Three weeks after checking out of a vacation rental, Janet Reel received a $790 damage bill from her Airbnb host. Reel was certain that she left the property in perfect condition and considered the accusation outrageous.
Unfortunately, Airbnb didn’t share that opinion.
As a repeat guest of the same Airbnb host, Reel’s initial reaction was shock and anger. Those feelings only intensified when the listing giant approved the owner’s request for the damage charges.
Her next stop? Consumer Rescue.
Reel hoped our advocacy team could convince Airbnb to dismiss the host’s damage claim and vindicate her. After I took a look at the details in her complaint, I agreed with Reel that something seemed fishy.
Airbnb’s “Host Damage Protection Terms” require owners to report damage within 14 days after a guest’s checkout.
So why was Airbnb allowing this host to bill Reel for vacation rental damage “discovered” almost three weeks after checkout?
That’s what I intended to find out.
Planning a repeat trip to an Airbnb vacation rental
Last Spring, Reel and her son booked the same Airbnb vacation rental they had enjoyed just a few months previously. The apartment is one of several inside an older house in a residential area of Bloomington, Indiana – the home of Indiana University.
The day before check in, Amy, the Airbnb host, asked Reel if she would mind switching units inside the house. Amy also let her guest know that there was some remodeling going on at the property.
Reel agreed to the switch and the following day she and her son checked in. They inspected the little apartment and were happy to see that it was nearly identical to the other. But she noted that the unit was showing its age.
“I noticed a small crack around the drain in the shower,” Reel recalled. “I assumed [the Airbnb host] was aware of it since it’s an older home, so I didn’t mention it.”
Not documenting that crack would be a mistake Reel would regret – three weeks later.
The Airbnb host discovers damage in the middle of the night
Reel and her son completed their four-night stay without incident and drove back home to Nashville. It would be nearly three weeks before Reel would hear from the Airbnb host again via a strange midnight message.
At 12:14 a.m. Amy sent Reel a text via the Airbnb messaging center.
Amy suddenly had felt the urge to request $790 from her former guest in the middle of the night.
Reel woke up early the next morning to find the bizarre message and quickly responded that the damage was pre-existing.
That was the last time Reel ever heard directly from her former Airbnb host. But it was just the beginning of her battle with someone she now considered predatory.
Related: Help! Our 1-night vacation rental stay ended with a $1,000 charge for a new bed
Airbnb supports the host. Did AI make this decision?
Over the next several weeks, Reel had many frustrating conversations with Airbnb customer service agents. The host had uploaded a photo of the crack and a repair bill to support her claim. Ultimately, that “evidence” led Airbnb to side with Amy and close the case.
However, there were plenty of problems with the documents that the host used to convince Airbnb that Reel owed her $790. That is if someone with eyes was actually looking.
I suspected this was another case of AI powered customer service making wrong decisions – with the consumer paying the price.
Consumer Rescue investigates this Airbnb host’s request
The first problem with the host’s case was the date of the damage request. That should have immediately disqualified the claim. Airbnb requires that their hosts promptly report damage that they believe a guest has caused.
Although “promptly” is a subjective term that is open to interpretation, Airbnb defines it for hosts as a generous 14 days. If a host fails to report damage within that timeframe, they forfeit their ability to ask for reimbursement.
Yet, even though this host’s request arrived in the middle of the night, 17 days after Reel left, Airbnb customer service approved the charge.
But there were more problems with this host’s request than the delayed notification of the damage.
Related: Help! My host accused me of leaving behind a crack pipe in our vacation rental
What do the host’s repair invoice and photos actually show?
Airbnb also requires its hosts to provide evidence of the estimated cost to repair any damage caused by a guest. Amy uploaded an invoice that was highly problematic in proving her damages, again, if a real person was looking at it.
The invoice was billed to an LLC (no mention of the host) and didn’t identify the location where the repairs would be taking place. Worse, the questionable evidence detailed the repair of a bathtub with “extra repairs” and no mention of a small crack in a shower stall.
