How to Use AirCover (Guaranteed Reimbursement With 7 Steps)

Knowing how to use AirCover guaranteed is one of the most valuable skills an Airbnb host can develop. AirCover provides up to $3 million in damage protection for hosts — but collecting on it requires following a specific process. Miss a step and your claim gets denied, leaving you paying out of pocket for damage your guest actually caused.

Watch the full video above or keep reading for the complete breakdown.

What Is AirCover and What Does It Actually Cover?

AirCover for Hosts is Airbnb's built-in damage protection program, included automatically for every host listing on the platform. As of 2026, it covers up to $3 million in property damage caused by guests, including damage to the home itself, furniture, belongings, vehicles, and even valuables like art and jewelry.

This coverage is funded through Airbnb's service fees — meaning hosts don't pay a separate premium for it. It's one of the most compelling reasons to list on Airbnb rather than other platforms.

That said, AirCover is not a blank check. It covers guest-caused damage. It does not cover:

• Normal wear and tear (a couch cushion flattening over time, for example)
• Pre-existing damage that wasn't documented before the guest arrived
• Regular maintenance and upkeep costs
• Items that naturally broke down from ordinary use

Understanding this distinction up front will save you enormous frustration and prevent wasted claim attempts. If you want to learn more about the financial side of protecting your investment, check out this guide on how to analyze a short-term rental property — factoring in maintenance reserves is part of a sound STR investment thesis.

Step 1: Detect Damage the Moment It Happens

The most important factor in a successful AirCover claim is timing. You need to know about the damage the day it's discovered — not three weeks later, not after two more guests have checked in.

The best way to guarantee this is to build it into your cleaner's turnover checklist. Every time a guest checks out, your cleaning team should do a complete walkthrough of the property — inside and out — before they start cleaning. They should inspect for:

• Broken or damaged furniture, fixtures, or appliances
• Stains on carpets, rugs, or upholstery
• Missing items (kitchen equipment, towels, decor)
• Any damage to walls, doors, or flooring

Give your cleaners a direct communication channel to reach you immediately if anything looks off. A WhatsApp group, a property management app notification, or even a simple text — whatever it takes to get that information to you within hours of checkout, not days.

Reporting same-day or before the next guest checks in produces the highest success rate on claims. There's a direct, undeniable paper trail linking the damage to the specific guest who was responsible.

Step 2: Confirm the Damage Is Actually Covered

Before you spend any time building a claim, stop and ask one honest question: was this damage actually caused by the guest?

This is where many hosts go wrong. They submit claims for items that are simply showing their age. A torn fitted sheet that's been washed 200 times. A TV remote that stopped working. A coffee maker that finally gave out. These are not AirCover claims — these are normal operating costs of running a short-term rental.

AirCover covers direct, guest-caused damage. Things like:

• A carpet that was pet-soiled by an unauthorized animal
• A TV screen cracked from impact
• Furniture that was broken or heavily stained beyond reasonable use
• Items that were stolen or removed from the property
• Excessive cleaning required beyond normal post-checkout cleaning

When hosts blindly submit every small complaint as a claim, Airbnb's system starts flagging them as bad-faith filers. That erodes credibility for future claims. Be selective, be honest, and focus on damage that clearly wouldn't have happened without the guest's direct actions.

For context on managing difficult situations with guests beyond property damage, the guide on handling a bad Airbnb guest offers a practical framework for keeping a clear head under pressure.

Step 3: Decide Whether It's Worth Claiming

Not every covered damage is worth the effort of a claim. There's a real cost — your time, your team's time, back-and-forth communication, documentation gathering — to every claim you file.

BNB Mastery recommends setting a minimum threshold for claims. Internally, the benchmark used is $15. Anything below that simply isn't worth chasing. A single broken wine glass, a missing dish towel, a cracked phone charger left in the unit — these are costs of doing business.

There's also a guest relationship angle. If a guest accidentally broke something minor and otherwise had a great stay, squeezing them for a $10 reimbursement creates friction and risks a retaliatory review. The better business decision is often to absorb small losses gracefully and preserve the relationship.

The calculus changes significantly once you're talking about a soiled mattress, damaged hardwood floors, or a broken appliance. Those are absolutely worth pursuing. Know where your line is before something happens — not after.

Step 4: Submit the Claim to Airbnb Right Away

Once you've confirmed the damage is covered and worth claiming, submit immediately. Don't wait to gather every piece of documentation first — you can add details as you go. Getting the claim started quickly is what matters most.

Airbnb has updated AirCover policies significantly over the past couple of years. As of 2026, the program is considerably more lenient than earlier versions, and the approval rates for well-documented claims are strong.

Airbnb has simplified the submission process, and you no longer need to contact the guest first before filing (though communicating with them is still a good idea — more on that below).

To initiate a claim, go to Airbnb's Resolution Center. From there you can:

1. Select the relevant reservation
2. Choose the type of issue (damage, missing items, extra cleaning, etc.)
3. Upload documentation and describe the issue in detail
4. Submit and wait for Airbnb to review

Submitting on the same day the damage is discovered — or at minimum before the next guest checks in — creates the clearest possible link between the damage and the responsible party. The faster you move, the stronger your position.

