You open the door after checkout and your stomach drops. Wine on the sofa. A cracked TV. A coffee table in pieces.
Most hosts do the obvious thing: file a claim straight away. That is often the moment they lose, not just the money but their rating too. Here is how to get reimbursed without getting burned.
- File on the platform the guest booked through. You have 14 days after checkout.
- Don’t file on day one. File on day 14, after the guest’s review window has closed.
- Send a complete evidence file: before and after photos, invoices, cleaner report, timestamps.
1File with the platform the guest booked through
Open the reservation in the Resolution Center and request payment from the guest. If they decline, ignore it or only pay part, escalate to Airbnb under AirCover (Host damage protection).
Report the damage from the reservation in your Extranet. What you can recover depends on the damage policy you set on your property, so check it first.
Use the damage deposit or damage protection plan attached to that booking.
On both Airbnb and Booking.com you have 14 days after checkout to file. Miss that window and the claim is gone.
2Timing is everything. Don’t file on day one
This is the part nobody tells you. The moment you send a damage request, the guest is notified. And guests also have 14 days after checkout to leave their review.
File on day one and you have just handed an unhappy guest a reason to leave a retaliatory 1-star review. Getting that review removed is very hard. From what hosts report, review disputes go through Airbnb’s largely automated review system, and almost all of them are rejected. So you can win the claim and still be stuck with a review that hurts your ranking for months.
What we do instead: we submit the claim at the end of the window, on day 14, once the guest’s review has already been left or their review window is closing. The claim is still on time, and the guest can no longer punish you with a review.
Day 14 is the deadline, not a suggestion. Have your evidence ready well before, set a reminder, and don’t leave it to the last hour.
3Submit a complete evidence file
Claims get denied for missing proof far more often than for anything else. Waiting until day 14 gives you time to build a file that is hard to say no to:
- Pre check-in documentationTimestamped photos or video of the item in good condition before the guest arrived. Without a “before”, there is no “after”.
- Post checkout documentationClear, timestamped photos and video of the damage, taken as soon as possible after checkout.
- Invoices and receiptsThe original purchase receipt plus a repair quote, cleaning invoice or replacement cost.
- Cleaner or inspection reportA written note from your cleaner or inspector confirming when the damage was found.
- Timestamps and messagesYour checkout time, when the damage was reported, and any guest messages that mention it.
- Keep it organizedFactual and in order. The reviewer should see what happened in under a minute.
The results: what this looks like in real payouts
StayCierge has filed hundreds of damage claims for our clients, with a 90–95% win rate. Below are real Airbnb earnings dashboards from three client accounts. The “Resolutions” line is money paid back to the host through damage claims.
Click any screenshot to view it full size.
That is money most hosts would have written off, or lost to a denied claim and a 1-star review on top.
Quick checklist
- Document every stay before check-in and after checkout.
- Don’t message the guest about the damage or file right away.
- Collect invoices, quotes and your cleaner’s report.
- File on the platform the guest booked through, on day 14, with the full evidence file.
- If Airbnb’s first decision goes against you, ask for a human review.
Claim denied? Get our free damage claims playbook
If you need help with a damage claim, or your claim has already been denied, get our free Damage Claims Playbook. It’s the same process our team uses on every claim we file for clients.
Want claims, guest messaging and turnovers handled for you? See our damage claims service and full Airbnb management services.