Post by High Priestess on May 30, 2019 1:16:35 GMT
Since their founding in 2009, Airbnb has never had a realistic or wise approach to security deposits.
It makes no sense for the host to simply state a security deposit amount, if Airbnb is not going to have any way of ensuring that a guest who causes damage is on the hook to pay for damage up to that amount.
Which has been the problem. Til now, Airbnb has not placed a hold on a guests' card for the security deposit amount, nor have they charged this amount to the guest in advance. So, as one could easily predict, a lot of guests have gotten away with damaging a host's property with impunity, because all they had to do was refuse to pay for the damage, and Airbnb , without a hold on their card, could not force them to pay.
So finally it seems Airbnb's foolish approach to this is catching up to their pocketbook, as doubtless they've ended up having to pay for a lot of damage themselves when guests refused to pay.
They are now planning to put a hold on guest's credit card at the time of booking, for the amount host stipulated as their security deposit. For that amount and no more.
So be sure your stated deposit amount will cover any damage that occurs. Don't base the security deposit amount on your experience with "most" guests--- that's like saying you dont' need auto insurance or home insurance because you were never yet in an accident or had a flood in your home. Your deposit should be based on protecting you in case you get a bad guest or serious damage by a good guest. For instance, a mattress that ends up a total loss, or a bedframe or flatscreen TV that is broken. Or all three at once.
Hotels routinely put a hold on guest's credit cards and so should Airbnb.
blog.credit.com/2014/12/why-hotels-put-a-hold-on-your-credit-card-104134/
It makes no sense for the host to simply state a security deposit amount, if Airbnb is not going to have any way of ensuring that a guest who causes damage is on the hook to pay for damage up to that amount.
Which has been the problem. Til now, Airbnb has not placed a hold on a guests' card for the security deposit amount, nor have they charged this amount to the guest in advance. So, as one could easily predict, a lot of guests have gotten away with damaging a host's property with impunity, because all they had to do was refuse to pay for the damage, and Airbnb , without a hold on their card, could not force them to pay.
So finally it seems Airbnb's foolish approach to this is catching up to their pocketbook, as doubtless they've ended up having to pay for a lot of damage themselves when guests refused to pay.
They are now planning to put a hold on guest's credit card at the time of booking, for the amount host stipulated as their security deposit. For that amount and no more.
So be sure your stated deposit amount will cover any damage that occurs. Don't base the security deposit amount on your experience with "most" guests--- that's like saying you dont' need auto insurance or home insurance because you were never yet in an accident or had a flood in your home. Your deposit should be based on protecting you in case you get a bad guest or serious damage by a good guest. For instance, a mattress that ends up a total loss, or a bedframe or flatscreen TV that is broken. Or all three at once.
Hotels routinely put a hold on guest's credit cards and so should Airbnb.
blog.credit.com/2014/12/why-hotels-put-a-hold-on-your-credit-card-104134/