Two weeks ago we had a guest stay, that unfortunately damaged our carpet by burning a hole in it when trying to clean hot ash from the wood burner. The carpet needs replacing and at a cost of £400.
We use Airbnb specifically because of the host guarantee that guarantees to cover costs of damage or liability.
I have been trying unsuccessfully to put a claim in to Airbnb. These is no host guarantee center or person to contact! Concerningly it seems that Airbnb are putting in place a lot of obstacles to avoid a claim. So far, I have had to make a claim against the guest via the Airbnb resolution center. The guest has paid my £80 damages deposit and Airbnb have hence “closed”the claim.
I have called the customer service centre multiple times, who could not progress my claim and instructed me to write an Email. After writing 6 emails so far and not getting any reply, I am not confident of how to proceed this matter.
I would have thought that a company the size of Airbnb, would have dedicated host guarantee personnel that could call and speak to me directly and help me through this worrying process.
I am concerned to continue operating through Airbnb, relying on the host guarantee and liability cover , only to find this backup is not available as advertised on the website. I worry at my exposure to damage and claims from future guests as there doesn’t apear to be any guarantee!
I would urge other hosts and super hosts to investigate the true coverage that is in place and see how hard it is to access the service. I have repeatedly asked for a senior account service manager to contact me to help me with this process, but this has not happened. Does anyone have similar experience???
Carl * UK Superhost.
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*[Surname hidden for safety reasons–in line with the Community Center Guidelines]