Airbnb Host Requesting Damages (Result Update)

bujin

MalMonroe said:

According to info in the link provided by DE_612183, above, all claims are supposed to go through the AirBnB Resolution Centre. Has that happened? 

The host will have to prove whatever damage she says has been caused and provide an itemised list, she can't just pluck a figure out of the air. I can't believe she has admitted to doing just that!

She should have insurance for the property which covers all damage. I think she's definitely trying to pull a fast one here.

How and why is the MOH responsible for the whole bill?

Please read the information in this link - https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/767/how-the-resolution-centre-helps-you
and ask the MOH or someone else acting on her behalf to contact them.

Don't let this silly woman bully the poor MOH. Nobody has to pay her a bean. And she's not going to get a lot of business in the future if this is the way she handles things. 

P.S. The following link from this very site contains some really useful information about AirBnBs. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/airbnb-hosting/

Thanks for this info.This is now in the hands of the resolution centre. And yes the MOH won't be answering her directly now because of the owner admitting, she had to put in a figure and chose £2000! I instructed the MOH to be completely factual in her responses, reiterate exactly what damage was done ie paint pulled off the wall when removing tape and that before the owner had to say anything offered to pay for the paint job required.

I think the MOH feels the booking wa smade in her name and she's the one they will seek to take payment from. As people chipped in for the weekend and it wa sher idea to have decorations etc,she feels it's too much to expect people to pay an additional approx £116 each to cover the bill.

bujin

Ms_Chocaholic said:

I can only liken this to a landlord/tenant situation; if that were the case then the landlord cannot gain betterment.

https://www.propertymark.co.uk/professional-standards/consumer-guides/landlords/fair-wear-and-tear.html

Even if the host wished for the lounge to be re-painted, then surely they need to consider wear and tear, how long is it since it was decorated etc.

Interestingly in the room where they say they didn't put any decorations up and she's saying there's grease marks and a pen mark, the host stated that that room had been newly decorated. She said the reason for the £2000 is because she was told they wouldn't be able to do a patch repair and they'd need to paint the whole room, but then said she hadn't actually asked anyone yet? Anyway the MOH sought the advice of a painter decorator and they said that patch repairs are standard in his lie of business and so wouldn't have to paint a whole roo. I have no idea if that's the case or not.

bujin

Vectis said:

'Nobody has to pay her a bean'...'I don't think the party need to pay for anything'

I can't believe some of the answers here with people saying that it's basically ok to damage a person's house (it's open to dispute how much damage there is) because the owner 'should have insurance to cover it'?

That's like saying it's ok to damage someone's car and then simply walk off because the owner of the car can claim on their insurance. Or, a more extreme example, if you wrecked a hotel room and expected the owners to say 'That's ok sir/madam. No need to worry, we'll simply claim on our insurance.'

To the OP, why not wait until an actual claim is made for damages and the amount known before looking for answers as to what to do? Then, and only then, will you know what is being claimed and for how much. At the moment everyone is guessing.

Well nobody was attempting to walk away from anything, as said quite the opposite, the MOH declared the damage firsts and offered to pay for that. What ways individuals choose to answer my post isn't really anything to do with me and I haven't said i have no sympathy with the host.

The host has already put in the claim and has quoted £2000. In any event people don't always wait until something's happened before seeking advice. Lots of people prefer to at least have an idea of what to expect. And when someone is seeking £2000 in damages for some chipped paint then I think it's perfectly reasonable to see if anyone has any advise in case that becomes a reality and at present we've no reason to believe she'll change her mind.

bujin

tightauldgit said:

I believe the host has to raise an actual claim via AirBNB for damages - has this been done or is it just messaging back and forth? 

If she declines and AirBNB get involved then they are going to look at the evidence and probably ask the host to provide receipts or quotes for the damage to be repaired. £2000 to fix a few tape marks on the wall doesn't sound reasonable at all. Equally I would imagine that it's the hosts responsibility to prove that the damage was caused by a guest so if it's he said she said then it might well be that the host loses out.

