How to File an AirCover Claim: One $1,180 Case, Start to Finish

Most hosts think of an AirCover claim as a form. You fill it out, attach some photos, and a payment shows up. That isn't how it works. Airbnb decides every claim, and nothing guarantees a payout. A strong file helps. It does not decide the outcome.

This guide on how to file an AirCover claim follows one example from checkout to decision. The numbers and dates are made up, but the steps are real. You will see who reviews the file, what they look at, and why the evidence most hosts rely on often doesn't hold up. This is not legal advice, and Airbnb's terms and deadlines change, so confirm the current rules in your Resolution Center and Help Center before you file.

The example: a $1,180 request, not a refund

Here is the case we will carry through every section.

A guest booked a two-bedroom house for March 4 to March 9. They accepted the listing's house rules when they booked on February 18. Two rules matter here:

• No food or drinks in the bedrooms.
• Close the patio umbrella when you leave the patio or when it's windy.

Before the stay, the host's March 3 turnover photos showed the main bedroom rug clean and the patio tabletop intact. Checkout was March 9 at 11:00 a.m. When the cleaner arrived at 12:40 p.m., she found three problems:

| Item | Cost | |---|---| | Wool rug in the main bedroom, red wine stain that wouldn't lift, replacement | $640 | | Glass patio tabletop, shattered when the open umbrella tipped in wind | $365 | | Extra cleaning labor, 3 hours at $45 | $135 | | Haul-away and disposal of broken glass | $40 | | Total | $1,180 |

The host's first thought was to "file with AirCover." You don't file directly with AirCover. You send a request to the guest through the Resolution Center. If the guest pays, it's done. If they decline or don't respond, you can ask Airbnb to step in. Only then does anyone at Airbnb review your file.

So how to file an AirCover claim comes down to this: you are asking for money, first from the guest and then from Airbnb. For the mechanics, see our Airbnb Resolution Center filing guide. For what AirCover covers, read AirCover for hosts.

Who reviews the $1,180 claim and what is in the file

There are two readers, at two stages.

The guest reads it first. When you send the request, the guest sees your description, photos, and amount. They can pay, offer less, or decline. In our example, the guest saw four line items, each with a photo and a receipt or quote.

An Airbnb reviewer reads it second. If you escalate, someone on Airbnb's team looks at the case. Airbnb doesn't publish exactly who that is or how they weigh each item, so treat what follows as what we generally see, not a rule. The reviewer doesn't visit your home. They appear to work from what is in front of them:

• The reservation details: dates, guest count, listing.
• The listing as it appeared, including house rules.
• The message thread inside Airbnb.
• Your photos and video, with their dates.
• Your receipts, invoices, and quotes.
• The guest's response and anything the guest uploads.

If something isn't in the file, assume it doesn't count.

The reviewer is trying to answer three plain questions:

1. Did this damage happen during this stay?
2. Is the amount reasonable for what was damaged?
3. Is there enough documentation to support both?

In our example, the rug had a good answer to question 1: the clean March 3 photo and a March 9 photo at 12:47 p.m. showing the stain. Question 2 was decent: a receipt for a replacement rug at $640. The tabletop was weaker on question 3, and we'll come back to that.

Step by step: the $1,180 claim from checkout to submission

March 9, 11:00 a.m. Checkout. The guest left on time. No message about any damage.

March 9, 12:40 p.m. Discovery. The cleaner stopped before cleaning the damaged areas. Once you clean, you erase part of your evidence.

March 9, 12:45 to 1:05 p.m. Photos and video. She took wide shots of each room, then close-ups. She also shot a short video of the patio showing the tipped umbrella, the base, and the glass. Every file kept its original date and time, with no cropping or filters.

March 9, 1:15 p.m. First message to the guest, inside Airbnb. The host wrote: "Our cleaner found a wine stain on the main bedroom rug and the patio tabletop broken. We're getting repair costs and will follow up through the Resolution Center." No accusations. Just what was found.

March 9, 2:30 p.m. Damaged items kept. The host set the rug aside, folded and unwashed, and kept the broken glass in a box with the frame. If Airbnb asks for more photos later, the items still exist.

March 10. Costs. A rug cleaner wrote a quote saying the stain had set and cleaning wouldn't remove it. The host bought a similar rug for $640 and kept the receipt. A glass shop quoted $365 for a tempered replacement top. The cleaner invoiced 3 extra hours at $45. The disposal service charged $40. For what a usable invoice looks like, see the damage repair invoice guide.

March 10. Proof of condition and age. The host pulled the March 3 turnover photos and found the original receipt for the old rug, bought 14 months earlier.

