Fire in our Airbnb unit due to guests

[Jacob Haskins]

Hi, BP community! Just wondering if anybody else has had the same experience that I have had having to deal with Airbnb Cover.

Earlier November 2022, we had a guest stay at our STR home, and they "accidentally" had a candle fire. So what actually happened is unknown, but there is soot and ash everywhere in parts of the home. The actual end table located next to a bed did catch on fire and there is clear evidence that is is destroyed. The house reeks from smoke smell and there is soot damage on all of the furniture and ash lightly dusting the whole section of the home. Thankfully, the house did not catch fire, but just the top of an end table which then left residue and soot damage everywhere.

I tried contacting a couple of deep-cleaning companies and both turned me down for cleaning as they feared potential liability with it being fire damage and the odor remaining. Because of this, I contacted a restoration company and they came out and gave a detailed report. They estimated and quoted full restoration of the fire damage which included soot cleanup, odor removal, clean air filtration (out of fear there may be something harmful in the air from the items that burned), and floor replacement. The extent of their quote exceeds $20,000 USD of damages. (I also got a second opinion from another restoration company and their report was very similar to the original scope of work).

So, now for my question: do any other hosts have experience dealing with issues like this? I have followed Airbnb's process on filing a claim for reimbursement through Aircover, but it has now been 3 weeks and nothing has been done. I have followed up with Airbnb's support team on 4 different times to no avail. They always respond with "We will escalate this case to a Senior associate", and then close the ticket.

I am wondering if it is best to file through my own insurance or should I continue to follow Airbnb's processes? Ideally, it seems reasonably to me to expect Aircover to handle this since it is a result of their guest. I have dealt with Aircover before, but only for small instances less than $500 and it was no big deal. The tough part is there are no representatives you can "call" or even chat with on Airbnb's platform which seems like a big miss to me.