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Damages
I recently had a guest who appeared to have dyed her hair whilst sitting in my bed - my sheets, pillow cases and bedside rug were were all badly stained - I was mad. The guest agreed to purchase new set but she left without doing so.
I also discovered that the bed frame was damaged - new bed just purchased! I could only conclude that they were jumping, whatever and I only discovered when a new guest reported that the bed sank in the middle.
What is a standard or reasonable deposit collected from guest to encourage guest to treat place with care and regard?
We take a £100 damage deposit from all guests. You can set this in your policies (Property > Policies in your extranet). The settings might say you can collect this only in cash, or they might give you the option of collecting it by bank transfer. If it says cash only, send a message to Booking.com telling them that you require the damage deposit by bank transfer and that cash is not an option.
We set an automatic message template to send the guest a message for Booking Confirmation. The message includes our bank details so they can transfer the damage deposit. This is automatically sent once the booking is received. But, guests often don't see this, so you may need to follow up, chase them. Make sure you set other settings to get their address and verified phone number.
Also, request a change to The Fine Print (Property > View your descriptions) to say that a damage deposit is required by bank transfer before arrival. Guests often print the booking confirmation they get from Booking.com and The Fine Print is shown on that.
Booking.com often object to changes like taking damage deposits by bank transfer or the text you want in The Fine Print. Demand it. Keep asking until they give in.
For us, the damage deposit no so much about taking money from guests, it's more about encouraging guests to look after the property - they want their money back. If you do make a claim, it should be agreed with the guest. Beware that if you claim, you run the risk of a retaliatory review - the AirBnB community is full of distressed hosts who claimed £30 on a damage deposit, upset the guest in doing so, got a 1* review and are getting fewer bookings. Sometimes guests have made false claims against the hosts to get a full refund of the booking - AirBnB often take the side of the guest.
Also be aware that any time you claim on a damage deposit, you run the risk of guests objecting and you could spend a lot of time arguing with guests or Booking.com. Guests will deny causing the damage - they will say they know nothing about it, it wasn't them, maybe it was done after they left, or was already like that when they arrived, maybe it's wear and tear. They might agree that something was damaged but object to the amount you're claiming. You could end up wasting a lot of your time and feeling very demoralised from it all.
We prefer to factor in a small amount in the costs of all bookings to cover any damage. So, £1 per night from every booking will bring £200 to £300 or more for the whole year. This will easily cover all minor damage and saves a lot of hassle with the damage deposits. Just use a bit of common sense before making any claim!
Hi! Isle, I agree with you 100%.
Most of guest do not like to pay damage deposits....In my country I think very few properties take demage deposits....
Thank you for sharing your experience. It is most helpful especially to us newbies.
Hey Admin - you keep editing my posts. What is wrong with my posts? What is it you don't like?
It happens to me also Isle....I really dont understand why...
Hi! Could you, please, tell me more about what exactly post was edited?
Dear Sergei,
Since I have to many incoming emails I try to delete them on the spot...
I think the last one edited was Receive emails notifications in duplicate....
Thanks for your support.
Sergei - my long reply above was edited
But can you tell what exactly was edited? I'm trying to figure out if moderators actually edited your reply or if you mistakenly received an email notification.
Sergei - the email notifications do not say what part of the text was edited - I am keeping copies of some posts now so that I can compare in the future
Thank you very much for helping with it!
Sorry, Sergei I do not think it was "Receive emails notifications in duplicates" was the comment that was edited.
I try to find it...but cannot....If I happen to find it I will inform you.
Thanks again.
Hi Isle
I know.... hard to not take it personal.
It could have been a repeated message .
But it frustrates me too.
Greetings from New Zealand
Thanks very much for taking the time to give me these excellent suggestions. Better prepared now ;)
You're welcome - hope it all goes well, and feel free to ask for more advice if you need it!
Hi! Karlene, so bad experience you had...hope never happens again...
Please remember to add your property link in your Community profile.
Wish you great guests...
***
Hope this is what you would like to see - my excuse, I am new :)
Dear Karlene,
You haven’t add your property link.
Hope following link helps you.
https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/community/tips-tricks-more/how-why-add-your-listing-your-partner-community-profile