Airbnb Damage Policy: Everything You Need to Know as a Host
While most guests act respectfully, many won't treat your home like it's theirs. This may result in accidental damage to your rental property or your belongings. In this blog post, we'll talk about the Airbnb damage policy and how you can take advantage of it.
Hosting on Airbnb is a great way to get extra income and meet new people worldwide, but managing a vacation rental property can be very challenging. While most guests act respectfully, many won’t treat your home as if it were theirs. This may result in accidental damage to your rental property or your belongings.
So, what can you do if a guest causes severe damage to your property and refuses to pay? In this blog post, we’ll talk about the Airbnb damage policy and how you can take advantage of it.
If you are new to Airbnb, you may also want to check our article about the Airbnb review policy.
Airbnb Damage Policy: Why Is It Important?
As an STR host, you probably put a lot of effort into equipping your rental space with Airbnb must-haves to ensure a comfortable stay and spend money on some luxury items to enhance the guest experience. Although Airbnb runs limited background checks on guests and has a review system, when you accept a booking on the platform, you are entrusting your property to a stranger. And some of your guests may not treat your property with the same care as you do.
Accidents are rare, but they can happen. Minor incidents, like when guests break a couple of plates or glasses or stain your towels and bedding with makeup, are very annoying. However, the real problem arises when a guest causes severe damage to your rental, such as dropping something heavy and cracking your tile floors.
In extreme cases, repairs can be costly and may even lead to loss of income if it takes time to get your Airbnb up and running again. That’s why it’s essential to understand the Airbnb damage policy to protect your vacation rental investment and ensure a smooth guest experience.
Airbnb offers Host Damage Protection as a part of AirCover for Hosts—free comprehensive protection included with every booking. Host Damage Protection provides hosts with $3 million in coverage in the rare event guests damage their rentals or belongings during an Airbnb stay.
This protection program can give you peace of mind that your home and belongings are protected no matter what, so you can focus on managing your rental to ensure perfect customer service. To manage your Airbnb effortlessly, investing in comprehensive short-term rental software like Hospitable is an excellent way to streamline your business operations.
What Is Covered By Host Damage Protection, and How Does It Work?
If guests don’t pay for the damage caused to your home and belongings, Host Damage Protection is in place to help reimburse costs up to $3M for certain damage. Host Damage Protection is available in every country where Airbnb properties are available, except Japan, which has its own protection program.
Here is what Host Damage Protection covers, according to the information available on the Airbnb website:
Damage to your home, furnishings, art, valuables, or belongings caused by guests or their invitees
Damage to parked cars, boats, or other vehicles caused by guests or their invitees
Damage caused by a guest’s pet
Unexpected or extra cleaning costs needed due to the behavior of a guest or their invitees during an Airbnb stay, for example, professional carpet cleaning
Income loss if you need to cancel confirmed Airbnb bookings due to guest damage
Remember that Host Damage Protection doesn't cover damage from normal wear and tear, loss of currency, or loss due to natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes. There are other exclusions, so it's best to read the full Host Damage Protection Terms in the Airbnb Help Center.
If you arrive at your Airbnb rental after a stay and find it damaged or extremely dirty, you can file for reimbursement for damage or unexpected cleaning. Here is what you should do.
Document the issue. Take photos or videos of the mess or damage, get repair or cleaning estimates, and keep receipts so you can submit them to Airbnb.
Submit the reimbursement request to the Airbnb Resolution Center. You can do it within 14 days of the responsible guest’s checkout.
Your request will be sent to the guest, who will have 24 hours to respond. If they don’t respond, pay partially, or refuse to pay, you can involve Airbnb to request reimbursement. Airbnb Support will then review the request.
Note: if you want to involve Airbnb Support in your AirCover for Hosts request, you will need to make a reimbursement request to Airbnb under Host Damage Protection by submitting a Host Damage Protection Payment Request Form. You’ll also need to submit the supporting documentation of the damage within 30 days of the damage or loss.
According to the Host Damage Protection Terms, Airbnb will complete its processing of any Host Damage Protection Payment Request Form that you file within a reasonable period – within three months after they receive such information and documentation.
What Can You Do to Protect Your Airbnb Property Against Damage?
The Airbnb damage policy provides some protection for hosts, but it’s always best to prevent damage in the first place. Here is what you can do to protect yourself and minimize the risk of accidental damage.
Create clear house rules to set expectations and include them in your listing description. This way, you’ll be more confident that your guests understand what is expected from them during their stay before they book your property. Then, they are more likely to stick to these rules.
Communicate clearly—it’s an essential part of good Airbnb etiquette. Create a personalized message flow for each guest, delivering the information they need for their stay in digestible chunks. Include clear instructions for using any equipment or appliances in the house, as well as for handling emergencies, such as power outages or fires.
Be available to your guests before and during their stay so they can ask questions or report any problems as soon as possible. Responding to guests’ messages quickly can be challenging, but you can automate guest communication with AI tools like Hospitable. You can use Hospitable’s Inbox AI to quickly generate detailed, personalized responses to tricky guest questions, polish what you have written, and even let the AI respond to guest inquiries automatically without your review.
Create a detailed inventory. Write a list of all the items in your place and note their condition before each guest’s arrival. Such a rental inventory checklist can help you keep track of any damage that occurs during the guest’s stay.
Consider charging a security deposit to provide an extra layer of protection beyond AirCover. Just keep in mind that Airbnb allows only select software-connected hosts (who use short-term rental software like Hospitable to connect with Airbnb's system) to collect a security deposit off the Airbnb platform.
Hospitable has a built-in security deposit feature that currently works for Airbnb, Booking.com, and Direct reservations. You can add Hospitable’s automatic deposit to any of your properties and set the amount you want to collect between $100-$5000.
Then, Hospitable will automatically collect the refundable security deposit 2 days before check-in and release it 2 days after checkout. Our STR super app will also handle all guest communication and inform your guests about the deposit amount and collection dates at multiple points through their booking journey.
Vet your guests. Check their profiles and read reviews from the previous hosts to get an idea of their personality and whether they’ll be a good fit for your home. Ask them additional questions in your messages when you respond to booking inquiries, and don’t be afraid to turn down a request if you get a bad feeling about a guest. Being pickier about who you host can help you avoid nasty disputes over damage to your property.
Screening your guests manually can be rather time-consuming, but with Hospitable, you can confirm each guest’s identity before check-in without extra work. For Direct Premium bookings, guest verification is automatic by default, and you can also request ad-hoc guest verification for any accepted booking made on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.
You need to select which checks you’d like to run on the guest: Base Identity verification or/and Full verification, including ID, Sex offender check, and risk factors. Our system will send your guests a secure link via SMS or email to complete the required steps in their Guest Portal during the registration process to finalize their stay.
Invest in additional insurance to fill in the gaps where the Airbnb Host Damage Protection won’t protect you. Consider insurance options tailored to vacation rentals. Although short-term rental insurance can be costly, it is well worth the cost and will save you money in the long run.
Bottom Line
Airbnb covers accidental damage to your rental and belongings through the Host Damage Protection program, which is free for all hosts. However, Airbnb’s damage policy has certain exclusions and limitations.
That’s why it’s always best to review the policy terms and consult with Airbnb directly if you have any questions or concerns. You should also take additional measures to prevent accidental damage and shield yourself against the financial losses it causes.
You may also want to check out our blog post about common Airbnb scams. You’ll learn how to protect yourself from dealing with fake guests.