Step 5: Document Everything Thoroughly

Your claim is only as strong as your documentation. This is where many otherwise valid claims fall apart. Hosts describe what happened but don't show it — and Airbnb needs proof.

Here's what strong documentation looks like:

• Photos and video of the damage, taken as soon as it's discovered
• Original receipts for the damaged item, if available — this is why good bookkeeping for your STR pays off
• Replacement cost screenshots from retailers showing the comparable item at current prices
• Contractor quotes that specifically itemize the damage-related work only (not bundled with general maintenance)
• Cleaning invoices that break out the extra cleaning cost from the standard turnover fee

A common mistake: having a maintenance person visit, handle the damage repair and other general upkeep, and then submitting the full invoice. Airbnb will only reimburse the damage portion. Make sure any contractor or cleaner creates a separate, itemized quote or invoice covering only the guest-caused issue.

If you don't have the original receipt for a damaged item, that's okay. A screenshot from Amazon, Wayfair, or wherever you'd buy the replacement — showing a comparable item and its current price — is typically accepted. The goal is to show the real cost of making you whole.

Managing strong documentation is also a great habit to build into your overall STR business systems. Hosts who track their operational costs carefully make better investment decisions too — see how this connects to cutting back on Airbnb operational costs.

Step 6: Follow Up Until It's Resolved

Submitting the claim is not the finish line. It's the starting gun.

Airbnb will often come back with requests for additional information, clarifications, or supplemental documentation. If you miss those messages — even by a few days — your claim can be closed out as unresolved. It's one of the most common and most preventable reasons hosts lose valid claims.

Set a reminder to check in on open claims every 48 hours. If Airbnb reaches out, respond the same day. Keep all your documentation organized so you can pull it quickly when asked.

The hosts who get paid are the ones who stay engaged throughout the process. Treat it like any other business communication — prompt, professional, and thorough.

If managing claims and guest communications feels like too much to handle alongside everything else, connecting with other experienced hosts through the BNB Tribe community can help. Hearing how others handle their claim processes in real time is genuinely useful.

Step 7: Communicate With the Guest Professionally

This step is technically optional for filing a claim — but skipping it is a mistake.

Reaching out to a guest about damage can feel awkward, especially with a guest who may get defensive. But a calm, factual message explaining what was found and that you'll be initiating a reimbursement process accomplishes two things:

1. It gives the guest a chance to respond and potentially resolve things directly
2. It creates a record showing you communicated before escalating

Keep the tone neutral. Don't accuse, don't threaten, don't get emotional. State the facts, share the documentation, and explain next steps.

Now, here's the bonus angle: sometimes guests respond to a damage claim by leaving a retaliatory negative review. If that happens, don't panic. Airbnb has a clear policy against retaliatory reviews — and if you can demonstrate that a review was left specifically because you filed a damage claim, you can request that review be removed.

To escalate a retaliatory review removal:

• Search Airbnb's help documentation for their retaliatory review policy
• Contact Airbnb support and share the link to that policy directly
• Show the timeline — damage reported, claim filed, negative review left shortly after
• Be persistent; the first representative may not resolve it, but escalation often works

In the meantime, respond to any negative review publicly in a calm, factual, professional tone. Other potential guests will read that response and draw their own conclusions.

For more on managing difficult guest situations, the post on what to do when a guest refuses to leave covers another extreme scenario hosts occasionally face.

Why So Many Hosts Think AirCover Doesn't Work

There's a loud contingent online — in Facebook groups, YouTube comment sections, STR forums — insisting that AirCover never pays out and that hosts should expect nothing from it. This reputation is largely undeserved, and understanding why matters.

The hosts who report failed claims are typically making one or more of these errors:

• Filing claims for wear and tear that was never guest-caused
• Submitting months after the fact with no direct evidence tying damage to the guest
• Providing vague or insufficient documentation
• Not following up when Airbnb requests more information
• Filing on items under any reasonable minimum threshold

When you file correctly — damage clearly caused by the guest, reported immediately, well-documented, followed up on promptly — the success rate is high. Hosts who follow the process consistently report near-100% approval rates on legitimate claims.

The lesson isn't that AirCover is unreliable. The lesson is that it rewards hosts who operate with discipline and documentation. If you're building a serious STR business — whether you own the properties or manage them for others — these systems need to be part of your operating procedure from day one.

Hosts building co-hosting or property management businesses especially need to nail this process. Managing damage claims on behalf of property owners is part of what makes a professional manager worth hiring. For a structured approach to building that business, BNB Mastery's Co-Hosting Program covers client management, operational systems, and how to handle exactly these kinds of situations at scale.

Final Thoughts on Getting AirCover Reimbursement

Learning how to use AirCover guaranteed isn't complicated — but it does require discipline. The hosts who get reimbursed are the ones who catch damage early, document it thoroughly, submit claims promptly, and follow through until the claim closes.

AirCover is a genuine competitive advantage of the Airbnb platform. In a well-run operation, you'll rarely need it — damage claims should account for less than 1% of guest stays. But when you do need it, having the system in place means you collect what you're owed instead of absorbing costs that were never yours to bear.

Build the habits now: thorough cleaner walkthroughs, organized bookkeeping, a clear claims process, and fast communication. Those habits protect your investment and make you a better operator overall.