Airbnb request for reimbursement

[StaceyDooleyHonestly]

I came home yesterday from a three night stay at a lovely Airbnb cottage, left a glowing review last night.

I have now received a reimbursement request for £156 to replace a single bed that they are saying we broke.

I don’t believe we broke this (it was my friend’s children who were in the room using the beds), they have attached a photo of the damage.

I have messaged my friend to check with her kids if this was damaged whilst we were there but what do I do?

If the kids did break it, would you expect to pay for a brand new bed I.e. could it not be fixed with some wood glue?

If the kids say they didn’t break it, do I refuse to pay anything? Assuming they’ll leave me a shitty review?

Is that a broken slat? It looks like a pretty flimsy bed for a rental property where it will be getting heavy use. That could quite easily be normal wear and tear.

It’s a really bad aspect of Airbnb that they can spring this stuff on you after you’ve left.

That's not fixable with how/where it's broken.

Whoever broke it must be aware? That looks like it's a leg or something, it's clearly latched.

Just refuse the claim. The host can then claim through the Host Guarantee. The system is that the guest is always asked first, even though Air BnB tell hosts that they cover damage.

I am a host and wouldn't claim for that, it's wear and tear.

I’m waiting for my friend to respond to see if one of the kids fesses up but to be honest, they’re lovely kids who I think would have mentioned it at the time if the knew they’d broken it.

That looks like the kind of thing you wouldn't notice it was broken unless you were looking for it. How many airbnb hosts always look underneath the bed/lift the mattress after every stay? So maybe they already knew it was broken

Update - my friend’s child has admitted to breaking it. I still think it can be fixed rather than buying a new one?

No, it’s in a dodgy place to glue - but also, if you rented an Airbnb with a glued bed and it broke, you’d be annoyed. If they broke it, they need to pay for it, unfortunately.

Sadly a load bearing piece of wood has snapped, guessing they jumped on it or similar. It can't safely be fixed really it will need to be replaced

It doesn’t matter if you think it can be fixed. They don’t want a bed that you broke cobbled together only to break a few months down the line.

You need to pay for a new one.

Give the details of your friend to the Airbnb host and let them sort it out

Oh so awkward. What has the mum said?

I certainly do, to clean under it.

It needs replacing. The structural integrity has gone.

That can't be fixed. What did they do - jump on it?

But that is a very flimsy occasional bed - it's certainly not a proper bed and you shouldn't be charged for it.

This thread should be linked to anyone saying that "they're lovely kids and I'm sure they wouldn't do this".

Kids break things. They don't always admit straight away.

I'm afraid your friend ought to pay.

YABU - for using Airbnb.

Are we against using Airbnb now?

If the booking was made by your account then it's up to you to make right (or reject and let the host claim on insurance if this how Airbnb work) rather than your friend. The host's contract was with you. You can try and ask your friend to reimburse you though if you wish.

Oh piss off

Not allowed to leave your house anymore

Broken through just sleeping on it? Or by dicking about and jumping on the beds? If the former ywnbu to refuse to pay. If the latter then your friend needs to stump up.

I agree with this.

I am struggling to make out where on the bed it is broken. It looks like it is turned on it’s side in the photo, and the break is part way along, which could be a leg.
I agree that it doesn’t seem like something that can easily be repaired.
It looks like a very flimsy bed base though.
I agree that if your friend’s child broke it ( and it was admirably honest of them to admit it), then compensation needs to be paid.
I doubt that that bed base would cost £156 to replace even if it was new. It looks poor quality. There will be a formula for calculating depreciation, and I would at very least be asking how the owner arrived at that sum.
In your case one of the party has admitted causing the damage, but generally I dislike holiday lets as there is often no formal procedure for mutual checking of condition at the start and end of the let.

It's one side of the bed that the slats sit on, was (but is no longer) attached to a leg.

It's not repairable