Airbnb Guest Damage or Theft: How to File an AirCover Claim on Time

Updated September 25, 2026

If you discover guest damage or a missing item, stop the reset in that area, photograph the condition, and file an itemized Resolution Center request within 14 days of the responsible guest's checkout. If the guest does not pay and you seek Host Damage Protection, the current terms separately require the formal form and evidence within 30 days. I would not wait for payment, a review, or a perfect invoice. If checkout is Monday at 11:00 AM, the clock starts Monday—not when the cleaner sends photos Tuesday.

The first hour after checkout: document before you clean or repair

Make the space safe first. Shut off water, isolate broken glass, or move people away from an electrical hazard. If there is no immediate danger, pause cleaning in the affected area until you have recorded it. Airbnb tells hosts to document the issue with photos or video, estimates, and receipts; its current terms also require hosts to protect damaged property from further loss and preserve it for possible inspection.

• Take a wide photo that shows where the damage sits in the room, then close-ups from several angles.
• Add scale without hiding the damage: place a ruler beside a crack or photograph the item beside an unchanged feature.
• Record the discovery time and ask the cleaner for a short, signed or attributable note explaining what they found and what they had already touched.
• Record the make and model, purchase or acquisition date, and condition; add a serial number if available as an optional identifier.
• Keep the original photos or videos and submit true, accurate, verifiable evidence.

Worked example: checkout is 11:00 AM; the cleaner takes a room-wide image at 11:28, close-ups at 11:31, and writes the discovery note at 11:36 before treating the stain. Those timestamps create a coherent sequence. A consistent Airbnb cleaning checklist makes this easier because “photograph, report, then reset” is already part of the handoff.

When does Airbnb's 14-day damage clock start?

Airbnb's host guidance states: “Within 14 days of the responsible guest’s checkout, file a reimbursement request in the Resolution Center.” The trigger is that guest's checkout, not the date you discover the issue, obtain a contractor quote, receive a reply, or publish a review.

Treat the date shown inside the Resolution Center as the operational deadline and submit earlier. I would not invent an exact cutoff hour from a rule that Airbnb expresses in days. Take a screenshot of the displayed deadline for your file, then work backward from it.

Worked example: a guest checks out on September 1, but a host does not inspect a locked cabinet until September 3. September 3 does not restart the 14-day period. The host should open the reimbursement request immediately and use Airbnb's displayed due date rather than calculating a last-minute time. The separate Airbnb review window may also be 14 days, but it does not control the damage request.

Airbnb damage claims have two clocks: 14 days and 30 days

The two deadlines cover different steps. Under section 3.1 of the 2026 Host Damage Protection Terms, the host has 14 days from the responsible guest's checkout to pursue recovery and notify Airbnb; a qualifying Resolution Center request can satisfy those obligations. Under section 3.3, if the guest fails to pay, the Host Damage Protection Payment Request Form and legitimate, verifiable evidence are due within 30 days of checkout.

Airbnb's current help page gives the guest 24 hours to respond before the host can submit under Host Damage Protection when the guest does not respond, declines, or pays only part. My safest operational rule is therefore simple: send the initial request with what you have, follow the in-product escalation promptly, and finish the formal packet well before day 30. The second clock is not permission to sleep through the first.

Worked example: checkout is September 1. The host photographs the issue on day 0, requests reimbursement on day 1, preserves the request record within Airbnb's 14-day request period, and completes the HDP packet on day 18—12 days before the terms' 30-day milestone. That sequence leaves time to answer a documentation request.

Should I wait for the guest, a repair quote, or the review?

No. The guest request is the first step in the process, not a reason to wait outside it. Airbnb says the guest has 24 hours to respond. If the guest does not respond, declines, or pays only part, use the platform's option to advance the request and involve Support.

Send an honest, itemized amount supported by the best documentation available. Submit the available estimate and related documents, and provide any further documentation Airbnb requests. Do not call an estimate an invoice, and do not pad an amount in anticipation of negotiation. A clear first packet is more useful than a rushed fiction.

The review is a separate process. Do not trade reimbursement for a favorable review, delay a claim to see what the guest writes, or threaten a bad review. If a later review raises a policy issue, handle that through the separate Airbnb review-removal process; it never changes the damage clock.

