What kind of system do you have? I am looking into installing one for my whole home rental.
Thank you for any info
We use alarm.com products (monitored by Alert 360 at one house and Brinks at the other). We also integrate a Nest thermostat at one house and use the alarm.com thermostats at the other (which allows us to set rules around turning off the AC when doors and windows are left open).
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I guess you have learned you have to lock up everything, then. And take pics of it locked.
Interesting! Found the alarm thermostats on eBay for about $100 (Which is much less than the nest ones I already bought). I thought I could IFTTT worth my August Smart Locks but no luck. Maybe this is a good solution.
Brilliant Thank you. I definitely could use something like this.
Do you have a deposit?
Airbnb is supposed to be able to charge against the deposit, since the guest has already authorized that.
It’s ridiculous to think a guest can just not respond - “la la la - I can’t hear you!”
as a way to escape damage charges.
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Man’s best friend right here.
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Yes! I actually have it set really high ($2000 - only because our house could easily be used as a wedding venue so it’s to discourage that). But get this, they’re telling me that since they can’t get a hold of the guest they can’t charge them! “We can’t force them to pay” I’m honestly completely at a loss - it makes no sense to me. It tells me that the “security deposit” doesn’t actually mean anything. It’s been escalated to a “higher department” but no further word yet.
I know – I only wish there was a system that could do this AND monitor for movement. In our house that has the door/window open rules, guests will naturally turn down the AC as low as it will go (70 F) and then leave all day, even when it can be 100 degrees outside. But then with Nest you don’t have the option of integrating window and door sensors (at least not yet).
I use Ecobee and it has smart away so it knows to go into “away” mode when nobody is home. I use contact sensors on the windows and it sends an alert to my phone through iSmart Alarm but that isn’t integrated into the Ecobee. It could be though because it has IFTTT integration.
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What’s the point of a deposit if they won’t unilaterally make the decision to charge against it?
I’m pissed on your behalf!
This is when I knock the CS agent over the head with their own TOS. I did some legwork on your behalf. Go get 'em…
In the TOS:
8.1.1 Subject to meeting any requirements (such as completing any verification processes) set by Airbnb and/or the Host, you can book a Listing available on the Airbnb Platform by following the respective booking process. All applicable fees, including the Listing Fee, Security Deposit (if applicable), Guest Fee and any applicable Taxes (collectively, “ Total Fees ”) will be presented to you prior to booking a Listing. You agree to pay the Total Fees for any booking requested in connection with your Airbnb Account.
The bolding is my own, but the TOS clearly state that the guest is accepting the possibility of total charges which include the Security Deposit.
And in a later section describing the process:
11.2 If a Host claims and provides evidence that you as a Guest have damaged an Accommodation or any personal or other property at an Accommodation (" Damage Claim "), the Host can seek payment from you through the Resolution Center. If a Host escalates a Damage Claim to Airbnb, you will be given an opportunity to respond. If you agree to pay the Host, or Airbnb determines in its sole discretion that you are responsible for the Damage Claim, Airbnb via Airbnb Payments will, after the end of your stay, collect any such sums from you and/or against the Security Deposit (if applicable) required to cover the Damage Claim pursuant to the Payments Terms. Airbnb also reserves the right to otherwise collect payment from you and pursue any remedies available to Airbnb in this regard in situations in which you are responsible for a Damage Claim, including, but not limited to, in relation to any payment requests made by Hosts under the Airbnb Host Guarantee or Japan Host Insurance.
And again in the payment terms linked in the last paragraph…where the guest either agrees OR AIRBNB unilaterally decides in favor of the host claim:
11.1 If you as a Guest (i) agree to pay the Host in connection with a Damage Claim, or (ii) Airbnb determines that you are responsible for damaging an Accommodation or any personal or other property located at an Accommodation pursuant to the Airbnb Terms, you authorize Airbnb Payments to charge the Payment Method used to make the booking in order to collect any Security Deposit associated with the Listing, as well as any amount of the Damage Claim exceeding any Security Deposit. If the Listing does not have a Security Deposit, Airbnb Payments may charge the Payment Method used to make the booking for the amount of the Damage Claim. If we are unable to collect from your Payment Method used to make the booking, you agree that Airbnb Payments may charge any other Payment Method on file (and not otherwise unauthorized) in your Airbnb Account at the time of the Damage Claim.
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OMG YOU ARE MY FAVORITE PERSON!!! I was just going to wait and see what the “other department” could do, but YES! I’m totally going to throw this at them. Thank you!!!
As an FYI for everyone, I learned something today. ABB apparently has separate departments, one whose team tries to get the guest to agree to pay the damages, but if they guest says no and/or doesn’t respond that particular team can’t do anything else. There’s then the “claims” team, who further looks into the matter and determines whether or not to charge for damages.
Why this is the case, I will never know. Seems terribly inefficient, as I can’t imagine many guests “agreeing” to pay damages… 
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I’ve been wondering why Airbnb doesn’t hand over control to hosts for the security deposit. All other platforms do that, right?
It must take a HUGE amount of time to deal with claims, complaints, counter-arguments etc etc,
On the other hand, one glance at the Airbnb community forum tells you that a lot of hosts have such a precious place they will claim for crumbs on the floor.
Ah, Chesky and co built a monster!
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Ya but you’d think those hosts would get weeded out pretty quickly with reviews? I dunno – I personally wish we had more control. It seems ridiculous that we have to spend hours and hours putting together documentation, getting someone to write stuff up as “proof” because everything needs to be on letterhead (heaven forbid you fix something yourself). Sighh…
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It’s basically insurance and works in the same way. If we didn’t have to provide documentation I have no doubt that many hosts would make spurious claims. I would be nice if they had a way to comp us for do it yourself situations.
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Ya I get it, except that it isn’t insurance, it’s a security deposit. I shouldn’t have to write up documentation that says “I fixed XYZ for 1 hour” - photos should suffice. But I do understand why they do it - there is unfortunately a lot of room for erroneous claims 
I agree, some kind of automated system would be much better. Then they review and approve or deny. There’s just got to be a more efficient way!
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So how does it work on other booking platforms?
I manage a property nearby for a friend and 99% of business comes through booking.com. In the UK you bill the guest directly for the security deposit. So far I have never had to claim on it. What happens if a guest disputes a claim, anyone know?
@Debthecat sorry I don’t see which message you were responding to, what is it that could get you removed from the platform?
Taking a cash security deposit