Great experience with Host Air Cover -- Thanks AirBnB

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A recent guest damaged a bedspread and sheet set with permanent stains–paint, dye, possibly something from an automobile part?, not an organic stain, my stain killers couldn’t get rid of it.

Items rendered absolutely not usable for guests, maybe OK for donation to a homeless shelter.

I immediately ordered replacements.

When I wrote to the guest she basically said “oh, yeah, we did that, sorry, have a nice day” so I went ahead and contacted AirBnB Air Cover.

I didn’t think they would really do anything but I thought, at least they would know about this guest. (I did give an honest review to help other hosts)

Well my matter was resolved the same day and I got reimbursed within 3 days from AirBnB ! Application for Air Cover was very easy with minimal documentation.

It helped that the guest admitted most of the damage. I also have a “security deposit” of $500 for guests. I don’t know how that works but it may have helped me.

Take away lesson for me: Video the place before every guest, ideally on check in day.

I had been videoing here and there, a little casual. No more. Every guest.

This guest tried to say she didn’t stain the bedspread, only the sheets, but that was not true.

However I didn’t have before photos before her check in so I wouldn’t have been able to prove her wrong. Fortunately I was not asked to present such photos.

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This is interesting. So you are saying Airbnb simply took your word for it? May I ask the amount you were reimbursed?

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I had one too.

A group of guest managed to destroy a custom made dining bench only used 3 weeks by 2 previous guest. (By sitting on the backrest with 6 people for an IG-Selfy)

AirBnB first wanted us to have it repaired, but I explained that it was almost impossible to get any detailed quotes (covid and personell shortages everywhere) and repairing would almost cost the same as a new one due to the amount of labour.

They agreed and to my surprise they paid the full amount I bought it for 6 weeks earlier (just over €2600).

(We made a quick repair and ordered a new one)

Currently superhost with almost 800 reviews, and no previous claims that might have helped my case.

I did send detailed pictures of the damages, and receipts of the purchase.

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Curious. Did you have a video both of the bedspread and the sheets?

Thanks to @muddy I now take videos every turnover, but I don’t take videos of the sheets because I’d have to partially unmake the bed.

Also, I don’t have receipts of everything I have. I of course could provide a receipt of the replacement.

I do think the guests’s admission was a BIG factor here.

Good for you!

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Yes I video the sheets. I have receipts for everything. And I agree, the guest’s admission was HUGE

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The cynic in me suggests they want only positive coverage for the new Air Cover, at least initially. Maybe time to get some new bed linens and rugs while they are being so generous :wink:

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Do you use a blue UV light as well to check for unnatural stainage?

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had very similar happen 2 months ago, i thought maybe it was fake tan. The guest didn’t respond at all, and we tried many different things, including bleach and could not shift it, actually it got worse. So, cost of doing business, we bought a new one. The guest only just responded to me about 5 days ago and totally denied it.

But here’s how I know that’s not true - she stripped the bed, including taking the doona cover off. the only time i have that happen is when there is a stain. most guests re-make the bed, a few strip the sheets off (rare) but none go to the added effort of unbuttoning 15 buttons to take off a doona cover.

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I once had a guest put the blood stained doona cover inside another doona cover. Usually the brown stains around the top of the cover are from brown face makeup.

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Yes, and surprisingly I’ve not had much make up damage. This stain was in the middle in the outside. Could have been a wet towel left on the bed, with lingering fake tan in it.

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After 4 years with 3 units, I’ve become a bit of a stain expert and I never lose linens to stains.

We get a lot of self-tanner stains in the spring and summer. The trick with it is that it is a combination stain, meaning that it is grease and dye. Anytime there’s grease in a stain you have to remove the grease first or the dye won’t come out. And regular bleach will not remove grease and it will make the stain worse.

I use an enzyme cleaner spray (Bac-Out) as the first treatment for stains because it easily removes grease. But if you don’t have one, you can use a dishwashing liquid for the first treatment, something traditional like Dawn, not an eco-hippie-dish-liquid.

After removing the grease part by enzyme cleaner (or dish soap), you then remove the dye layer with an oxygen bleach (OxiClean), not a chlorine type (Chlorox). I get the fastest results from the OxiClean spray (rubbing it in with an old toothbrush). But you can instead (or also) make a paste with the dry version of the oxygen bleach, rub it in and then soak overnight in the washer with more powdered OxiClean.

That combo gets fake tanner out every time. But if you’ve already added bleach to it, it may be too late but possibly worth a try. And if you’re not positive that it’s fake tanner, I think it could be rust because rust is the thing that chlorine bleach will make much much worse (it oxidizes it :grimacing:). And if it’s rust, it’s not necessarily too late. But you need a product called Rust Stain Remover by Whink. It is the one and only for rust removal but it removes it immediately.

I believe you’re in Australia, so you do have the Bac-Out by Biokleen, the OxiClean Max Force spray and the Whink Rust Remover there, but the Australian version of Dawn is called Fairy (cute!).

Anyway, I hope this helps. I’ve found that fake tan comes around routinely.

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Yes, this is like a miracle. And if it does not get it all out the first time, try and try again because it does succeed on such organic stains.

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Oh wow I thought I was good (being a mum of 3 makes you pretty good at stain removal) but you have taught me heaps here. Thank you

I did use a stain soak oxi action thing first (paste & toothbrush) I don’t recognise those brands you mention. Googled, they seem to be available on Amazon but not in stores. I thought Fairy was cheap rubbish, ha. Have never bought it. I do use those “eco” cleaners wherever I can but yes, sometimes you need that extra level of chemical help.

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Mine wasn’t so great, but I did eventually get paid out a reasonable amount. Long story short-ish, guest’s daughter hit the TV with a mosquito racket and broke it. Guest denied his daughter did it and was extremely offended that I would suggest she lied about something like that. I never accused her of lying. I elected to defuse the situation, and said I would not hold her responsible. That was a mistake!

AirBnB initially denied my claim because they could not determine that the guest did it. When I asked them why they believed the guest and not me, their response was that I told the guest I wouldn’t hold the daughter responsible so therefore, the daughter didn’t do it. I protested, explaining why I elected to defuse the situation (didn’t want to get into an argument and risk a bad review and ruin his memories of a great vacation) and that I had chosen my words carefully - I never said the daughter or another guest didn’t do it.

Well, ABB reviewed the case, then came back and awarded me a reasonable amount towards a new TV!

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That’s good to hear. I hope you’ll update your thread about the topic.

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