Guest breaks mirror, denies responsibility. How to proceed: request, or insurance?

1

Hi all,

The story in bullet points:

  1. Guest pulls mirror (believing it’s a cabinet)
  2. Mirror comes undone
  3. Guest sends a picture of mirror leaning asking “HELP”
  4. I tell guest to hang it back
  5. Guest hang it back (most likely, poorly)
  6. Mirror crashes and breaks
  7. Guests denies responsibility because “it was hung poorly”
  8. I find and organize send a handyman to hand a new one (with cabinet)
  9. Now it’s fixed for $520
  10. Guests compliments new mirror saying “Airbnb is much better now” (feels like a game to me)

Also useful to know:

  1. Guest left broken mirror in the hallway, my neighbor complained
  2. I let the guest check in 4 days early (no extra payment)
  3. In 2 days (26) he must facilitate the check-in of another guest
  4. Guest checks out in 5 days (29)

I’m thinking whether I should still send a request for payment even though he already denied responsibility?

He said he’d contact Airbnb and “maybe they have insurance”.

What do you suggest?

2

A guest cannot get Airbnb to cover damage they caused. The host has to ask the guest to pay and if they refuse, the host has to file a claim, which is a specific and lengthy process at the end of which you may get paid or receive nothing.

I don’t understand why you asked the guest to rehang the mirror- you should not depend on guests to do something like that. And why does the guest have to “facilitate” the next guest checking in? Do you not have a co-host to handle things like the mirror and checking guests in if you don’t live nearby?

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3

Thank you for your answer.

As for the “shoulds”, well, he should not have pulled an obvious non-cabinet, 1cm thick mirror and volunteered to pay if you ask me -that’s what I would have done at least-.
But I’d rather leave the hypotheticals aside.

4

I have so many questions but I have a feeling that this will be all answered through following posts. @muddy already raised a couple - getting my popcorn.

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5

Guests accidentally, through inattention or misunderstanding or stupidity, sometimes break things, and yes, a responsible adult offers to pay for damages they caused.

That doesn’t change the fact that it’s not a good idea to ask guests to try to fix stuff, because they will often make it worse. If the guest was dumb enough to mistake a mirror for a cabinet front, I sure wouldn’t trust them to rehang it, I would send someone to do it properly.

Maybe you should ask the guest to split the cost, since they didn’t actually break it- they pulled it off the wall by accident and let you know. It broke when you expected the guest to make sure the mirror was put back up properly.

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6

Never ask a guest to do your job, it never ends well…

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7

Your mistakes:

  1. Tell guest to rehang the mirror, or fix anything for that matter. What if they got hurt in doing it?..so many things that can go wrong…like making it worse? They’re on vacation!
  2. Letting them checking in days earlier for free…what??? The most I ever I let guests check in is 2 hrs early, but that’s rare.
  3. Tell guest to facilitate check-in of another guest. What hosts do that???
    You have a lot to learn.
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8

I’d move on and I wouldn’t ask the guest to pay for the broken mirror. You may file with Air Cover, some people have good luck with that, some don’t.

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9

Thanks all!

Yeah, it sounds several of you you take a professional approach to hosting.

I’m more informal and “easy going”.
It’s my place that I rent when I’m not there, without co-hosts or agencies.

And if I can do a favor at no extra cost to me (I had already left town anyway), why not.

It’s always gone well for years and I’ve also been a superhost for years.
So I’m not going to change the “do the favor if it costs you nothing” approach because that’s the type of person I like to be.

But thank you all for your different takes and opinions.

And if you have any tips on how to go forward, happy to hear.

Ie.;

  • Send a payment request now
  • Go through Airbnb insurance cover
  • Send a paymenent telling the guest it’s procedure before Air Cover
  • …
10

You sound like a nice person but it’s best to stick with policies. For example, if you let the person check in days earlier, Airbnb/Vrbo will not cover you (in case something happens) during those days. To go through the Airbnb claim, you have to submit the request for the damage, along with pictures and receipts. If the guest refused to pay, then Airbnb will decide how much to pay you, but don’t expect much. In this case, I don’t think it’s fair to ask the guest to pay because you asked the guest to rehang the picture. Just be glad that they did not get hurt.

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11

Not expecting a guest to repair things they damaged isn’t a matter or professionalism or being easygoing, it’s a matter of what makes sense.

If a guest sent me a photo of a fallen mirror with “Help”, responding with “hang it back up” seems totally inappropriate. If it was just a matter of hanging it back up, why would the guest not have just done that? I would have assumed the nail or however it was attached to the wall had bent or come loose, and responded with “Hi XX, Thanks for letting me know. Did the nail that was holding up the mirror come loose or bend? Just trying to get an idea of what sort of repair is needed.”

Personally, I wouldn’t ask the guest to pay anything. Had they just checked out never mentioning the damage, it would be different, but they asked for help and you chose not to offer any. I’d use it as a learning experience in how to respond when guests ask for assistance.

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12

You’re assuming a lot -and wrong-.

Instead, it was as obvious, as simple, and as urgent, as “hang it back up”.
I did it myself when I wasn’t abroad, and I’m at level 0 for manual work.

13

Alright, the process is clear, thank you Slingster :pray:t3:

I’ll ask the guest for the handyman’s work minus the cost of the mirror, and then escalate if he refuses.

P.S.:
For clarity, “facilitating” the check-in means leaving a lock outside with a key inside.

I prefer asking him instead of leaving it myself because if I do it, it stays outside for 2 weeks.
And the less it stays outside, the safer it is (thieves, rain/rust on the lock, etc.)

14

I can’t understand why you assume it was as obvious and simple to the guest as it is to you, if the guest asked for help. And if it fell crashing down again, it apparently wasn’t obvious and simple to them.

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15

Yes, we do. Your guests assume the same of you.

That is also us.

…

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16

I don’t know if you ever experienced this type.

But it’s that personality that texts 20 times a day.
More looking for chatting opportunities than real needs :).

But in this case, fair point.

17

Ah, yes. The type that needs hand-holding or is just bored and lonely. Fortunately never had any guests like that, but I know the type. Had an off-the-wall housesitter once who emailed me almost every day of my month long holiday to inform me of things like “I turned the dish drainer sideways and it works much better like that.” :roll_eyes:

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18

What is the deductible on your STR insurance? You’ll be better contacting your own insurance rather than relying on the guest or Airbnb.

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19

Any update on this? Did you decide to claim on your STR insurance, continue trying to claim from the guest or, as suggested by @KKC , move on?

It would be great to know how this worked out.

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20

Still underway.

So far:

  1. Sent a request to the guest first for full costs minus my time and minus $45 “for goodwill”
  2. Guest denied it
  3. Guest says he’s reasonable and “open to working it out” but expects the price of the original mirror minus depreciation
  4. I reply saying he should go on and enjoy his holiday and we’ll solve this

Next steps I’m wondering whether to keep talking to him 1:1, or escalate to Airbnb.

I worry that if I escalate I may lose with Airbnb and get nothing from him.

But I also don’t think that the original mirror minus depreciation is fair because the mirror was perfect as it was, my time is costly, and it was just a sequence of “not so smart” moves from him that created the issue.

So right now I’ll probably wait a few more days, see if he contacts me spontaneously, and if not then escalate to Airbnb.