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My cleaner found a washbasin with cracks damage (something heavy must have been dropped in it) following a guest’s departure. I know it wasn’t there before the guest’s arrival because we were staying there. Guest with 12 5* ratings claims no knowledge of it but was apparently willing to pay until she was told how much it will cost.
Cost to me to replace and fit new basin: £464
Amount I set as my Airbnb “deposit” (yes I know that’s not a real thing): £300
Guest now doing lots of quibbling. Asking to pay the excess on my insurance policy instead (not going to happen because I’d lose my no claims also but anyway my excess is £500). Checking with her own insurer (received conflicting advice apparently, whatever that means). She has contacted Airbnb to see what insurance they offer me (hollow laughter). Meanwhile, time passing, and I have to pay the plumber £464 in any event.
I’m seeking advice from people who’ve been through a similar thing - what can I expect from Airbnb? thanks!
You can expect Airbnb to follow their standard procedure under it’s guaranteed process @helengray a) you contact guest b) guest refuses or doesn’t answer b) Airbnb adjudicates c) they make you an offer - some say they get settlement in full others not d) if you aren’t happy you go to adjudication.
That’s a very brief summary. Full details of how the Airbnb Guarantee works is given under Airbnb Help Centre.
You haven’t mentioned anything about what Airbnb has said. Are they planning to release the guest’s deposit to you. Have you asked Airbnb about paying through the Host Guarantee?
Brian, I haven’t involved Airbnb yet since the guest and I are still talking, and I made the claim on Monday and they ask that 72 hours pass before involving them - which is just up now.
Keep in mind the depreciation on the basin unless it was relatively new when thinking of a settlement.
(I’d like someone to drop something on mine so I could get partial payment for a new one. I’m not being sarcastic, I literally don’t like the one I have.)
Found a crack in a 20x10 bathroom floor tile after the last guest. What did they do, drop a bowling ball? Could I absolutely swear that it wasn’t a previous guest? The tile is “marbled” and you have to look closely. I’m 99% sure it wasn’t there before, but . . . Also maybe it was weather change related, or the tile was flawed to begin with and it showed up now.
Therefore, I decided to attribute it to the cost of doing business – BUT I’m talking about a $45 infill repair kit, not a $500 sink. Hope you are successful with Airbnb, report back!
If as a guest, I knew I didn’t do anything and a host tried to charge me I’d be furious. But the guest in the case of the OP was initially willing to pay indicating she knows she did something. I certainly wonder what.
I once dropped a small glass bottle of echinacea into the sink and it cracked. It doesn’t really take as much as you’d think. Even a wooden hairbrush could probably do it.
I hear you, although with the current exchange rate it’s more like $550! And that does include all the labour, other fittings & taxes too - it doesn’t strike me as exorbitant.
Update of sorts: the guest asked me to escalate this to the Host Guarantee, which I did. After numerous messages and a phone call to Customer Service I am still waiting to hear their verdict. The deadline for me to review the guest expires - I imagine - 14 days from her checkout, which is tomorrow at 10am. I am so hacked off with chasing Airbnb to find out what they intend to do.
It’s widely reported here that it’s 14 days from when you get the email telling you to review so that gives you a few more hours. Just remember you can’t mention Airbnb cases in the review. You can say the sink was somehow damaged during the guest’s stay.
If you don’t get paid-out enough to cover the whole cost, it’s actually pretty easy to install a sink. When we bought our house, all 3 of the apartments had bathroom sinks with cracks in them. We watched a couple of youtube videos and did them ourselves. I was shocked at how simple it was. Might you save you the labour costs, which I imagine might be half the cost.
There are a lot of things like that. A common example are people who claim they need to call a locksmith to put new locksets at a cost of hundreds of dollars in labor. Re-keying existing locks can also be a thing of the past if you get Kwik-Set smart key locks.
I’ve seen people post here about leaky toilet connections where the inlet hose connects to the bottom of the toilet. That is an easy fix, even if you have to replace the fitting in the tank.
