According to Airbnb's official host damage protection policy, if a host believes a guest caused damage or unexpected cleaning costs, the process works as follows:
The host documents the issue by taking photos or videos and collecting repair or cleaning estimates and receipts.
Within 14 days of the guest's checkout, the host files a reimbursement request through the Resolution Center. (Note: the 14-day limit applies specifically to AirCover for Hosts claims. General Resolution Center requests can be submitted up to 60 days after checkout.)
The guest has 24 hours to respond.
If the guest declines, pays partially, or does not respond, the host can involve Airbnb.
Airbnb's Community Support team reviews the evidence submitted by the host and makes a decision.
According to Airbnb's official guidance, when Airbnb steps in, the team reviews evidence provided by the host, along with any notes the guest included in their initial response, to determine whether the guest is responsible and whether the amount requested is reasonable.
Photos and videos are the most critical evidence. Without them, a host has almost no way to prove that damage occurred or that extra cleaning was necessary.
All communication with the guest should go through the Airbnb platform, not WhatsApp or text messages. Airbnb can only access messages sent within its own system, and those records become part of the case.
Professional cleaning invoices also matter. According to Airbnb's policy, standard checkout cleaning tasks such as laundry, dishes, and trash removal are not covered under AirCover for Hosts. Only unexpected extra cleaning costs qualify, such as stain removal, smoke odor remediation, or damage caused by pets.
The photo record a cleaning company keeps directly determines whether the host can win a dispute. Every turnover should include two sets of photos.
The first set is taken on arrival, before any cleaning begins. These photos document the condition the guest left the property in, including any existing damage or stains. This protects both the cleaner and the host. If damage existed before the cleaning team arrived, arrival photos are the only proof.
The second set is taken after cleaning is complete, showing the condition of every room before the next guest checks in. These photos need to have a verifiable timestamp and GPS coordinates showing when and where they were taken.
These photos cannot live on a cleaner's personal phone or in a WhatsApp group. Photos transferred through messaging apps can lose GPS metadata in the process, which removes their evidentiary value. Photos need to be tied to a specific job, organized, and retrievable when a host needs to submit evidence quickly.
Airbnb makes decisions based on the evidence submitted by both sides. If the host has no photos and the guest denies responsibility, the host has very little to work with. It does not matter how thorough the cleaning was or how certain the host is about the damage. Without documentation, there is no proof.
This is also a risk for cleaning companies. If a host loses a dispute and traces the problem back to missing documentation from a turnover, it creates a serious credibility issue for the cleaning relationship.
Yes. According to Airbnb's rebooking and refund policy, guests can request a refund of the cleaning fee or a partial refund through the Resolution Center if they believe the property was not clean at check-in.
No. According to Airbnb's official policy, normal checkout cleaning tasks such as laundry, dishes, and trash removal are not covered. Only unexpected extra cleaning costs qualify, such as stain removal, smoke odor remediation, or pet damage.
For AirCover for Hosts claims, the host must file within 14 days of the guest's checkout. For general Resolution Center requests, the deadline is 60 days after checkout. (Source: Airbnb)
According to Airbnb's official guidance, valid evidence includes photos or videos, repair or cleaning estimates, receipts, and communication records within the Airbnb messaging system.
Timemark helps cleaning teams that service Airbnb properties build a verifiable photo record on every turnover.
When a photo is taken in Timemark, the app automatically embeds a verified timestamp and GPS coordinates directly on the image. The date, time, and location are visible on the photo itself, without relying on metadata that can be stripped when photos are sent through messaging apps. Cleaners can also add notes and stage labels such as "on arrival" or "cleaning complete," so every photo is easy to understand without additional explanation.
With Teamspace, photos sync automatically to a cloud workspace organized by property and date, instead of sitting on personal phones or in group chats. When a host needs to submit evidence to Airbnb, the full documentation is ready to retrieve and export immediately.
Start documenting your Airbnb turnovers with Timemark, free to try.
Timemark is a jobsite photo documentation app with timestamp, GPS geotag, and on-site notes. With Teamspace, field teams can automatically collect, organize, search, and export job photos across projects.
Timemark empowers construction, field service, telecom, and transportation teams to capture verifiable job photos to prevent disputes, support claims, and ensure project transparency. Timemark makes job photos trusted, organized, report-ready, and searchable.
1. icloud helps to share photos for iphone users 2. GOOGLE PHOTOS 3. One-drive 4. Timemark
Say goodbye to manual photo uploads, messy email attachments, and lost photos. Keep your job photos organized.
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