Last updated on March 1st, 2024
Airbnb Aircover, does it actually work? Well, let me tell you something: it’s not all peaches and cream. Though it sounds nice reading the benefits, the payout of claims and the customer service is a bit shady.
In this Airbnb Aircover review, I’ll point out my guest experience and research what hosts are experiencing.
What is Airbnb Aircover?
In simple terms, Airbnb Aircover is accommodation insurance for guests and hosts.
You can call it what you want — hotel, business, or home insurance, depending on whether you’re a guest or host.
However, Airbnb doesn’t consider Aircover for guests as insurance. And rightfully so, you’re at the mercy of multiple customer service reps interpreting your claim or dispute the way they want without a streamlined adjudication process.
Airbnb Aircover has different policies for guests and hosts, which I’ll discuss below.
Related:
- Best Carry-on Luggage with a Laptop Compartment
- 77 Best Travel Hacks
- Best Electronic Organizers for Travel
Aircover Review for Guests
Every reservation you make on Airbnb as a guest includes Aircover. You don’t have to opt in and don’t pay additional fees for Aircover as it’s already included in the regular Airbnb fees.
I’ll mention the main highlights of Airbnb Aircover for guests and some problems with them.
Continue reading for my personal experience with Airbnb Aircover as a guest below.
Host Cancellations
If your host cancels your reservation within 30 days of arrival, Aircover will help you find another similar place if available or offer you a refund.
The problem with this is the best value Airbnb accommodations are usually already booked, especially if it’s a budget accommodation or a monthly rental.
Airbnb will not cover the difference if your new accommodation costs more. They may provide an inconvenience coupon of about 20% of your original booking, but it won’t help with last-minute bookings.
So, expect little help if your Airbnb reservation is canceled with Aircover.
Unable to Check-In
If you can’t get into your Airbnb accommodation and your host isn’t responding, the Aircover is similar to the host cancellation policy above. You’re going to be out of luck.
Inaccurate Listings
The inaccurate listings or Aircover might be the best part.
If you’re missing essential items or amenities and the host can’t resolve it, you can cancel your reservation, receive a credit, or Airbnb will help you find another place.
Their definition of helping you find another place is up for grabs.
24-Hour Safety Line
Airbnb takes security and safety seriously, so if you ever feel in danger, call them at 1-844-234-2500.
My Personal Experience with Airbnb Aircover as a Guest
I booked an entire apartment for a month in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 2023.
It took me an hour longer to find my accommodation because the address provided through Airbnb and the directions the host provided were different. The host failed to mention this.
Therefore, my Uber from the airport dropped me off at a different location. I tried to contact the host, but he didn’t respond or apologize when he eventually read my message (through WhatsApp). It wouldn’t have made a difference if I contacted him through the Airbnb app, as you’ll later see.
Luckily, a few locals helped me out.
When I checked in, the place was dirty for my liking, with hairs all over the ground. The cleaning job was done poorly. I had to sweep the floor myself. However, the bed was clean.
Also, there was no hot water as advertised. This wasn’t a big deal because the Dominican is super hot and humid.
These issues weren’t worth complaining about.
However, on the fourth day, the water stopped working, and coincidentally, so did the WiFi.
You can’t drink tap water in the Dominican Republic.
Luckily, I had a bit of data left with my Dominican sim card through Claro, and I contacted the host about this through the Airbnb app, and he said he would get his maintenance guy to fix it. He also mentioned the Dominican Republic has water shortages, which was true, but the surrounding buildings and businesses had running water.
By the morning of the fifth day, the water still wasn’t running, and the WiFi was still down. I contacted my host again, gave him about 3 hours to reply, and he went MIA.
I then contacted Airbnb support, who eventually contacted the host and found out he couldn’t fix the water issue or WiFi. Airbnb recommended I leave the same day.
By the time Airbnb informed me I should leave, it was already night, and I told them I just couldn’t leave at night since it was dark and Santo Domingo isn’t the safest of cities.
I had to spend another night while Airbnb tried to help me find another place. But the problem was they kept changing customer service agents because the previous agent would end their shift.
At one point, Airbnb was unresponsive for more than 6 hours. I also couldn’t call them because the agents didn’t have an inbound phone number though the safety line does. And they couldn’t call me because my sim card was only for data. I could have called them over WiFi with Rebtel.
And their definition of helping me find another place was sending me links to overpriced Airbnb’s. I asked them about the price difference, and they informed the 20% coupon for the inconvenience would help cover it, which amounted to about $73.
The problem with this is it is difficult to find accommodation within my budget for a month, plus to get a monthly discount I would have to extend my stay longer in Santo Domingo. None of which Aircover covers or the Airbnb agents could understand.
Airbnb did refund my money for the unused portion of my stay in Santo Domingo, plus some credits for the inconvenience. But they left me hanging when I needed to find a new place and didn’t provide any consequences to the host.
I ended up paying more for a new place on the sixth day. And to add insult to injury, Airbnb allowed the host to relist the apartment immediately without running water or WiFi.
If the host was honest, I could have saved two days without water and WiFi.
After a few months, I decided to do a chargeback for the remaining refund through my credit card with American Express — they approved the chargeback.
What Other Guests Say about AirCover According to Reddit
Remember how AirCover is supposed to help you if your host cancels within 30 days or you’re unable to check in? Well, you’ll be out of luck like these guys and me.
And one Reddit user outright called AirCover a scam. He was in the same situation as me; Airbnb AirCover doesn’t help you find a new place.
AirCover Review for Hosts
I’m not an Airbnb host, but I’m well aware of their problems due to horrible guests.
If me losing money or time due to poor hosts, the vice versa is much worse. Hosts can easily be screwed due to poor guest behavior and be out thousands of dollars.