Worked example: the host has same-day photos and a written $180 repair estimate, while the final invoice will arrive in 4 days. The host requests $180 now. If the completed work costs $176, the file should show the $176 invoice rather than treating the estimate as money automatically owed.

What evidence does Airbnb ask for?

Airbnb's terms, sections 3.3–3.4, ask for legitimate and verifiable evidence of the existence, extent, and amount of the loss. That can include receipts, photos, videos, documents, other verifiable proof, a property inventory, repair estimates, cleaning invoices, and proof of ownership or responsibility. The terms also say submitted information must not be doctored or falsified, including through AI.

A timestamp documents time; also provide evidence of the cause and origin. Likewise, an original purchase receipt is helpful but is not the only form the terms name. I would label files by fact, not argument: “Chair before stay” is better than “Proof guest broke chair.” A repair-task record can organize the operational handoff, but it is not a substitute for the claim evidence Airbnb requests.

Worked example: a broken dining chair packet has 6 exhibits: 1 reservation, 1 prior turnover photo, 1 wide room image, 2 close-ups, and 1 written repair estimate. That is 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 6 labeled files, which is easier to review than a folder of unlabeled screenshots.

Repair, replacement, cleaning, or normal wear and tear?

Ask what restores the pre-loss condition at a supportable cost. Repair is the sensible request when it is feasible. The Terms compare repair, Actual Cash Value, and listed replacement measures; do not assume new-for-old. Under section 7 of the current terms, some eligible losses may be valued at Actual Cash Value with deductions for physical depreciation and obsolescence; for property not otherwise specified, the calculation can be limited by the lesser of listed measures such as Actual Cash Value or repair cost.

Airbnb's host guidance names extra cleaning for stains, pet accidents, and smoke odor as covered in certain cases, while excluding normal wear and routine checkout cleaning such as laundry, dishes, or trash removal. The details and limitations still apply, so coverage is reviewed rather than guaranteed.

Worked example: a 5-year-old chair costs $300 new today, but that does not make $300 the automatic claim amount. Submit the chair's age and pre-loss condition, a repair estimate, and replacement evidence. If repair is $95 and restores it, the claim file should explain that option instead of demanding the highest visible retail price.

What changes when an item is missing or stolen?

Start by establishing that the item is missing. Check locked storage, linen bags, drawers, the cleaner's supplies, co-host activity, and whether the guest reported finding or moving it. A missing object is not proof of theft. In the Airbnb thread, state the observable fact: “The TV remote was not in the unit after checkout,” not “You stole the remote.”

Photograph the empty location, pair it with the latest inventory or turnover photo, and record the make, model, ownership proof, condition, and supportable value. I also note a serial number when available as an optional identifier. Keep the message factual and ask whether the guest packed it accidentally or moved it. This approach protects the record without turning an unanswered inventory question into a criminal accusation.

If an HDP request is based on theft, another criminal act, or a violation of law, section 3.4.2 of the 2026 terms requires a police report that lists the eligible property and a copy for Airbnb. The terms do not supply a dollar threshold. Use the reporting route provided by the appropriate local authority; this article cannot decide whether an act meets a local criminal definition.

Worked example: apply the same factual verification to a missing $400 vacuum and 2 missing towels: search the storage areas, ask the cleaner, compare the pre-stay record, and message the guest. The possible claim amounts differ, but the host should not invent a police-report threshold or call either event theft before the facts support that description.

AirCover vs. a security deposit: what is actually different?

Airbnb separates the two processes. Its security-deposit page says most hosts are not allowed to charge one, while its Host Damage Protection page directs hosts to file a reimbursement request in the Resolution Center and says they can submit under Host Damage Protection if the guest does not respond, pays only part, or declines. They are not interchangeable.

Airbnb's rule is explicit: “Most hosts are not allowed to charge security deposits, either through our Resolution Center or outside the Airbnb platform.” The same page describes a narrow exception for some hosts, including select software-connected hosts, when the deposit is properly disclosed in the appropriate fee field. That exception is not a general cash-at-check-in rule.

