Everything you need to know about damage policy options

We understand that renting out your property is quite personal, and you may wonder what will happen if guests damage your property or belongings.

Most guests respect the properties they stay at. According to our statistics, damages by guests are very rare – occurring only once every 5,000 bookings – and most of those incidents are accidental rather than intentional.

Below we offer some suggestions on how to prevent damage to your property and how to react in the unlikely event that it happens.

What’s in this article:

Damage prevention

What can I do to prevent damage to my property?

• Show guests that your property has an owner

  If you’re meeting guests on arrival, welcome them to your home, show them around and tell them a little about your history there. When it’s clear that it’s your private residence, guests are more careful than they would be in a hotel. Even if you can’t greet them in person, you can add a personal host profile to your Booking.com property page, and leave a welcome pack.

• Make your house rules clear

  If guests know the dos and don'ts of staying at your property from the start, there are fewer chances that issues will arise. In the extranet, you can set up house rules that address common issues around pets, smoking, parties and noise.

  If you have other specific rules that can’t be covered in the extranet, you could type them up and print a copy to leave at your property so guests are reminded of them during their stay.

• Check your insurance policy

  The chances of guests damaging your property are extremely low, but it’s smart to insure yourself against the unexpected. Regular homeowner insurance doesn’t always cover short-term rentals to guests, so contact your insurance provider to check if you’re already covered or whether you need additional coverage.

  Even if your insurance policy covers short-term rentals, there’s often a deductible charged for damages – meaning you pay up to a certain amount and the insurance company pays the rest.

Handling damage

What are my options for handling damage?

Even if most guests are careful and considerate when staying at your place, accidents occasionally happen. In such cases, here are your options:

• For everyday damage, you can choose from two damage policy options to repair or replace items or property damaged by guests during their stay: damage deposit or damage programme. The two options differ in terms of how the damage payment process is facilitated. If you opt for a damage deposit, you’ll manage the process yourself. If you set up a damage programme, we’ll facilitate the damage payment process on your behalf.
• For larger damage, Partner Liability Insurance is a programme designed to protect you against third-party lawsuits or liability claims for bodily injury or or damage to guests' belongings during their stay at your property. These are extremely rare instances, so read carefully about Partner Liability Insurance before you make a claim.

How do I check which option I currently have?

You can check your current option by following these steps:

1. Sign in to the extranet
2. Select the Property option.
3. Click Policies and scroll down to Other policies. If you have set up a damage policy option, it will be visible here. If you haven’t, you can click on Edit and follow the steps provided there to set one up.

Note: your holiday rental property is covered under Partner Liability Insurance as soon as it’s listed on our platform. As of 31 March 2022, this coverage applies to all stays booked through our platform as long as you remain opted in to the programme during the stay dates.

What else can I do?

• Report guest misconduct

  To make sure a guest cannot book your property again and make us aware of their behaviour, you can also report damages using the guest misconduct tool.

• Make an insurance claim

  If you have an insurance policy that covers short-term renting of your property, you may be able to make a claim. Contact your insurance provider for more details.

Note: any insurance claim you make is subject to your own risk/claim threshold and may have an adverse effect on your insurance premium. Most insurance providers ask for proof of damages in order to evaluate your claim. We recommend that you take photos and retain any evidence that may prove useful to your claim.

Damage deposit

What is a damage deposit?

Setting up a damage deposit allows you to collect money upfront in case a guest causes damage to your property or items during their stay. However, it’s worth remembering that damage deposits tend to result in fewer bookings and more cancellations.

Please keep in mind that you’ll manage the entire damage payment process yourself.

How does a damage deposit work?

A damage deposit follows these steps:

• Before their stay, your guest gives you a deposit directly. You define how and when you collect this amount and manage the money yourself.
• You must collect and return the amount per the agreement you made at the time of the booking.
• You're within your rights to keep all or part of the deposit in case the damage is proven to be caused by the guest.

How do I set up a damage deposit?

To set up your damage deposit, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the extranet
2. Select the Property option
3. Click Policies and scroll down to Other
4. Click on Edit in the Damage policy options box. You’ll be redirected to another page.
5. Under Do your guests pay a damage deposit? choose Yes and follow the instructions to set the right damage deposit for you.

Damage programme

What is the damage programme?

Setting up a damage programme allows us to facilitate the damage payment for you at no additional cost.

With this option, we take care of everything, from contacting the guest if damage occurs to facilitating the payment process on your behalf. However, we can’t guarantee payment and you’ll only receive it if the guest agrees to pay. Since we don’t receive any payment upfront, we’ll transfer the payment to you once we’ve received it from the guest.

How does the damage programme work?

Your guest doesn’t pay a deposit upfront – they only pay if they cause damage during their stay and you report it to us. You can only ask your guest to pay for the value of the damage caused, up to the maximum amount you selected when you set up the damage programme.

