Airbnb support says single lightbulb out = valid AirCover refund?!

$4,000 reservation Just had Airbnb cancel a guest’s reservation and issue a full refund because one lightbulb wasn’t working. In a room with multiple other working lights. I kept stressing the Aircover policy as it's written and it's distinction between "serious" issues which are covered and "minor inconveniences" which are not. Support told me Airbnb’s posted AirCover policy is just a “guideline” and doesn’t really apply when they make decisions. Anyone else run into this? How is a single bulb out a “serious issue” like missing a pool or the place being a different property? Feels like Airbnb is making it up as they go, but getting more brazen willing to put something like this in writing. Chat Thread: Senior Case Manager: "Hello, Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. This is to put in writing what we talked about on the phone that a single light bulb is covered with our AirCover policy, therefore, we cannot overturn the decision made. Thank you for your understanding on this matter." Me: "A single light bulb in a room with other fully operational light sources? You are stating that qualifies as a valid claim under Aircover? " Senior Case Manager: "That's correct. Whenever there's a valid travel issue then will check if guest is covered with our AirCover policy." Me: "This is then based off internal Airbnb documentation as you've claimed? Correct? You stated that the published policies are just guidelines and not policy. To be clear this is internal only, this is not public or published anywhere to verify your statements, correct?" Senior Case Manager: "That's correct." ______________________________________ Here's complete context for those that want a "day in the life".. Sorry in advance for the litany.: The reservation was altered/refunded same day as check in to a 1 night reservation. Guest didn't contact me at all. Airbnb sends me message 8:30PM regarding light and saying pool is not clean. I don't see message at that time but they do say: "if we don’t hear back from you, we may proceed with helping (guest) based on the information they’ve provided." Then at 10:46PM they do the alteration and refund stating: "We understand that you could be busy attending to other important matters however, I'd like to advise you that as much as we want to provide timely support to our users, we cannot leave cases indefinitely." I see messages at 1:45AM and Call requesting supervisor. I get supervisor on the phone and like always he's adamant that original decision is correct. Says decision was entirely because the pool was not clean on arrival. Then over the course of call we walk through everything in detail most notably my house rules and at end of it, he says it'll be re-assessed. I immediately provide a written record of our call in the message thread, to which he confirms. Here's that written record of the call: "We agreed this was not an urgent matter, and it is unreasonable to expect a host to be available 24/7 for issues that do not pose an immediate health or safety concern. We reviewed the AirCover for Guests policy, which clearly distinguishes between serious issues (e.g., missing major advertised amenities, inaccurate listings) and minor inconveniences (e.g., a broken toaster).Specifically, AirCover states: “AirCover for guests provides support for serious issues with your home booking (e.g. Host cancels your reservation prior to check-in) or during your stay (e.g. The heating is not working in winter, the listing has fewer bedrooms than listed, it’s a different type of home–a private room instead of an entire home, a major advertised amenity such as a pool or kitchen is missing), but it doesn’t include more minor inconveniences, like a broken toaster.” We discussed that a fallen palm branch or minor leaves in the pool, which shed daily in a tropical climate, are clearly in the realm of minor inconveniences, comparable to the “broken toaster” example, and nowhere near the level of a missing pool. We also walked through the House Rules section of my listing, which the guest agreed to prior to booking. This section states: “Pool Maintenance and Conditions: Our pool is professionally serviced twice a week on a set schedule. Pool cleaning is not performed between every guest stay, and it does not take place on the day of arrival. Given the tropical environment in South Florida, it’s common for leaves, small debris, or natural elements to enter the pool between scheduled services. While we strive to maintain a clean and inviting pool, we appreciate your understanding that minor debris between cleanings is inevitable and beyond our immediate control.” You confirmed your understanding and were in agreement with my points and stated the case would be re-assessed in light of the clear expectations set in my house rules and the AirCover policy guidelines. You also indicated you would provide an update with a resolution before 7 PM this evening." ____________________________________ Do you think he got back to me? Course