The inconsistencies continued to appear as I plowed through the documents that the host provided to Airbnb.
A photo, dated four weeks after Reel checked out, was the final piece of evidence. In that snapshot of the small shower stall, there is a towel draped over the area where the crack was located. I wasn’t sure what any of this proved, but Airbnb bizarrely accepted it as proof that its guest owed the host $790.
That didn’t sit right with me and I suspected it wouldn’t sit right with real humans on the Airbnb executive resolution team either.
The good news from Airbnb
I reached out to the Airbnb executive resolution team and shared my findings. As I thought, when real people with the ability to put the brakes on this host’s possible shenanigans reviewed the case, it was closed in Reel’s favor.
She soon received the good news.
After careful review of the information available, we’ve determined that the item(s) included in Amy’s request is NOT eligible for reimbursement under Host Damage Protection Terms, a part of AirCover for Host protection.
For a reimbursement request to be considered as eligible under Host Damage Protection Terms, the damage must have occurred at a place that was booked on the Airbnb platform and it should be reported in a timely manner.
Due to these reasons, we have decided not to pursue any payment from you for this reported incident.
We want you to know that your feedback has been carefully considered, and we have taken steps to ensure that a fair assessment of the situation has been made. We are truly sorry for any inconvenience caused due to the initial handling of this case.
Airbnb Senior Customer Service Ambassador
One more happy “customer” of Consumer Rescue
Reel couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
Michelle,
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for your help! I cannot express how grateful I am that you were able to resolve my Airbnb issue for me. You are truly a blessing, and your service is an absolute gift!
We did not do this damage. We have been stellar Airbnb customers for years. If we had damaged this unit, we would have contacted the owner immediately and paid for the damage we had done.
Unfortunately, it seemed we were deemed guilty until we proved our innocence.
Thank you again,
Janet Reel
You’re very welcome, Janet. That’s why we’re here – to rescue consumers from troubling and expensive situations.
It’s just too bad that this host chose to lose a loyal guest over $790.
Related: If a Vrbo host lists the wrong location for a property, shouldn’t you get a refund?
Airbnb hosts beware: Guests don’t want to pay for your renovations
In this case, the murky evidence and the lack of prompt notification of damage gave me the impression that this Airbnb host may have been attempting to have Reel shoulder some of her renovation expenses.
Here’s how to protect yourself from having the same thing happen to you during your next vacation rental.
1. On arrival, review the vacation rental and promptly report problems
Even if you are a repeat guest with an Airbnb host, make sure to thoroughly inspect the vacation rental when you arrive. Always clearly photograph and/or video any damage you observe and report it to your Airbnb host via the message center so that you’ve got official documentation of any problems.
And although Airbnb defines “promptly” as 14 days for hosts, guests must immediately report damage to protect themselves from surprise repair bills later. Never assume, as Reel did, that the host knows about the damage.
2. After checkout, send followup confirmation
It’s always a good idea to do another inspection of your vacation rental prior to leaving. I recommend taking a video walk-through to clearly show that you’ve left the property in the same way you found it. Then send a brief message to your Airbnb host that you’ve checked out.
Ask for an all-clear from the cleaning team by the end of the day.
3. “Remind” Airbnb Ambassadors of damage-reporting time limits
Should you receive a request for damage compensation that you believe is fraudulent, file your appeal with the Airbnb resolution center.
Although a damage report filed beyond a day or two after check out isn’t timely in my mind, 14 days is the official deadline Airbnb gives its hosts. Anything beyond that timeframe exceeds Airbnb’s policy so if your host makes a claim after 14 days, point that out to any “Ambassador” handling your case.
4. Ask Consumer Rescue for help
If, despite your efforts to avoid and navigate suspicious damage charges during your next vacation rental, you find yourself battling one, Consumer Rescue is here to help.
My team and I have successfully fought these battles for nearly a decade – retrieving millions of dollars for distraught consumers. Our help is always fast, friendly, and, best of all, free. ⛑️🛟 (Michelle Couch-Friedman, founder of Consumer Rescue)
