Although Airbnb hosting is not considered a high-risk and challenging business, it does require some investments and risks of financial losses, especially in case of Airbnb damages when Guests damage Airbnbguest damage your Airbnb property; it’s the most common one!
Hosting an Airbnb can have lots of benefits (The Benefits Of Hosting On Airbnb) and as an Airbnb host, you must invest in your rental property design and maintenance. In the beginning, you need to pay some money to buy admirable and chic furniture, paint your property, or repair and replace the air conditioning or electrical system with a modern and new version. So, it’s too hurtful when a guest accidentally or intentionally damages your Airbnb!
In this article, we’re going to investigate Airbnb damages, the reasons behind it, and how to protect yourself against it to avoid lots of financial losses. Stay tuned till the end!
Different Kinds of Airbnb Damages
There are different kinds of ways that some guests damage Airbnb properties that require different types of reactions. You have to admit that not every single guest who enters your property behaves as cautiously and carefully with your Airbnb as you do! Well, in an ideal situation, they should understand your efforts to create a pleasant and chic environment and be cautious about using the facilities and furniture but were not in a perfect world!
There are always clumsy and careless guests out there who even treat their homes poorly, let alone other ones! Besides, the guests’ kids cause some damage or accidents. As a professional Airbnb host, you must be aware of all these possibilities and prepared for them. There is also a possibility of having a scammer as a guest at your property, cause sometimes damaging your Airbnb is one of the scammers’ methods. you can read more about it in “How Will Airbnb Help Hosts Who Got Scammed?“.
The fact is not every Airbnb damage is considered a serious one, and even Airbnb damage policies don’t care about them, so they aren’t worth causing trouble and severe reactions. These kinds of Airbnb damages belong to the first category and are the most regular ones.
Common Airbnb Damages
However, every damage is a financial loss for Airbnb hosts, whether severe or not. After all, you have to spend money and effort to make them okay again, but you don’t need to fight with your guests about it cause, it only worsens the situation and makes your problem even more extensive. So, how should I know whether Airbnb damage is considered severe or not, you may ask. The answer is simple. You probably shouldn’t be upset if you can easily replace or fix the damage by replacing the furniture or cleaning it. In other words, if the damage is resolvable without spending lots of money, it’s probably minor.
Minor damages that can be fixed by cleaning and you should consider okay:
- Lime scales around the showers’ walls
- Residues of makeup products left on the bed sheets and towels
- Washable stains on the sofas, walls, or curtains
- Food and grease left on the dishes
- Dirt caused by guest’s shoes on the floor and carpets
- And minor stains on the kitchen or bathroom walls that are caused for spillage
Minor Airbnb damages that require more effort but are not worth it to make trouble:
- Tiny scuff marks on the wall caused by moving suitcases in and out
- When an old furniture or appliance breaks (it was the time to change it anyway!)
- Rips and tears caused by aging on the old curtains and rugs
- When one or two dishes break accidentally
The Actual and Serious Airbnb Damages
Sometimes guests damage Airbnb in a way that needs construction and major repairments or requires spending a lot of money. In that case, it’s time to take action! Any significant damages on the walls, floors, plants, and garden or any activities that threaten your property security like stealing things are considered severe Airbnb damages.
Some of the significant damages:
- Any major unwashable and sustainable stains on sofas, curtains, walls, or textiles
- Breaking mirrors
- Breaking furniture
- Destroying plants in or out of your property
- Dropping something heavy that causes a hole in the ground
- Causing fire
- Or stealing anything that belongs to your property
Don’t panic; such cases rarely happen, and most of the time, the guests will contact you immediately after causing damages and offer to pay for it. But sometimes, they won’t and even refuse to pay for the damage they caused. In this case, Airbnb’s damage policy will totally support hosts.
What to Do Next?
Imagine you’ve noticed severe damages during guests’ checkout, but your guests refuse to pay for the damages or disagree with the fee you offer; what should you do in this case?
When guests damage Airbnb, the most important thing for the host is maintaining their peace and controlling their feelings. Here is a guide that might help you handle such situations, click here to read more.
It’s highly recommended to handle the situation by starting a conversation with the guests, explaining the financial loss you have to take because of this damage, offering them a reasonable extra fee to pay for the situation they caused, and trying to come to an agreement. Don’t forget to talk politely and eligibly to avoid misunderstandings leading to a worse issue. But what if your guests decline your offer and refuse to pay for the damage?
In that case, Airbnb will support you in two different ways.
Security Deposit
When guests damage Airbnb and refuse to pay for it, the Airbnb host can ask for a security deposit. What’s a security deposit, by the way? A security deposit is an amount your guests must pay in case of any damages. It provides you with extra security against possible damages. For claiming the security deposit, it’s necessary to activate its option on your Airbnb profile before guests book. The guests won’t be charged for the security deposit unless something goes wrong during their stay.
There is no defined number for a security deposit, but it’s better to consider 20 percent of the rental fee as the correct number for the security deposit.
How to claim the security deposit? If you want to ask for a security deposit, you must document every damage your guests caused during their stay as soon as you’ve noticed them. Take photos and videos of damaged areas, take notes of what exactly has happened, and then send your request to the Airbnb resolution center within 14 days of guests’ checkout and before accepting new guests. If the guest doesn’t respond to your request after 72 hours, the Airbnb support team will involve too. They’ll send an ambassador to reach out to the guest and ask for the payment again.
The Airbnb Host Guarantee
The Airbnb host guarantee will cover severe damages that need more expensive repairments. It’ll support each and every Airbnb host, even those without a security deposit option, and provide them with up to 1 million dollars in coverage. There are also different kinds of Airbnb insurance that can cover you.
Just remember the Airbnb host guarantee doesn’t cover: theft of jewelry or cash, regular wear and tear damages, natural crisis damages to your property, dish breaking, and any minor damages. It only covers significant damages, including:
- Electrical or air-conditioning systems damage
- Broken mirrors
- Construction cracks like whole on the ceilings or the floors
- A dent in the wall
- Fire damages (caused by guests)
- Significant stains beyond cleaning
To ask for reimbursement, you must submit the form related to hosting guarantee payment on Airbnb. Document the damage with all the details and file them as immediately as possible before accepting new bookings cause, you only have 14 days to collect the information and ask for a reimbursement. In the next step, Airbnb specialists contact you to resolve the issue, or they send someone to check out the damage in some cases. The Airbnb support team will check out all the evidence and data and decide whether you’re qualified to get the reimbursement or not.
Final words
Tough and complicated situations may occur sooner or later, and financial losses are always a risk for almost every business, like Airbnb hosting. You can’t prevent them from happening, but you can lower the risk of Airbnb damage and provide more protection by doing preventive measures. Review your booking requests and carefully check your guests’ profiles before accepting them. Read the previous reviews about them to ensure they’re not such clumsy and troublemaker guests. It’s not so intelligent to leave cash, jewelry, antique furniture, statues, or painting in your rental property. Make sure there is nothing extra expensive in the house.
Has any guest ever damaged your Airbnb? What was your reaction? Have you enabled the security deposit option for your Airbnb?
Please share your related experiences with other readers and us in the comment section below.