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Uncovering the Truth Airbnb's "Air Cover" is Just Marketing

19 Oct 2023 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:58

A short YouTube interview/conversation (uploaded Oct 19, 2023) where an unnamed host and Mark Simpson discuss liability concerns when hosts take direct bookings instead of using Airbnb. The speakers question the protective value of Airbnb's "AirCover," calling it largely marketing, note competitors (Expedia group/VRBO/Booking.com) adopted similar offerings, and point to third-party providers like Superhog that claim higher cover (up to $5 million).

Questions this video answers

Mark Simpson

October 19, 2023

Up to $5 million

Chapters

I was really apprehensive about this initially and why I think a lot of people are. And that's the liability side of things. So when you book through Airbnb and you're a host, you have air cover. And so in theory, air cover covers up to, I don't know, 2 million or $3 million. I don't really know what it's up to these days if things hit the fan. So when you remove that, it's a little bit scary because you're like, well, dang if I'm. What if someone tries to sue me in my house in a direct booking? So what are the solutions to that? Is it equally. Are you creating a lot more liability whenever you go into the direct booking space?
They are scared because they like the protection and the coverage of air cover. Just remember this air cover is just marketing. That's all it is. It's very, very good marketing by Airbnb. It's fantastic. And they've actually now made the Expedia group, which is vrbo and booking.com group, actually start to offer their own because, you know, guests and hosts relied so much on it. But really, if you look outside of the Airbnb bubble, there are companies that provide the same solution, if not better, super hog. They give you protection to up to $5 million.