The Airbnb Host Guarantee is a total fraud. I looked into the abyss of worst case predatory corporate behavior when I filed my claim.
I am a big Airbnb fan, both as a host in my New York aparment and as a guest. But when I had my first bad experience with a guest that damaged property (floor, walls) and stole a whole set of expensive cosmetics from a friend that were stored in my bathroom, Airbnb behaved terribly. They basically dragged out the process over a month, demanding more and more “evidence” (a police report, exact list of missing items, photos of damage, quotes from handyman and Amazon list price links were insufficient). They continuously set 48 h “deadlines” for responses nearly every time I got a message, and said if I miss them the case gets closed.
After jumping through all the hoops, they told me they decided to close the case anyway.
This was a shocking experience - I read the terms and of course, there are certain things I didn’t provide (mostly the purchasing receipts for the stolen goods, since I don’t keep those). But the pictures with damages and police report got simply ignored by them.
This was “only” about $3,000, so it’s not worth to hire a lawyer and spend more time on this.
The Airbnb Host Guarantee is definitely a fraud, and Airbnb should be absolutely ashamed for their deceptive advertising.
Here are some more details in case you are interested:
* I had trouble with the guest already when they stayed in my apartment, and complained with Airbnb. Airbnb reviewed the case and had the guest actually pay for additional people they brought over to live there. The Airbnb team responsible for handling problems with the guest while staying there was great.
* After the guests left, we assessed the room and saw all the damage, and realized they had stolen lots of valuable items from the bathroom. I immediately informed Airbnb. They passed the case on to another guy called “Reiko”, and that’s where nightmare started.
Some official correspondence from Airbnb’s Reiko:
“If a host requests compensation through the Host Guarantee program, Airbnb will review the damages to determine if the guest is responsible and if the host qualifies for reimbursement under our terms:www.airbnb.com/terms
If the host qualifies for compensation, Airbnb will take measures to recoup those funds from the guest.”
> So, Reiko told me basically that if the guest doesn’t pay, I don’t get paid. Of course the guest doesn’t pay, he was a crook who stole my stuff.
After 1 months of back and forth, police involvement, handyman reviews and spending hours on this stupid case following Reiko’s instruction, he send me this:
“Thank you for getting in touch with us. We understand that this may have been a difficult and frustrating process.Unfortunately, we did not receive a response from you within 48 hours of our last email, sent on August 7th, as was specifically requested. Therefore, your claim was closed.”
>> The Airbnb host Guarantee states explicitly that a host has 60 days time to SUBMIT the request. I submitted within 24 hours on July 30th, and then Reiko dragged the process out over a month back and forth.
I freaked out given this out-of-control statement and asked Reiko what this is all about. I received this cookie cutter response:
“Thank you so much for following up, I definitely understand how frustrating all of this must be for you.
Whenever a situation like this arises, we advocate for an amicable solution. As a neutral third-party not present during the reservation, we must make a fair decision based on documentation and communication from both host and guest.
Following a full review of all documentation and communication in this case, we reached what we believe to be a fair compromise for both parties. As you may already know, our policies state that we have the final say in any dispute to which we are called upon to mediate. As such, the decision reached in this case is final and cannot be overturned.“
WOW.
Basically, there is no Host Guarantee. Airbnb simply tries to convince the fraudulent guest to pay. If they don’t pay, you (I) are screwed. Airbnb is not going to pay a dime.
This is in clear violation of their own stated terms. It says:
“We’re committed to creating a safe and trusted community around the world. Though property damage is rare, we understand you may need protection. The Host Guarantee will reimburse eligible hosts for damages up to $1,000,000.”
>> What it doesn’t mention is that it’s the guest’s responsibility to pay this $1,000,000.
It also states:
Useful documentation and information that will help process your payment request as quickly as possible include:
photographs of the damage being claimed
a police report for any damage that is over $300 USD
receipts or some alternative evidence of the accurate fair market value or report cost
proof of ownership
any other documentation that you feel will be helpful to processing your request
>> We delivered all of this, but it didn’t help. We didn’t see a single dime.
The bottom line:
Either Reiko is a liar and processed our case in the wrong way, or the Host Guarantee is a fraud. I am pretty sure I would win this in court; but Reiko and Airbnb unfortunately know that it’s not worth my time and money given the small (but still significant) amount of $3,000.
My guess is Airbnb simply assesses your earnings and comes up with a certain limit below that they will just screw you over and say “goodbye, no host guarantee for you” in clear violation with their own terms, since they know you can’t go to court.
I at least wanted to let my friend on Quora know.
Very sad and disillusioned with the “sharing economy”. This is not a friendly startup, but worst case predatory corporate behavior. If you have gone through the same thing, maybe we can file a class action lawsuit.