In the event that damage does occur, the damage programme follows these steps:

1. You submit a damage payment request within 14 days after the guest checks out. 

2. We contact the guest to inform them that damage has occurred during their stay and that you are requesting payment from them.

3. If your damage payment request is accepted we’ll pay it out to you via bank transfer.

How do I set up the damage programme?

To set up your damage program:

1. Sign in to the extranet and select the Property option.
2. Click on Policies, scroll down to Other policies and click on Edit within the Damage policy options box. You’ll be redirected to another page. 
3. Under Do your guests pay a damage deposit?, choose Yes.
4. Under Enter the maximum amount a guest could be charged for damage (per stay), enter the amount of your choosing. The maximum or cap amount will differ depending on where your property is located.

Click Save.

Note: To adjust the maximum amount guests could be charged for damage, you can follow the steps above.

When will a new maximum amount be applied?

Please note that a new maximum amount is not applicable for guests who have booked before you adjust the amount. 

For example, if you set up 300 Euros as the maximum amount on Monday and your guest books on Tuesday, you can charge your guest a maximum of 300 Euros. This is because the programme applies at the time the guest books the stay. 

Making a damage payment request

How do I make a damage payment request?

If a guest damages your property or items within your property during their stay, here is how you can make a damage payment request:

1. Sign in to the extranet.
2. Go to the Reservations option and select the reservation where the damage occurred.
3. Click on the Make a damage payment request button.
4. Fill out the form and provide a clear description of the damage, state how much you are requesting and provide a clear photo(s) of the damage.
5. Once completed, click Review request.

You can monitor the progress of your request on the Reservation details page.

What can I ask the guest to pay for?

You can ask the guest to pay for things like:

• Damage to furniture, electronic equipment, decor, dishware, etc.
• Water damage, broken fixtures, scratched flooring, holes in walls or ceiling, etc.
• Third-party cleaning due to more than general mess (evidence of an invoice required).
• Lost keys or stolen belongings (evidence of an invoice of original purchase or receipt of a replacement required).

You cannot ask guests to pay for things like:

• Routine cleaning jobs like garbage bags being left out, dust or vacuum cleaning, food remains left on surfaces, any unclean dishes, etc.
• Non-physical damages like smoking in your property or things left untidy, etc.
• Breaking any kind of house rules like bringing pets if not allowed, late check-in, bringing extra guests, etc.
• Extra fees that were unpaid like pet fees or tourist taxes, etc.

What kind of evidence can I use?

To make it easy for the guest to understand and be more likely to pay, while also helping us process your request quickly, make sure you: 

• Describe the damage in detail
• Provide clear and relevant photographs of the damage
• Attach invoices or receipts where necessary

What kind of evidence am I not allowed to use?

For your own and your guests’ security, there are a few things you shouldn’t upload as evidence. These are:

• Invoices where private addresses or phone numbers are included – or anything else containing Personal Identifiable Information (PII) like names, phone numbers, email or postal addresses.
• Security camera footage of guests.
• Screenshots of conversations between you, staff or the guest.

How do I check the status of my damage payment request?

Once you’ve submitted a damage payment request, here’s how you can check its status:

1. Sign in to the extranet.
2. Click on Reservations.
3. Select the reservation you submitted the damage payment request for.
4. Under Damage payment request status, you’ll find the current status of your request.

What do the damage payment statuses mean?

Here’s what the extranet’s damage payment request statuses mean:

• Under review – we sent your request to the guest. If it’s approved, you should receive the requested amount in your next payout.
• More evidence needed – there isn’t enough evidence of the damage in your request. We’ve sent you an email explaining how you can submit more evidence.
• Approved – your request for payment has been approved and you should receive the amount you requested with your next payout.
• Payment in progress – we’re currently processing your payment and you should receive it with your next payout, within the next 30 days.
• Damage payment sent – we’ve successfully sent your payment to you.
• Declined – unfortunately your request for payment has not been approved and you won’t receive the amount you requested.
• Request cancelled – you’ve cancelled the request you submitted.
• No response from guest – the guest has neither approved nor declined the request after multiple attempts to contact them. The request remains open so guests can still pay, but it is unlikely they will do so.
• Request canceled – you canceled your request.

When will I receive the damage request payment?

Once your request is approved, it can take up to 30 days for you to receive payment. You can follow the status of your request on the reservation details page.

Maximum amount of damage payment

Booking.com facilitates damage payment requests via Payments by Booking.com, up to a maximum amount. These maximum amounts vary for properties in different countries. 

Please refer to the product policy page in the extranet under Damage policy options to find out the applicable maximum amount that a guest could be charged for damage. Please note that damage payment requests facilitated via Payments by Booking.com are up to €/$/£300, but this amount is subject to change.