So, your guests destroyed your Airbnb, and you are unsure what to do. Generally, Airbnb has its system in place to protect Airbnb hosts. Host Damage Protection covers costs for damage to your property or belongings by guests and any cancellations you may have to make due to these damages. While having this safety net provided by Airbnb is essential, it does not make it any less of a hassle when you come back to your property and find broken objects needing replacement or repair. You can take a few steps as a host to try and prevent damages from happening in the first place. Let’s take a look at what the best steps are.
Screen Your Guests
If you are worried about incoming guests destroying your Airbnb, implement a guest screening process. There are many tools available online for you to do precisely this. A helpful site for this is Autohost. Using Autohost, you can set up a personal link for your incoming guests to open and answer a few questions about their stay’s purpose and group. Autohost also helps you to verify the identity of who you have come to your Airbnb. Guest screenings are good tools to use when protecting your property from potential guest destruction. They allow you to understand better who you have coming to stay at your property. While most guests are delighted to host, that is not always the case. Sometimes situations arise in the individual or group coming to your property are not who they said they would be. Sometimes they are just disruptive. Either way, both of these situations can have a very negative impact on your business. By screening guests, you can understand whether you should charge a security deposit or allow them to stay with you.
Charge a security deposit
As a host on Airbnb, you have the option to send or request money from your guests. In your listing, you should state that your property may require a security deposit. It is best to charge your guests about half of the cost of their stay when issuing security deposits. You can send and receive payments for your security deposits quickly over Airbnb. Security deposits help charge because they encourage respectful behavior from your guests while they stay on your property, as now their money is on the line. By charging security deposits, your Airbnb is less likely to be destroyed by guests. You can easily do this by switching to hosting on your Airbnb account and clicking on any upcoming guest found under “Your Reservations.” When you click on their profile, you will see a support box. From there, you can click “Send or request money.”
After clicking “Send or request money,” Airbnb will take you to a new page. If the guest’s profile you are on has not arrived yet, you will only have the option to request money. This is where you would ask for your security deposit by your chosen amount and enter the reason for requesting the money. When returning a security deposit, you will have the option of sending money.
When requesting the security deposit, be aware of how much you charge. This is important for many reasons, of course, but I bring up this because when you set a guest more than the amount of their stay, you will always have to speak with Airbnb support before you can return the security deposit in full. This lengthens the process. The option for attachments is there when you are requesting money for damages. This is unnecessary for security deposits.
Best way to ask guests to repay damages after destroying your Airbnb
If you had guests stay who seemingly did not require a security deposit, and yet they ended up trashing your place, do not worry. It is not too late to ask these guests to pay you back for the damages they caused. It is essential to have evidence for everything. Whether you clean your Airbnb or hire a professional crew, ensure that photos are taken before anything is clean. This way, you have proof of the damages that occurred. When reaching out, it is best to be firm but not rude. Let them know the damaged items were found and the cost. You can then out through a request on Airbnb with the amount owed to you and expect their payment. Guests with integrity tend to reach out and let hosts know if they have accidentally damaged something and offer to cover the costs. Not every guest is like this, and many will deny anything happened. This is when Airbnb’s Host Damage Protection comes in handy. Still, you can always leave the guests a bad review.
Install Alertify to prevent future damages
You always take a risk when you leave your property to strangers for the weekend. Unfortunately, you can’t have an eye on your property all the time. Now, there may be a way to eliminate some of the risks. Keep an extra eye on your Airbnb, all while respecting the privacy of your guests with Alertify. Alertify is a small, plug-in device that can tell whether a guest is throwing a party or smoking in your Airbnb. Using sensor technology, Alertify monitors noise decibel levels, detects temperature changes, counts occupancy, and detects smoke from cigarettes or marijuana. After installing Alertify, if any of these activities occur for 5 minutes or longer, you will receive customizable, periodic notifications until they stop. This allows you to intervene before any severe damages may occur. You will also have access to the Alertify online portal. This is where you will be able to view what took place. Keep your Airbnb from being destroyed by guests today with Alertify.