So on Sunday which was the day the MOH had to respond by, she declined to make the payment of £2000 and stipulated her reasons and it's now in the hands of the Resolution Centre.

bujin

Sorry for not responding sooner, busy weekend, but thanks everyone for your help and comments. Will post back for completeness at the next stage.

Upsidedownandaround

bujin said:

Upsidedownandaround said:

It sounds like they are trying it on at that price equally I wonder whether you are being given the full story.

Part of the issue may be because when they said it was fine to "decorate the kitchen with some decorations" they didn't expect that to mean they would be cellotaping things to the walls.

If thats all that was said I can understand why the host would be unhappy to find out thats what they meant and as a result they are going to have to redocorate at what is probably their busiest time of the year with high occupancy.

Are you asking if the MOH and party have told me the truth? I can see why you'd think that but as the onwer has actually sent photos to airnbnb what damage there is, I don't have to have had the story from the MOH at all. But in any event I do believe them.

Yes of course cellotape was not a great idea and that's what they offered to pay for.  The MOH said it was Hen party and that they would be hanging some foil/Tinsel type curtains and banners and aske dif that was ok, that I feel, would have been a perfect opportunity for the host to direct them to"the manual" or state what they don't allow.

I do sympathise with the owner no one wants damage to a property, I think one of the problems too is this is a family home, the owner lives in the home with her husband and two children, so this is where things becoming a little difficult to say what was there before etc

No, I was questioning whether you had been given the full story.

It sounds like you weren’t there and have been given an account of what happened.

Sometimes advice is of less value if the person asking for it can’t definitely say what happened.

bujin

No, I was questioning whether you had been given the full story.

It sounds like you weren’t there and have been given an account of what happened.

Sometimes advice is of less value if the person asking for it can’t definitely say what happened.

No I wasn't there but as it happens and as said above it's sort of a moot point when the owner has included photos of the actual damage and the damage she's professing they did. Clearly I wasn't there and can't say categorically that they didn't do the additional damage and you only have my word for it that this particular MOH (plus two of my other daughters who I know would tell me) is the sort of girl who finds it reallly hard to lie (have known her snce she was 5 and she's 28 now) and would always rather do the right thing hence her owning up straight away to what they did do. I get that it's always better first hand but as said the MOH is off sick at prresent and finding this all a bit much, so I said I'd see if I could find anything out.

onashoestring

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61976350

bujin

onashoestring said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61976350

Interesting! Thanks.

TBagpuss

bujin said:

Ms_Chocaholic said:

I can only liken this to a landlord/tenant situation; if that were the case then the landlord cannot gain betterment.

https://www.propertymark.co.uk/professional-standards/consumer-guides/landlords/fair-wear-and-tear.html

Even if the host wished for the lounge to be re-painted, then surely they need to consider wear and tear, how long is it since it was decorated etc.

Interestingly in the room where they say they didn't put any decorations up and she's saying there's grease marks and a pen mark, the host stated that that room had been newly decorated. She said the reason for the £2000 is because she was told they wouldn't be able to do a patch repair and they'd need to paint the whole room, but then said she hadn't actually asked anyone yet? Anyway the MOH sought the advice of a painter decorator and they said that patch repairs are standard in his lie of business and so wouldn't have to paint a whole roo. I have no idea if that's the case or not.

I think patch repairs would depend on the existing decor - if it was newly decorated I would expect it to be much easier as presumably the paintwork won't yet had faded or 'weathered' at all, they may still have paint left over and/or be ableto get it matched as the colour is likley to be still available. If it was older then it may be harder to match exactly. But even if they had to redo the whole of the room where the sellotape was used, I would expect that to be a lot less than £2,000. 

I'd sugges that your firned gets a painter to look at the photos she took and give a guide of the likelycost for a patch repair, andthen offer that via the resolution cnetre, and to confirm that they didn't put up any decor or cause any damage in the other room so dispute that they are responsible for anything other than the sellotape marks.

That said, I would be a bit sceptical about whther a hen party using it to party in may not perhpaps have done more damage than they thought, especially if they were driniking it's possible that they did cause mire damage and just don't recall or the MOH didn't see it happen, as it was a large group.