March 11, 9:00 a.m. Request sent. The host sent a request for $1,180, split into four line items, each with a photo and a receipt or quote. The description was four sentences of facts and dates.

Two notes on timing. Airbnb sets a deadline for damage requests, measured in days, not weeks. Our damage claim time limit guide covers it. And the host filed two days after checkout with real costs. Filing fast with a rough number and changing it later looks worse than filing a day later with real figures.

Why a chat message or a bulk house-rules click fails as proof

When the guest responded, they agreed the wine stain was theirs. On the umbrella, they wrote: "We didn't know we had to close it. Nobody told us."

The host had two pieces of evidence to answer that. Neither was strong.

The bulk house-rules click. The guest accepted the house rules when booking on February 18. That is one click covering the whole booking. It shows the rules existed. It doesn't show this guest saw the umbrella line.

The chat message. On March 4 at 3:12 p.m., the host sent a check-in message that included, in the sixth paragraph, "Please close the patio umbrella when you're done outside." The guest never replied. A message shows you sent something. It doesn't show the guest read it or agreed to it. A key rule buried in a long message is easy for a guest to say they missed.

A house manual or a PDF in the home has the same problem. Delivery is not acknowledgment. Our post on house rules PDFs goes deeper.

What would have helped is a dated record showing that, before check-in, this guest saw the umbrella rule on its own line and acknowledged it. That isn't a guarantee either. It is stronger than a click or a message, because it gives the reviewer something to check against "nobody told us."

What happens after you file: guest response, follow-up, and a decision

March 11 to March 14. Guest window. The guest had a set window to respond. On March 14, they offered $200 toward the rug and declined the rest.

March 14, 4:00 p.m. Escalation. The host declined the $200 and asked Airbnb to get involved. The file went to a reviewer.

March 17. Request for more. Airbnb asked for two things: the original rug receipt and any photo of the patio from before the stay. The host sent the 14-month-old rug receipt and the March 3 patio photo the same day. Send what's asked, not a long letter.

March 19. Guest statement. The guest told Airbnb again that they didn't know about the umbrella rule and that the wind was unusual.

March 25. Decision. In this example, Airbnb approved $815:

| Item | Requested | Approved | |---|---|---| | Rug replacement | $640 | $520 | | Extra cleaning labor | $135 | $135 | | Haul-away | $40 | $40 | | Patio tabletop | $365 | $120 | | Total | $1,180 | $815 |

The rug was reduced from $640 to $520 because the old rug was 14 months old, and Airbnb may adjust for age and wear. It was approved in part because the file was clean: before photo, after photo, dated receipts, and a guest who admitted the stain. The tabletop was cut to $120. The reviewer pointed to the wind and to whether the guest had been clearly told about the umbrella rule. The host had no record that the guest acknowledged that specific rule.

This is one example. Your result could be higher, lower, or zero. If a decision goes against you, see our guides on an AirCover claim denied and closing evidence gaps.

The host didn't do much wrong. Most of the file was strong. The weak spot is one most hosts share: no proof the guest saw the rule that mattered.

A clean claim file checklist

Here is what a clean file contains when you learn how to file an AirCover claim, using the March 9 case as the model.

1. Before-stay photos, dated. Turnover photos from the last clean, showing items that later got damaged. In the example: March 3 photos of the rug and tabletop.

1. After-stay photos and video, unedited. Wide shots first, then close-ups, with original timestamps, taken before cleaning. In the example: March 9, 12:45 to 1:05 p.m.

1. The damaged items, kept. Don't throw anything out until the case closes.

1. A signed, item-level acknowledgment of your house rules from before check-in. Not the booking click and not a chat message. A record showing the guest saw each key rule, with a timestamp. PreArrive covers this item. It's evidence, not a verdict. In the example, this was missing for the umbrella rule.

1. A short, factual first message inside Airbnb. Sent the day of discovery. It states what was found, not who is to blame. Keep all messages in the Airbnb thread.

1. Itemized costs with real documents. One line per item, each with a receipt, invoice, or written quote. In the example: $640, $365, $135, $40.

1. Proof of the item's original value and age. The original purchase receipt if you have it. In the example: the 14-month-old rug receipt.

1. A request filed inside the deadline. Check the current window. In the example: filed March 11.

1. Quick, short replies to follow-up questions. Send exactly what was asked. In the example: March 17.

1. A copy of everything, saved outside Airbnb. One folder per reservation. See what to keep and how long.

None of these guarantee a payout. Together, they give the reviewer a file that answers their three questions without guessing.

If item 4 is the gap in your files, sign up for PreArrive and set up signed house-rules acknowledgments before your next check-in.