Airbnb Says it has Hosts Covered. But is Aircover really another Airbnb Scam?

Hey, today I want to talk about Host Guarantee claims, also known as Air Cover. A lot of confusion and misunderstanding about Airbnb and how they handle these Air Cover claims. Now, Airbnb markets that we've got your back, that we're partners with our hosts, that we've got you covered with this Air Cover, $1 million, not insurance, contractual right to get paid if a guest destroys your home or causes damage. But is AirCover really just a marketing ploy, a way for Airbnb to position itself against VRBO, which lets hosts and guests contract for themselves, doesn't get involved in the rental contract, lets you take a security deposit in case there's guest damage? Airbnb doesn't allow you to do that, but they then instead offer you this supposed AirCover. My name is attorney Enrico Schaefer. I represent Airbnb Hosts, owners, property managers, let's dig in. So here is the big takeaway. Here's what you need to know. Airbnb doesn't tell you, but you can get kicked off the platform without notice, without any right to appeal, for filing AirCover or Host Guarantee claims. Here are 3 ways in which you can unceremoniously be kicked off the platform, have all of your future reservations terminated, where Airbnb tells your guests that there's something wrong with you, that you're a criminal, that you're engaged in fraud, that they're doing— that they're terminating your reservations with your guests to protect your guests. They essentially defame you while they're kicking you off the platform. Here are the 3 ways in which you can get kicked off. One is you file a Host Guarantee or AirCover claim and Airbnb thinks that it's a fraudulent claim. So you submit a receipt or photographs, and Airbnb, without any investigation, without ever contacting you, without ever looking at any of the facts, just simply concludes it's a fraudulent claim. Boom! You're off the platform forever. No right of appeal. No way to engage with Airbnb to get back on the platform. Yes, just simply filing a contractually guaranteed host guarantee payment claim with Airbnb can get you delisted, Deactivated, thrown off the platform. Oh no. Here's the second way in which you can actually get thrown off the platform for filing a host guarantee claim. So let's say a guest causes damage. You are obligated to make the claim against the guest and offer the guest the opportunity to pay the claim. Of course, they never do, but now the guest knows that you're seeking money. What if that guest then complains to Airbnb and makes something up, says you've got a hidden camera inside the house, or your roach Infested, uh, your property's roach-infested. Airbnb can then kick you off the platform because guess what? With a host and a guest relationship, Airbnb only cares about the guests. So if the guest complains, usually they take the guest at their word. They don't do any investigation. They don't ask you questions at all. Typically, they don't care what kind of evidence you supply. They simply kick you off the platform and cancel all future reservations. So, wow, you have a contractual right to this AirCover, but it's a trap. It's a marketing stunt for Too Many Hosts. All right, what's the third way? Third way you can get kicked off the platform for filing an AirCover claim is simply this. If you are a property manager and you have lots of properties, and thus you have a large number of AirCover claims, Airbnb can simply conclude that you filed too many claims. They don't tell you how many is too many, but they just simply unanimously, without any sort of policy that you can comply with, even though they're all legitimate claims, determine that you're costing them too much money, and boom, they simply kick you off the platform. How do I know this? Because I represent clients. This happens all the time. Airbnb hosts come to me with these stories. We have to file arbitration against Airbnb. In demanding to be let back on the platform. So here's what you really need to think about when you're dealing with Airbnb. I'm not saying don't file air cover claims. Just know that anytime you deal with Airbnb, anytime you interface with the guests, anytime you interface with customer service, you run the risk of being thrown off the platform. Because at the end of the day, Airbnb doesn't care about you as a host. Unlike the marketing message, all the BS marketing that they put out, Airbnb and hosts are not partnered together. Airbnb uses you as a host, uses you as a host for their own financial gain, and then they throw you out when they're not done. And at the end of the day, they don't really care if you continue hosting as long as guests are booking on the platform. They know hosts have no choice. They know more hosts will come. So I'm not telling you anything you don't already know if you've had much experience with Airbnb. So be very careful when filing host guarantee claims. Make sure that you're going through the process legitimately and consult with an expert if you have any questions. Consult with an expert about how best to deal with Airbnb on air cover. I have clients whose homes burned down completely by the guest. Did Airbnb provide air cover? No. Left the host completely out to dry with nowhere to live. and simply hid behind BS language in the terms of service that their lawyers then leverage on Airbnb's behalf. Keep in mind, Airbnb's lawyers, if you file for arbitration, and we file hundreds of them, Airbnb's lawyers will tell the arbitrator that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, for whatever reason they want, that they have the right to kick you off for any or no reason, with or without notice. That is what Airbnb's lawyers say every single day in arbitration. Is that the platform you want to bet on? I mean, we all love Airbnb until we hate Airbnb. We want them to do better. The point here isn't that Airbnb should be put out of business. It's that hosts need to act collectively, bond together, because together we're bigger than Airbnb. Individually, Airbnb will run us over like a train each and every day for any or no reason, and we have Absolutely no leverage. My name is attorney Enrico Schaefer. We'll see you next time. Thank you.