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Fist post, thanks for having me. I am a new host with only a couple of stays. My city only allows AirBnB rentals in your primary residence which is my house that I live in and host in. I hosted one group who clearly rummaged through all corners of the house and stole jewelry, alcohol, and multiple bottles of perfume. The AirBnB claim covered the jewelry and alcohol, but did not cover the perfume which was valued at nearly $300 all together.
The claim manager said that it was not covered as it is a âconsumableâ which is not mentioned in the policy anywhere. When challenged, they simply said they have final say and they donât need to explain further.
I am wondering if this exposes me to risk in the future if more items are stolen which carry high value and AirBnB simply chooses not to cover it for no reason? And should I have dealt with the police in any way?
Lesson learned from me to put away more things but I wonât be able to empty my house into my locked bedroom⌠I would appreciate any guidance or advice anyone may have on this matter.
Yes, you were very lucky to be paid anything. Please donât think that this will happen again in the future on any sort of regular basis so, as youâve now discovered, you must lock away all your valuables when you have guests in your property.
In effect, you need to âguestproofâ you home. I know that there are some hosts who say âwhy should I?â but letâs face it - when we have a toddler in the house we babyproof our homes. Itâs for our own peace of mind and just common sense really.
Of course, that doesnât mean that youâll never get any damages or have things wear out - you will. So be sure that when youâre calculating your nightly price to add a sum for âwear and tearâ. It also doesnât mean that your place has to be sterile and not like a real home. You just need to be sensible about it and think carefully about what items might be tempting to less-than-honest guests. Booze definitely is. Small items that can go in the pocket, like perfume and jewellery, are too.
The very best thing you can do is contact the broker who deals with your household insurance and ask him/her for a quote for STR insurance (it might be better not to mention Airbnb because even today it puts some people off). STR insurance will be more than youâre paying for your regular household insurance most probably but itâs worth it.
I can see the day coming when Airbnb will need to see a hostâs insurance policy and local permits before they list themâŚ
I hope that weâre not going to put you off though! Hosting is a great thing to do but it can be hard work and it needs a lot of careful planning and thought.
But the good news is that this forum is here for you. Many of us have been hosting for many years (sticking at it because we really enjoy it and enjoy the money) so we have quite a few tips for new hosts. Reading here is like going to an Airbnb university and just ask if youâve any questions at all.
So real talk incoming. Welcome to the forum but we donât sugarcoat things.
So they did this while you were asleep? Or while you went out to dinner? Did you confront them in person? Or you didnât notice it until they left?
Hereâs why I think you are lucky to get a dime from Airbnb: how do you prove you owned any of those things? With a damaged sofa we can show before and after pictures. They took the Alexa? I have my receipt that I owned one on Amazon. How full were the bottles of perfume and alcohol even if you had receipts and photos? The jewelry might be covered but even homeowners insurance puts limits on that unless you buy a rider. Speaking of whichâŚdid you claim on your personal insurance? Oh, you donât have any? Oh, you have it but insurance doesnât cover alcohol and perfume? Imagine that.
Thatâs why I feel confident you donât have insurance of your own.
Think about it from Airbnbâs perspective: new person with no track record signs up. They have friend book their place and after the fake stay they claim $300 worth of stuff was stolen. It all just so happens to be stuff that they canât even prove they owned. Free money right?
Yes, Airbnb can be risky.
Itâs only anedotal evidence but based on reports here it seems the bad actors target new hosts. Now that you are seasoned you are unlikely to be targeted again. Itâs like lightening striking twice.
Iâve been a host both in my home and now with the guests in a room attached to my home but unable to access my part of the home. I had one pillow stolen in 5+years/800 stays. People come on forums when something bad happens, not when a stay goes smoothly. So donât be deterred from continuing just modify your practices and take off the rose colored glasses.
We agree 100% with what @KKC mentioned. New hosts do appear to be targeted early on. This will likely be amplified as a City Host. So far, all our âweird inquiriesâ came in only when we were to new hosting. We figured out pretty quickly that one of them was actually a local escort, who clearly wanted a place to conduct her business
@jaquo is very wise. Great advice there. Nothing of significant value should be accessible to a guest.
There is a ton of really good info here. Get the airreview plugin for Chrome. And start reading!
Look up door locks - they have really reasonable ones that use a quick code, so you donât have to carry a key all the time.
Why an insurance policy? Some of us self-insure against theft and damage. Liability claim? Just declare bankruptcy (and hosts are expendable). I can definitely see the day they stop agreeing to pay out for damages, though.
Oh, I donât mean because they care about it. Just bureaucracy. Because they can. But I imagine that itâs a way for them to determine that a host is serious about his / her business rather than just an amateur. Itâs the amateurs who might be finally squeezed out.
I agree with others that youâre less likely to suffer from theft in the future because 1) they go after new hosts 2) youâll learn to better secure your items.
Guests shouldnât have access to anything especially valuable or sentimental. My personal electronics, jewelry, alcohol, drugs, and documents are in a separate room, guarded by a deadbolt and a door sensor that would alert me to intruders.
In this case I would have called the police. First, it creates a real repercussion for the thief. Second, because insurance (whether thatâs through Airbnb or State Farm) usually requires one when reimbursing for theft. Iâm surprised they didnât require one!
As for being worried about Air reimbursing hosts for expensive losses: Iâve read far too many horror stories of Airbnb failing to pay out on large damage claims. I see their guarantee as a marketing scheme to lure new hosts into âeasy Airbnb moneyâ. Anyone who has done their homework will know itâs no substitute for your own STR insurance.
Also, I know these werenât bulky items, but I canât recommend an outdoor facing camera highly enough. It can provide indisputable evidence in critical situations. Hosting toolkit essential!!
@keener, itâs inconvenient to have to lock all of your valuables in your room (for example), but it IS necessary. I cleaned all the junk out of both my bedroom night stands (which needed to be done anyway!!!) and store everything in there.
Early on I had the most" lovely" guests, or so I thought. I made the mistake one night of leaving my purse in my unlocked office and the guests cloned my credit card! They were using it in their hometown (not the brightest guests) after they returned from their stay with me. Air was no help, BTW, saying I couldnât prove it. Typical. The fact that the charges were all in the same small town in Maryland where they were from (according to their profile) was not good enough for ABB CS.
LESSON LEARNED!
Iâm fortunate in that my credit cardâs fraud dept. caught these charges, as Iâm nowhere near the east coast, and reversed them all.
Itâs Unfortunate that I had already reviewed the guest by the time I found out and ABB would not let me change my review to warn other hosts!
So whatever that means. I consider myself an amateur, but a very good one.