Extensive damage to a rental property is rare, but smaller damages can happen from time to time. You can choose to protect your property by setting a damage deposit amount that your guest is responsible for should they cause damage to your property. Examples of covered damages include broken glass or appliances, damaged furniture, and any additional cleaning required due to things like pet dander, smoking, or undeclared pets or guests. For other expenses, like a boat rental or sending back a lost item, we recommend that you create a new payment request instead.
For most bookings, your guests won’t pay a damage deposit before their stay. However, they are still responsible for any damage to your property up to the amount of your damage deposit. We make guests aware that they are responsible throughout the booking process, including on your property description page, house rules, in checkout, and after they complete their booking.
For some bookings, your guest may pay a refundable damage deposit before their stay, including where a very high damage deposit is required, or if a damage deposit is being used in conjunction with property damage protection.
Claims process
After a guest checks out, you’ll have 14 days to assess your property and file a damage claim. When you file, we’ll ask for a brief description of the damage that occurred, which we will also share with your guest. At this time, we don’t require photos or similar evidence when you submit a claim and we don’t ask guests to verify the claim through our platform.
In some instances, your guest may be asked to pay a refundable damage deposit at the time of booking, or during the last payment for multi-payment bookings. You will have 14 days to withhold funds for damages from their deposit. Any remaining funds will be automatically refunded to the guest and they will receive an email notifying them of the refund.
Most damage deposit claims are processed immediately and the funds are deposited into your account within 3-7 business days. We are committed to keeping you protected. We’ll cover valid claims up to the maximum amount of your damage deposit — even if we cannot collect the money from your guest or your guest’s card is maxed out, expired, or otherwise unusable.
Keeping your guest informed
Before you file a claim, we highly encourage you to contact your guest to discuss the details of the damage that occurred, how much you intend to charge, and share any evidence you might have such as before and after photos of the damage. Having an open discussion with your guests will help them understand the reasons for the claim and reduce the chances of a dispute. Always communicate with your guest in writing through our secure messaging platform to maintain a record of your conversation.
Initiating a claim
1. Log in to your account.
2. If you have more than one listing, select the listing you wish to claim damage on.
3. Select Inbox in the navigation menu.
4. Select the traveler’s name. You can use the All Messages drop-down menu to filter your conversations.
5. Go to the Damage protection section and select Damage protection to expand it.
6. Select Report damage.
7. Enter the Damage amount you would like to claim from your guest. This can’t exceed the amount of your damage deposit.
8. Enter the Damage description. This message will be sent to your guests.
9. Select Confirm.