I was wondering if you could share your experiences. Say the guests broke something that cost > 100$. How did you handle it? Did they pay? Did ABB pay? I keep hearing that ABB doesn’t help, that they don’t pay, so what happens in this situation? I just had a guest who broke my bathtub faucet. I fixed it immediately, called the plumber but now I’m trying to recoup my money.
Exactly how/what did they do to break it? The reason I’m asking, if it was several years old, Airbnb may not pay much… mostly based on age and whether it was wear and tear or whether the guest deliberately broke it.
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Never made a claim. However, if you look at Airbnb Help Centre, the process seems to be, ask the guest for the funds before your next guest arrives.
Better if you have guest admitting damage.
If they agree they can pay through the platform
You need photo/video of the damage and a bill from your plumber in case they don’t.
If guests don’t respond or deny claim, you then apply under the guarantee. Provide Airbnb with evidence of damages and receipts for repairs.
Airbnb arbitrates and decides how much if anything you get paid.
I don’t know what he did. it was not old. the entire bathroom was remodeled a year ago and that’s the age of the bathtub and faucet set. I cleaned the house before he came and the overflow was solidly fixed in place. came to clean after him, the overflow was completely detached and he placed it hanging on the white pipe that it was supposed to cover. I couldn’t figure out what happened or how this was supposed to stay in place. it is not the kind with screws.
The guest claimed he didn’t do it. Sure, if fell off by itself!
I submitted pics and the bill to the CR. The plumber charged me 110 to re-attach it.
Consider that it may have been be a defective faucet or improper installation. If it could be re-attached, then it doesn’t seem like it was actually broken.
Exactly. If it has no visible screws then it might be kind that screws on or has a set screw at the bottom. Often when contractors are installing things they don’t take good care to make sure things are secure. Over time they become so loose they fall off. If I were taking a shower and one came off and then the host tried to charge me over $100 to fix it I’d be annoyed. However, when something goes wrong guests should tell the hosts ASAP, not just try to fix themselves. There was another host here whose toilet supply line loosened and leaked. The guests simply put towels down. The leak was substantial enough to cause floorboards, baseboards and molding around the door frame to get damaged.
Yes at least 3 times with over 800 reservations in just 3 years of hosting. The first time was a blind that the guest broke. It was my first claim about 2 years ago. I took pictures of the broken blind and asked the guest if he broke it. He denied but said that he was willing to offer me $100 in exchange for a “speedy resolution”. I requested an estimate from a local business which I got for $300. The guest denied to pay but airbnb paid me back in full. I later found the same blind at home depot for $25…
The second time was a group of 4 drunk girls. They damaged a lot of corners from the house, chip and scratches on the door frame, a hole in the wall, shower curtain broken, alcohol all over the floor and room left disgusting etc… about $300 again in damage. File a claim with airbnb, explained everything, submitted pictures and estimate from local handymen. They denied everything but I still got paid in full by airbnb.
This one is a little bit more creative. I had sometimes guests coming in more than expected in order to not pay the extra guest fee. I had a group of 4 people for two days coming instead of 3 but the 4th was hiding. They always came late and left early morning. I didn’t confront them because it’s always a pain and I didn’t want to get a shitty review. Because I had this problem in the past but couldn’t prove the number of guests I installed a security camera recording my front door so I could see who was coming in. I also changed my house rules and said that people coming in more than expected were subject to $149 extra fee per additional guest undisclosed and per day. After they checked out I asked them about the 4th person through airbnb messages. They lie and told me she was just helping them with their luggages to check-out…my ass. I filed a claim for $298 (over $300 you must file police report thus my price of $149) in the resolution center and attached all the videos of them coming in and out of the house. The guests were willing to pay me for $60 regular extra guest fee but not above. Airbnb didn’t want to pay me in full but paid me $90 so I got $150 in total. I was also later able to remove the nasty review they left me which was great.
Last one which I had this year… guest somehow messed up the electricity circuit. I had to call electrician on a Sunday to replace 2 breakers. Requested $100 (invoice submitted) guest denied but got paid in full by airbnb anyway.
Now because I have had so many reservations and very fews claims in comparison I think that’s why they are siding with me but maybe it’s something else. Also the amount of the claims never exceeded $300. I pay much more in fees to airbnb each year.
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It was not improper installation. It is not screwed in (i tried to look into that that but I couldn’t). It was not easily attached. It might have been glued somehow. First of all I am an engineer (even if only software, but still a logical person), I would have figured out if it was just a matter of screwing a thing in place. I actually looked on youtube for videos how these things are done. I wasn’t sure if there were missing pieces or not. Do you think I would have wanted to pay 110 if I could have fixed it myself? No way, but I didn’t have any other way to do it and guests were coming.
Do you have an invoice, pictures? If yes, submit a request to the guest through the resolution center and involve airbnb in case they decline to reimburse you.
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Yes, I took pics immediately and I am happy to report that they sided with me. They say I will be reimbursed. I don;t know by who but they said it looks like a legitimate damage.
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Unless the guest agreed to your claim it will be airbnb paying you directly.
the guy denied he damaged anything. well ABB it is, then.