AirBNB - host seeking damages

DullGreyGuy

MrChips said:

Not being an expert on locksmiths was the very reason why she sought out alternative quotes.  If she or I were expert there would be no need to do that, or indeed to post the topic here.  It may be that some sort of "emergency" loading was applied - but that's for the host or Airbnb to confirm and if it's true I'm sure they will.  All we have is a series of quotes consistently coming out at 25% of the cost so I think it's fair to query this point as part of her challenge rather than make assumptions as to whether that's the underlying reason and the necessity of doing so.

How good is her Portuguese? How well does she know how life operates there?

Speak to any locksmith here with a snapped key in the lock etc and you can bet your bottom dollar they will say they are cheap, probably tell you the real hourly rate for attending but say its a quick job and won't mention the cost of the parts to replace the lock after. 

When they are on your door step, its suddenly a high security lock which will take much longer to drill, the replacement euro-lock you assumed would be £30 or so as they are in B&Q are suddenly £150 from them etc etc. 

It really doesn't sound like you are comparing lemons and lemons but are comparing the relatively modest call out charge to the real charge for actually coming out, doing the work which includes supplying and fitting a replacement lock. It's no wonder there is a big difference. 

Again, search on here about locksmiths, one person said they were estimated £150 by the locksmith and ended up with a bill over £1,000

MrChips

It's entirely possible - I don't dispute this at all.

We've done the best we could by explaining the situation to the locksmiths (door locked itself shut with key still in on the other side) and four different locksmiths have come back with almost uniform figures.  I haven't got them in front of me, but I believe some even confirmed they'd be able to gain access without damage.

We've passed that information to Airbnb to form part of their careful consideration.  I think that's as much as we can do, we then have to rely on Airbnb to do whatever they need to do to convince themselves that the host's figure is both correct and reasonable. I'm not sure they can do that without checking various details, which would take more than five minutes.

It could be correct and unreasonable (e.g. that's what the host was charged, but there was no need to pay that much as they could easily access the apartment some other way, or they treated themselves to some new locks while they were at it).

It could be incorrect but reasonable (as many have said £220 for a locksmith could be considered cheap in some circumstances, but they might have only been charged €70 and then inflated the cost).

theoretica

On the positive side, it happened with all their suitcases outside, as they were leaving. This was the least inconvenient time - for them - it could have happened.

I don't think the time taken to reach a decision is necessarily unreasonable - if:

* the landlord had already uploaded whatever AirBnB needed from them

*AirBnB have an idea of a scale of charges they accept (going by what I hear of some cleaning charges, this may not be low!...)

*your wife acknowledges it happened

It could be a very straightforward consideration.

MrChips

Agreed if they only apply cursory consideration.  But if they claim they carefully consider or review something I'd expect more than just checking the fee is not outrageous.

EDIT - it feels like I'm arguing against you all when that's not the case, hope it isn't coming across that way, I actually agree with most of the points you are helpfully making.  To clarify (possibly at risk of repeating myself) I'm not saying the charge couldn't possibly be right, quite the opposite, it may well be so.  But so could the four quotes, so Airbnb should just say we don't want to spend more than five minutes on this so we're just going to go with the balance of probabilities if that's the case.  If they say they have been carefully considering the matter, I expect some evidence of careful consideration (asking each of us a few follow up questions etc).

Grumpy_chap

MrChips said:

However as they were checking out and had their hands full with their suitcases on the final morning the front door shut behind them under its own weight with the solitary key still in the lock on the inside.

Upon returning to the UK, the host has been in touch to explain that he had to employ a locksmith and that the resulting charge would be the guest's responsibility.

The host has asked for her to pay £220 (i.e. about 270 Euros).

MrChips said:

Thanks everyone.  To confirm a few points raised:

- key was inside the lock on the inside, so I assume that meant a spare key would not have helped
- the patio door lock isn't key operated but according to the wife it would have been a fairly simple job for a locksmith to access

I am not sure how it being an easy job for a locksmith to gain access via the patio door would make any difference to the outcome here.

The front door was locked with the key inside so a spare key not able to be used to gain entry.

The host called a locksmith.
Does it make any difference whether the locksmith gained entry through the front door or the patio door?
The locksmith was still required on a call-out basis and the cost would have been much of a muchness - it is the cost of a call out response that costs the money rather than the time spent doing the job.

FWIW, in UK rates, £220 seems reasonable for a call out service.

The host quite likely had no option other than a call out service if they had the next guests booked in to arrive.

sheramber

Do the quotes you have include travelling time?

MrChips

Hi all - just posting to confirm how the issue eventually was resolved.

My wife appealed to AirBnb, but that didn't seem to do much other than get them to repeat themselves.  After trying to escalate it a bit, they eventually agreed to refund the majority of the charge leaving her with a net charge of about £60 (i.e. in line with the €70 quotes she got).

We're not sure quite what got them to reconsider but we're content to leave it at that and think it's a fair outcome

Thanks for all the input and advice.  I'm fairly sure if she hadn't kicked up a fuss they would have just ignored all her input and charged her the full £220.