Host Damage Protection is also not insurance. Airbnb says so on its host damage page and in the terms. Your own short-term-rental policy is a separate contract; ask the insurer what it covers, which notice deadlines apply, and how any payment interacts with another recovery. For a broader platform explanation, see AirCover for hosts.

Worked example: a host who faced a costly incident last month cannot add an undisclosed $300 cash deposit at the next check-in and call it AirCover. The correct path is to follow Airbnb's deposit rules for the listing and use the Resolution Center process for a qualifying damage request.

What the host should write to the guest

The message should preserve facts, invite a correction, and keep the claim on-platform. Include the checkout date and time, what was observed, what evidence is attached, and what action the guest can take. Do not include threats, review bargaining, a criminal accusation, or a request for cash, Venmo, Zelle, or another off-platform settlement.

Fact-check template: “After your checkout today at 11:00 AM, my cleaner found the dining chair back separated from the frame. The condition was photographed at 11:28 AM before the room was reset. Did anything happen to the chair during the stay that would help me understand the damage?”

Resolution Center request template: “I have submitted an Airbnb Resolution Center request for the damaged dining chair. It includes the checkout record, before-and-after photos, and an itemized $180 repair estimate. Please review the request and respond through Airbnb.”

Worked example: those messages tie 11:00 AM, 11:28 AM, and $180 to specific records without saying the guest admitted fault. If the estimate later changes to $176, update the evidence rather than arguing from the first number. The Airbnb automated-messages guide explains routine messaging, and these guest message templates cover the wider stay. A damage request, however, should remain host-reviewed and platform-native.

Build the evidence before the incident: a five-minute turnover protocol

The “five-minute” label is an illustrative operating target, not an Airbnb requirement. The goal is a small, repeatable baseline: consistent room photos before check-in and immediately after checkout, plus close-ups only for claim-relevant items. Store receipts and any available serial numbers in a folder tied to the listing, and make the cleaner's rule “photograph, report, then reset.”

1. At the start of the turnover, take the same wide view of each room from the same doorway.
2. Photograph a short list of valuable or damage-prone items, not every fork and towel.
3. Report exceptions before cleaning changes the scene, then name the file with the date and room.
4. Route urgent safety work immediately and ordinary repair work into the normal task queue.

Worked example: for an 8-room home, 1 wide image per room plus 4 close-ups of selected high-value items equals 12 files per turnover. That is 8 + 4 = 12, not an Airbnb evidence quota. The proportional system matters more than the file count. Build it into the cleaning checklist, then decide whether a vacation-rental task manager or an Airbnb cleaning app fits the handoff.

A small host does not need enterprise inspection theater. A short, repeatable baseline and a clear escalation contact are enough to make later evidence much easier to follow. Review the process after several turnovers: if staff routinely miss a room, change the shot list instead of piling on more instructions.

Where BnBGenius fits after checkout—and where it does not

After checkout, BnBGenius creates cleaning and repair tasks for the host's workflow. It does not inspect the property, take or store evidence for a claim, contact police, file or adjudicate a reimbursement request, or guarantee payment. The host still reviews the evidence, sends the Resolution Center request, contacts the appropriate authority where needed, and follows the claim through Airbnb.

Worked example: checkout is at 11:00 AM, a cleaning task is created, and the cleaner flags a broken chair at 11:28. BnBGenius can create a repair task, but the host—not the software—checks the photos and opens the Airbnb request. The BnBGenius tasks page shows that cleaning-and-repair workflow, while the guide to automating Airbnb cleaning covers the surrounding handoff.

This is a useful boundary: routine coordination can be delegated without giving away the claim decision. If you are mapping which parts of hosting belong in software at all, the Airbnb operations automation guide separates repeatable work from judgment calls, while the Airbnb host apps comparison places task tools beside other categories. Damage attribution, police reporting, and the amount you attest to are judgment calls.

About this article: Kent Morgan reviewed the operational guidance and primary sources on September 25, 2026. The primary sources are Airbnb's Host damage protection page, security-deposit guidance, and 2026 Host Damage Protection Terms. Airbnb can change its process and terms; this is operational information, not legal or insurance advice.