I’ll summarize AirCover for hosts and point out some of the problems hosts are having.
Guest Identification Verification
This is self-explanatory. The guest identification verification ensures the person booking is the person that will be the actual guest.
Airbnb verifies this information by checking name, address, and government ID.
On another note, don’t let guests book on behalf of other guests. Otherwise, AirCover or your home insurance may not cover you for damages.
Reservation Screening
Their screening technology analyzes hundreds (supposedly) of factors to prevent bookings with a high chance of parties or property damage.
Unfortunately, parties and property damage still occur.
Insurance
AirCover for hosts also includes $3 million in damage protection. This covers damages (also assuming theft) such as auto and boat, damage caused by a guest’s pet, and income loss. As you’ll see, it’s not easy getting reimbursed.
The AirCover insurance also includes $1 million liability insurance in case your guest gets injured on your property.
24-Hour Safety Line
Like guests, hosts also have a 24-hour safety line if you feel unsafe with your guest.
What Hosts Say about AirCover According to Reddit
One Airbnb host had their Aircover claim approved within 24 hours for a trashed place.
However, in the same thread, as one user pointed out, Airbnb will pay small claims but will drag out on larger claims.
Here is another case where a guest broke or stole $70 worth of property. The host wasn’t able to get the claim approved.
Another pointer for hosts that make an Aircover claim — wait until you receive your review from your guest or when the 14-day review period expires before making an Aircover claim against them. This helps ensure you don’t receive a retaliatory negative review in case your guest doesn’t agree with any damages. This can also backfire if other guests stay at your property during the review period: the prior guest or Airbnb may claim the latter guest may have damaged your property.
Airbnb on Trustpilot
I review a lot of companies on Trustpilot. And Airbnb has a horrific score of 1.3 out of 5, with almost 12,000 US reviews. 83% of all reviewers left 1 star.
I know most people are more likely to take the time to leave a negative review than a positive one, but even if you multiply Airbnb’s score by 3, it still wouldn’t reach 5. Yikes.
What’s worse is Airbnb doesn’t even reply to reviews, not even the positive ones. They clearly don’t take customer service seriously. The whole idea of Trustpilot reviews is to research customer satisfaction from the business side and change business practices accordingly.
Out of 1,207 Trustpilot reviews that mentioned Aircover, 1,150 reviews were given 3 stars or less, and 90% gave 1 star.
So, the question is: how reliable is Aircover if you can’t even trust the company promoting it?
Final Thoughts
Is Airbnb AirCover legit? Honestly, it’s not from what I read and my own personal experience. There are definitely cases where AirCover pays out right away. However, from reading the reviews, guests and hosts are having difficulty getting adequate assistance or getting their claims approved by AirCover. Airbnb feels like a scam with its subpar customer service.
And good luck with getting help if you get screwed with the utilities like I or this host did.
I guess it’s better to have AirCover than nothing at all — even if it only works sometimes. Airbnb still provides a service I need, and it is a bit of a monopoly right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Airbnb ban you if you do a credit card chargeback?
So far, I’ve only done one chargeback (less than $200) as a guest for services not provided by Airbnb, the host, and Aircover. To this date, Airbnb has not banned me from the platform, maybe because I spend a lot of money through the platform and I have upcoming reservations.
How good is Airbnb Aircover?
From my own personal experience, reviews from Reddit and Trustpilot, including from guests and hosts, Aircover doesn’t work well. Many Airbnb customers have claimed it’s a marketing scheme and that you shouldn’t waste your time.
Hola Parceros,
I’m the founder of Aperlust. I enjoy web development and SEO and am into snowboarding and linguistics. In my spare time, you can find me destroying my opponents in chess across the globe.
Aircover is a big lie. Why? Because they deceive the hosts that everything is covered through Aircover, but only what the guests want to pay is covered. So Aircover is nothing!
Moreover, the terrible Airbnb supervisors from the Airbnb Resolution Center like Sharon, Max or Mauro always try to find a way to avoid the host’s request and not pay anything.
I have the worst example from last year when a group of guests severely damaged my electric motorcycles, and they completely destroyed one electric motorcycle and brought it to me in several pieces. I sent all the requested documents and photos to the Airbnb Resolution Team, but after a week they found an “amazing” article that Aircover won’t pay anything if you give guests motorbikes to ride and closed my claim by force. This damage cost me 2000 euros.
Another inquiry I had the same year was about a group of guests who violently used the Jacuzzi without my permission and outside of the hot tub’s opening hours, after midnight. They broke the lock on the Jacuzzi and got inside. They also often jumped into the water in the pool regardless of my warnings and the written warnings above the pool. I asked for 200 euros for all that damage, but nothing until today. My claim is still open on Airbnb and will likely be open forever like the other two refund claims from 2021 and 2018!
In 2021, a group of guests played with a 2 liter plastic Coca Cola bottle and sprayed the white walls and ceiling in the kitchen and living room, including the furniture. They also lost the key to a studio apartment and did not pay anything. I requested $176.37 for that compensation through the Airbnb Resolution Center, but nothing until today. The request is still open, probably forever!
In 2018, I received a mark on the bill for damage from a group of guests because they confirmed all the damage and did not have the money to pay. I sent an invoice to the Airbnb Resolution Center but until today not a single penny from the “magnificent” Aircover. This refund claim is open 6 years already and probably forever!
That damage was only $154.
I wrote several times about all these open requests to the Airbnb Resolution Center, but I didn’t get a response from them because they don’t want to answer unpleasant questions.
I think it is now completely clear what Aircover is.
Dear hosts, don’t trust Aircover and the Airbnb Resolution Center team and take the compensation money from the guests before they leave.