Guides for hosts

Your Airbnb damage claim was rejected? An appeal only works with new evidence. What you should submit, and what most rejected claims really fail on.

Airbnb's terms set out what counts as evidence in a damage claim: true, verifiable, not altered by AI. What that means and what hosts need now.

Worried about a revenge review after an Airbnb damage claim? When a review breaches the policies, when you can report it, and how to protect yourself factually.

Airbnb guest says the damage was already there? What counts most is a capture of the same area from before the stay, not a photo of the damage.

Airbnb does not accept photos manipulated with AI as damage evidence. What the terms actually say, why the original file is safest and what to submit.

For smoke odour you must show Airbnb that the guest caused it. Which evidence counts, when Airbnb may ask for an invoice and how to show it did not smell before.

Airbnb requires reasonable care and may deny requests where a loss resulted from a failure to take it. What that means and how you can show your care.

How an Airbnb damage claim runs through the Resolution Center: request to the guest within 14 days, 24-hour response, request to Airbnb within 30 days.

Airbnb reimburses neither normal wear nor consumables left available to guests. Where the line between wear and damage runs, and why you should claim only real damage.

How to report guest damage on Booking.com: the 14-day deadline, the Extranet process, the maximum you set yourself, and what to do beyond it.

Cracked ceramic hob or burn hole caused by guests: why usually only the panel is owed, how to account for age, and what to capture beforehand.

If a guest is injured in your holiday flat, you are liable only if you breached your duty to keep it safe. Which cover fits and how inspections protect you.

How to build an inventory list for a holiday flat, why it is weak evidence on its own, and how a dated capture of the items turns it into proof that holds up.

With self check-in there is no signed handover record. What counts instead, how to record the condition with a date you can prove, and what you must capture.

Report damage on FeWo-direkt and Vrbo within 14 days of checkout, before the deposit refunds. Cover is capped at the deposit amount you set yourself.

The guest will not pay: which steps in which order, why the limitation period may be shorter than you think, and what you must be able to produce.

House rules for a holiday flat only bind the guest if they could see them before booking. Why a fixed penalty is rarely enforceable and what you must prove.

Pet damage in a holiday flat: the guest is liable for scratches, hair and odour even where pets were allowed. Where wear begins and what evidence you need.

Guests took crockery, towels or appliances? How to prove missing inventory in a holiday flat, why a list alone is not enough, and what you can charge.

May you charge a Kaution for a holiday flat? What Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo allow, how to agree it properly and how to justify deductions.

Stain on a mattress or bedding after a stay: when it is damage and when wear, why only the depreciated value counts, and what you must evidence.

Damaged furniture in a holiday flat: when the guest owes repair and when replacement, why sets are not billed in full, and what you must evidence.

Unauthorised party in a holiday flat: why the booking guest is liable for everything, how to itemise many small losses, and what you must evidence.

Smoking despite a ban in a holiday flat: which remediation costs you can recover, why a flat penalty rarely holds, and what evidence you need.

When your cleaner reports damage, what counts is a dated capture before the next check-in. Why a message is not enough and how to build it into the routine.

Damage in a holiday flat only noticed after the next guest: why the 14-day Airbnb deadline has often passed, what remains legally, and how to narrow the window.

How much can you claim from a guest? Why depreciated value governs, how the new-for-old deduction works, and the calculation that evidences it.

Lost key in a holiday flat: when the guest owes only a replacement key, when the whole locking system, and what evidence you need.

Scratch in parquet, stain in carpet, burn in laminate: what the guest is liable for, why you cannot claim the whole surface, and what to evidence.

Water damage in a holiday flat: when the guest is liable, when a technical defect is your own risk as owner, and why the cause is the real dispute.

Phone photos as proof of guest damage? Why the file date doesn't count, what Airbnb requires as evidence today, and how a photo becomes evidence that holds.

Is there an Airbnb security deposit? Not for most hosts since 2022. How AirCover handles damage, which deadline applies, and what actually protects you.

What is the deadline for Airbnb damage claims? 14 days from checkout to ask the guest, 30 days to file with Airbnb, and how to have your evidence ready before the clock starts.

Is AirCover enough? It only applies to Airbnb bookings. What the alternatives are, and why every payout, whichever route, needs proof that the damage is new.

How to file an AirCover damage claim in four steps: 14 days for the request to the guest, 30 days for the request to Airbnb, the evidence and the most common mistake.

AirCover won't pay? Most claims fail on missing proof that the damage is new or on a missed 14-day deadline. The common reasons and how to secure your claim.

Booking.com and Vrbo offer no protection like AirCover. How the Vrbo deposit with its 14-day window and Booking.com's damage program work.

Does insurance cover guest damage in a short-let? Standard policies usually do not, as paid letting often counts as commercial use. What fits instead.

A guest damaged your short-let apartment? What to do in the first hours, how to report it to Airbnb, and how to prove the damage is new, not pre-existing wear.

Guest damage on Airbnb, Booking & Vrbo: what AirCover covers, how to report damage, the deadlines that apply and how to prove damage is new.

How to prove a guest caused new damage in a holiday let: the condition before and after, an established capture time and unaltered photos.