry to say you seem to have brought much of it on yourself.

You say you’ve been a host for over a year. If so, WHY did you not cancel this guy well in advance, since you had such bad vibes and expressed concern.

Air is not at fault here. You rented to a 19 year old from your local area. You weren’t around to see what was going on and stop any damage before the party started.

A Damage Deposit is a sum of money – distinct and separate from any rental fees charged – which is held by AirBnb in this case, until the rental period is over and the guest has been found to not have caused any chargeable damage to the property.

AirBnb has NEVER automatically taken a damage deposit – unless you specifically state that there is a damage deposit on your listing, which apparently you did not. All Air has ever done is take the Guest’s money, keep their share, and pass the rest on to you. Not Air’s fault if you didn’t read that part of your agreement with them.

Air has always said that you could cancel without penalty if you were “so worried and my gut was telling me something is wrong”. You just didn’t read and heed their policy. Again, not their fault.

For all you know, this person’s profile may not be active any longer. We ARE in the middle of a global pandemic and AirBnb has it’s own internal problems because of that. And why should they believe someone who out of the blue says a guest brought a gun into their home – did you get a photo of him holding the gun on you, or anyone else? I don’t personally think that 19YO + party+ gun is a good thing (as much as I am in favor of gun ownership). However it is NOT illegal in very many places in the US. Stupid, yes. But not illegal. What did you expect Air to do?

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I do state in my House Rules that a 500$ deposit is required.

And that is the point! … it isn’t actually held for any sort of security. And why?? And damages/house rules broken were clearly documented.

And if you don’t see how when someone almost burns down a home, that this is precisely what a ‘damages’ are; and what a ‘deposit’ is for the… well then i just can’t even; bc you and my understanding about what is appropriate and not is clearly on different planet

…(despite the fact we agree that personal gun ownership is important, does that mean this kid should be bringing it into someone’s house?) … and yes bnb has a picture of the gun sent it to them and I was 10 minutes away thank goonish bc they had 3 candles lit under a lamp shade and were about to burn the house down.

(Thinking you must be a bnb employee or just a troll with too much time🧐)

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Thinking you must be a bit of a dick to join a forum and then start chucking insults around.

It’s fairly obvious that you should never have accepted the booking if there were all these “red flags”, so you don’t have any grounds to be pissed when someone actually points it out to you.

Just another case of a first poster not getting the responses they want.

JF

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So you’re clearly not a host.

1st BnB doesn’t make it transparent that you can cancel without negative penalties; hence me not knowing about it or them telling me when I contacted them about my concerns.

2nd you don’t see who you are booking with until after you book.

3rd I did have in my listing a 500$ deposit is required. And bnb doesn’t actually require it (thats the point)

In general I’m wondering why bnb wouldn’t want to help protect a host that made them 1000s of dollars last year over a guest that is brand new to bnb, that broke every rule in the book???

Doesn’t seam like very solid business practices.

I will VRBO if I decide to list again bc of how careless and abandoned I was left in this process. I couldn’t feel safe in my own home; hope you are able to feel safe in your home

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Haha ‘first poster’
So you’re not a host either then?

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‘Throwing insults around’, …says the guy that just called me a dick, trying to protect the guy who called me stupid for asking a question haha :joy:

Says the bnb employee that says it’s an ‘insult’ to be call an bnb employee haha :joy:

Do you know what the definition of a deposit is? Haha

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Perhaps you should read this, which is easy to find if you had searched:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140/how-does-airbnb-handle-security-deposits

Of interest is the following:

Host-required security deposits are different from Airbnb-required security deposits in that no authorization hold will be placed. Guests will only be charged if a host requests to collect on their security deposit. Depending on what was damaged, the amount the host requests may or may not be the same as the security deposit.

Not only were the two previous posters hosts, but members that have been an active and integral part of this forum for years. It is best to read, digest, and observe before accusing longstanding forum members.

If this is not what you were looking for, there are many other forums that might be a better fit for you.

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So what I’m getting from this is that it is known and ‘everybody’ is okay with there being no security deposit?

Yes I have read that. No I didn’t read the fine print until after this fiasco. But don’t find it unreasonable to assume a ‘deposit’ is supposed to be deposited. What else does it mean otherwise? And when and where does a Bnb held deposit come into play if NOT in this situation when I contacted them before check in to insure that YES I’m fact a deposit was being held. And Bnbs response was ‘He has agreed to your house rules’ … well 500$ deposit is in my house rules!!!

Weird that in trying to be a good host and screen properly to protect myself from hardship and bnb from the economic loss of disaster guest; that I was the one who did something (or didn’t do something? I’m still not clear on that?:face_with_monocle:)

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So is this form set up for host to talk to host or to protect bnbs interest? … notice non of you have said you are NOT bnb employees :blush:

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@jrue, displaying a picture of a firearm, and saying “notice non (sic) of you have said you are NOT bnb employees” is not acceptable practices on this forum. I removed the image.

This is a warning; stop accusing people; stop attacking people, and do not display any kind of weapon unless it has a very specific purpose to the forum or topic, with an appropriate caption.

Airbnb hosts may not like the way they handle “deposits”, but we have all agreed to abide by them, since they make it clear BEFORE we joined as hosts. We are all sympathetic to damage done to a hosts’ property by a guest; clearly, you were wronged. However, it is your decision to use Airbnb or not.

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So are you suggesting host should always be at there places? I was 10 minutes away; Do you only rent rooms out.

