Airbnb host claims damage you did not do: how to respond

Updated November 2, 2026 · 6 min read · Not legal advice

Answer the request in Airbnb's Resolution Center within the 24 hours you are given, calmly and with specifics, and attach or describe your own photos from check-in and check-out. Airbnb's help pages say that if the host involves Airbnb, a Community Support team member weighs the host's evidence together with the notes in your first response. If you are charged anyway, Airbnb says you have 60 days to appeal.

Check what your check-in photos say about themselvesPhoto Date Checker: free, runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded.

How Airbnb's damage-claim process works

This is the process as Airbnb's own help pages describe it on the date this guide was updated. Airbnb changes its processes and terms, so check the live pages linked in the sources before you rely on a deadline.

The host files a request. Airbnb's host page says that a host who wants to be reimbursed for damage, missing items or unexpected cleaning must do so through the Resolution Center, and that the host is told to file within 14 days of the guest's checkout.
You have 24 hours to respond. If you pay the full amount, the request is closed. If you pay part, decline, or do not respond, the host may involve Airbnb, or the insurer where Airbnb's host protection is backed by one.
Airbnb may step in. A Community Support team member decides whether you are responsible and whether the amount is reasonable, by reviewing the host's evidence and any notes you included in your initial response. Someone may follow up with you or others. Airbnb adds that some host requests may be reviewed automatically first, with the host able to ask for human review.
You can pay or appeal. If you neither pay voluntarily nor appeal in time, or your appeal fails, Airbnb says your payment method is charged. It also says you will not be charged without advance notice or a chance to appeal before and after, and that you have 60 days to appeal after a charge.

Two details matter for your strategy. First, your first response is part of what the reviewer reads, so do not treat it as a formality. Second, the host's side has to show the damage with evidence: Airbnb tells hosts to document the issue with photos or videos, repair or cleaning estimates, and receipts. Evidence is what you will both be arguing about.

Before and during the stay: the routine that protects you

Do these in the first 15 minutes, before you unpack and before anything gets spilled or moved.

Walk-through video. One slow video of every room, floor to ceiling, narrating the date and the unit.
Photos of problems. Stained or worn furniture, scuffed walls, cracked tiles, chipped counters, burn marks, a loose handle, a mattress stain. Close up, and from a step back to show where it is.
Appliances and fixtures. TV, coffee maker, oven, shower, toilet, blinds. Whether they work and what condition they are in.
Floors and rugs. Both can show stains and wear.
Outdoor areas, if any: patio furniture, grill, pool equipment, fences.
Tell the host in the Airbnb message thread about what you found, with two or three photos. Airbnb's own guest help says a message through the website or app helps because its support team can refer to it later.

If you break something, say so promptly. Airbnb's guest help says being upfront gives the host time to fix it before the next guest and gives you both a chance to resolve it without Airbnb getting involved.

At checkout

Take the same walk-through video after you have packed, cleaned up and taken out the trash.
Photograph each room, the kitchen counters and sink, the bathroom, the closets, the fridge, and the front door as you leave.
Message the host: the time you left and that the place was left in good order.
Back the photos up the same day and keep the originals untouched. See how to prove when a photo was taken for how the date inside a photo file works and where it is weak.

When a damage request arrives

1. Do not ignore it, and do not panic

Save the request: screenshot the text, amount and any photos. Note the time you got it. The 24-hour clock is short, but a considered answer in time is far better than a silent one.

2. Read what is actually claimed

Which item? What amount? What date does the host say it happened? Then run the checks that decide most disputes:

Is the damage in your check-in photos? If it was there when you arrived, say so and show the photo.
Are the host's photos from after your stay, and how long after? A photo taken days later says little about who caused a mark, especially if there were cleaners or other guests in between. Ask when and by whom it was taken.
Is it normal wear and tear or routine cleaning? Airbnb's host damage protection page lists normal wear and tear and normal check-out tasks as not covered.
Is the amount supported? Ask for the estimate or receipt, and whether the item was new, old or already worn.

3. Write a response a reviewer can use

Keep it short, factual, in order, and free of anger. For example:

“I stayed from [date] to [date]. At check-in at about [time] I took photos and a video of the whole unit; the photos show [the item] already [condition] (attached/available on request). I did not [cause the damage described]. At checkout at [time] I left the unit clean, and I messaged [host] at [time] to say so. The photos you sent are dated [date], [number] days after my checkout. I would like to see the estimate or receipt for the amount. I decline this request, and I am happy to provide the originals of my photos.”

If the form lets you attach photos, attach the two or three clearest and offer the rest. If it does not, describe them and keep the originals ready, because Airbnb says someone may follow up.

4. If Airbnb decides against you

Use the appeal and add anything new: another photo, a message from the stay, a point about the dates of the host's photos. Watch the deadline: Airbnb's guest help says 60 days after you are charged. A separate dispute with your card issuer has its own, stricter timeline, so read the card section of the rental car damage guide and decide quickly if you plan to use it.

If you are the host

The same evidence is what protects you. Airbnb tells hosts to document the issue with photos or videos, repair or cleaning estimates, and receipts, to file the request in the Resolution Center within 14 days of the responsible guest's checkout, and to expect the guest to have 24 hours to respond. Photos from before each stay, taken the same way each time, are what make a claim fair to both sides. Do not ask for payment outside the Resolution Center, because Airbnb's policy says a host who seeks reimbursement from a guest must use it.

What not to do

Do not edit or filter your photos, or change the date on them.
Do not send originals through apps that shrink pictures if you can avoid it. Keep the originals yourself.
Do not agree to settle in cash outside Airbnb without understanding what you give up.
Do not post accusations in a public review while a claim is open.

Not legal advice. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and it cannot promise how any company, insurer, court or other decision-maker will treat a photo. Rules differ by place and change over time. For a real dispute, check the rules that apply to you or ask a qualified professional.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to respond to a damage request?

Airbnb's help pages say you have 24 hours to respond to a reimbursement request from your host in the Resolution Center. Respond inside that window, even if you are still collecting evidence, and say what you will provide.

Can Airbnb charge me without warning?

Airbnb says you will never be charged without advance notice or a chance to appeal before and after you have been charged, and that you have 60 days to appeal after a charge. It also says this process does not apply to stays in China, Japan or India. Check the current help page for your situation.

Does normal wear and tear count as damage?

Airbnb's host damage protection page says it does not cover damage from normal wear and tear, or cleaning that belongs to normal check-out tasks such as laundry, dishes or trash. If the claim looks like ordinary wear or routine cleaning, say so in your response.

I have no check-in photos. Is it hopeless?

No, but your position is weaker. Use what you have: messages with the host from the stay, the listing's own photos, any photos you took for other reasons that show the item, and your account of when you arrived and left. Then ask the host for dated photos of the item from before your stay.

Can the host ask for a security deposit?

Airbnb's pricing and payments policy says most hosts are not allowed to charge a security deposit or a credit card hold, with exceptions for select cases and hotels, and that a deposit must be released or refunded within 7 days of checkout (14 for hotels) if there is no damage. Hosts who keep part of a deposit should be ready with a written explanation and evidence.

Sources

Pages we opened and checked while writing this guide (November 2, 2026):