To clarify

1st You can’t cancel a booking 48 hours before check in.
2nd Rental period was not over and bnb has already confirmed that there was in fact “chargeable damages to property” (see photo in feed)
3rd Spoke with bnb employees about deposit when setting up listening and they are they one who told me that it has to be in house rules. Hence also the reason why I tried to confirm a deposit was held before check in as well
4th Profile of this guest was still up at least 2 week after incident; could still see it through booking fees and so I ask and I got a sheepish response that yes in fact it was still up; (FYI this was in February pre pandemic)
5th “believing someone out of the blue” so your saying the repore of a ‘super host’ and 45 raving review means nothing? … same as same as new profile no other stays or reviews?
6th photos of various fires almost started, Damages and Gun found set to bnb

Also NOT talking legality, talking BNB House Rules and SECURITY for their Host and transparency in the support they actually provide.

Why NOT Hold a Deposit when host ask??
Why have House Rules? (e.g. No Smoking, Point: to not burn house down)
Why not Real security when requested??
… (wouldn’t this weed out the bad guest and help all party’s involved)

What do I Expect Bnb to do ?
…Guess what I expected BnB to do was

-HOLD a DEPOSIT when I specifically ask them to and it’s in my House rules.

-Not want shady problem guest and inform host that they can cancel without negative reporting if they at all feel uncomfortable about a booking

-Help retrieve may deposit if need be and not make me fight a guest for it.

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It was suggested that I was making the Gun up and ‘how was bnb supposed to know, take my word for it?’ …

No I was not expecting them to take my word for it. I sent bnb the pictures of the gun I found in the closet and damages. There was also a police report filed bc after the cops came and I kicked them out they can back and tried to brake in.

… but NO; ‘this is not stuff that a security deposit is for’ is it? :smirk:

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Still find it quit ‘Funny’ that me ‘accusing’ people of being bnb employees is so offensive :face_with_monocle::yum:haha :joy:

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And no I don’t believe that they do make ‘Deposits’ clear that’s the point … I specifically asked them what I needed to do as a host to hold a deposit; thought I was doing so by putting it in the house rules and then asking them previous to check in about the holding the Deposit.

What else is someone suppose to do???

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It’s absolutely clear how to set up a security deposit; On a PC, look at your listing, under pricing. THAT"S where you set a security deposit:

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However, just remember, it still won’t be easy to get Airbnb to pay; they are clearly difficult when it comes to reimbusement for damages.

Lastly, if you look at the TOP OF EVERY PAGE OF THIS FORUM, you will see this, indicating who runs the forum, and participates in the forum:

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Sadly it sounds like you haven’t taken the time to become familiar with the basics around how Airbnb works or you would have known how the deposit works and that you can cancel without penalties if a guest breaks your house rules.

And why the insults to long established hosts who have taken the time to respond to you. Does throwing out insults, left, right and centre make you feel better?

Somewhat ironic that a first time poster comes on a forum and then accuses long standing hosts of being trolls…sadly it sounds like there is only one troll on this thread…

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e03bb11fef2111a6ec0afbfbb2cb54c2

JF

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Welcome to the “tough love” forum. :upside_down_face:

The responses you get are a result of so many hosts that come here only when they have a problem and yet talk about what great hosts they are. It’s a bit ironic. Don’t take it personal: either what the guest did to you or the responses you get here.

It’s disappointing that Airbnb didn’t catch this before it started. Lots of hosts were surprised to find some bookings getting automatically cancelled starting in early march. This is when Airbnb finally implemented a party prevention algorithm based on risk factors, which we are told is:

  • Renter is under 25
  • Renter is local
  • Renter has little to no reviews
  • Booking is last-minute
  • Listing is whole place

Still, it’s not clear what help you need. You’re ranting and it’s understandable, but I can’t tell whether you got deposit money or not, need help writing a review, etc. If you need help, then ask for it. If you just want to rant and commiserate, you’ve come to the wrong place, because hosts here have heard it all before.

I bet most of the American hosts here do know that, but there are a lot of hosts from other countries that really don’t have to worry about it.

This is a good question. We all know how Airbnb’s deposit system works. Generally, you can’t get money from it unless the guest agrees to pay from it. It’s not technically a deposit, but it’s also nothing new and a host should know how it works before listing

They did tell you in the info on their website. You’ve been a host for over a year and you should know this.

The guest’s behavior hasn’t hurt their bottom-line, yet. Interesting that the firearm didn’t trigger them. Maybe if you had a rule of no firearms, that might’ve done it. Did you call Airbnb while the reservation was active (i.e. as soon as the cops were called)?

Has it been 2 weeks since this happened? The good thing is that if you gave him a bad review and mentioned the party and didn’t violate any Airbnb ToS that gets your review taken down, then his account might as well be deleted because any host that cares about their listing will not host him again.

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@jrue I see this a lot- a host joins a hosting forum, then accuses other posters of working for Airbnb based on the responses they receive.
Being a realist and explaining to a new poster or new host how Airbnb actually works (because the OP never bothered to read the fine print) doesn’t mean that the hosts who give you that information think those policies are good. We’re not defending them, we’re just aware of them. No host appreciates the fact that Airbnb doesn’t actually hold a security deposit, or that they make it almost impossible to collect on it if you get damages. We’d all like to see that change. But that doesn’t mean it will. We can advocate to Airbnb to change things, but they rarely act on hosts’ requests. So we resign ourselves to what we can’t change, or if it’s simply unacceptable to us, we are free to leave the platform and find other ways of advertising our listings.

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