not... Case get's endorsed to new Supervisor who messages me at 7:45PM with boilerplate message upholding previous decision to which I say "Call me". He calls, and we go thru same exact process as before. Guy is adamant at beginning, then once I literally have to get him to verbally read my house rules section on the pool out loud he switches tactics and says "The pool is not an issue" "This is because the light was not working". Mind you, the previous supervisor didn't even try to argue the light bulb because he said a it's a minor issue. Said it was entirely related to the pool. Eventually, guy also comes around and says it'll be re-assessed and that he'd call me back shortly. So I follow up on this as well to document exactly what was discussed in message thread: "Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I’m writing to formally document our conversation regarding reservation (res code), and to ensure our discussion is accurately recorded in Airbnb’s system. Pool Complaint Review: During our call, you initially supported the original decision citing the pool debris issue. Once we reviewed my House Rules, which clearly disclose and set guest expectations about minor natural debris between professional cleanings, you acknowledged that the pool complaint was invalid and did not constitute a serious issue under Airbnb’s AirCover policy. I appreciate your willingness to read the House Rules during our call and your agreement that the pool’s condition aligned with what was disclosed and agreed to by the guest before booking. Single Light Complaint: After the pool issue was resolved, you shifted focus to the report of a single light not working.To be clear, there are multiple working light sources in each bedroom, including lamps, and additional spare lamps available if needed. We reviewed Airbnb’s AirCover for Guests policy, which states AirCover applies to serious issues like missing major amenities or gross misrepresentation, and excludes minor inconveniences like a broken toaster. A single burnt out light bulb is plainly a minor inconvenience, and not a serious issue that justifies cancellation or refund under AirCover’s own examples. At no point prior to cancellation did Airbnb state this single light was the deciding factor, nor was any urgency indicated beyond a vague “respond as soon as possible” message. Timeline and Communication Failures: Airbnb’s first message to me regarding the issue came at 8:30 PM, with no specific or concrete response deadline provided. At 10:46 PM, just over two hours later, Airbnb unilaterally cancelled the reservation without further discussion, despite the issue being limited to a single light. This timeline contradicts Airbnb’s stated process of providing hosts a reasonable opportunity to resolve issues, especially for matters not posing immediate safety concerns. Commitments to Reassess: During our call, you agreed the case should be reassessed, especially given the lack of serious issues and the clear guest agreement to my House Rules. You confirmed you would follow up with me today regarding the outcome, consistent with what the previously Supervisor promised during our discussion. I want to note how discouraging it is that (previous manage name) did not call me back before the agreed time of 7 PM, despite confirming multiple times including in writing that he would. I appreciate your commitment on our call to see this process through and your stated intention to get back to me with a resolution. Summary of My Position: There was no serious issue justifying cancellation. The pool was disclosed and maintained as per my House Rules, and a single light being out is a minor inconvenience not rising to the AirCover threshold. Airbnb failed to follow its own standards for host communication by cancelling without giving me a reasonable chance to resolve a non-urgent issue." _____________________________________________ Couple hours later, I get this message: Senior Case Manager: “Upholding the policies and standards that protect our community is very important to us. We’ve given your case and its details careful consideration, and we determined that the reported issue of the guest is covered with our AirCover policy for guest. We came to this decision since the provided valid supporting documents and guest is decided to leave, therefore, we altered or shortened the reservation and refunded her the unspent nights, this is for you to relist the dates to other users and still get your payout for the spent night, and we won’t be enforcing any Host cancellation fees or other consequences. We understand that this might not be what you’d hoped for, but we came to this outcome because this is in accordance with our policy. Our review is complete now, and we won’t be able to offer additional support on this case at this time.” I tell him to call me and we go back and forth again. He starts making outlandish claims like the Aircover policy on the website is different than what’s done internally and that it’s just a "guideline". I tell him it can’t be that misaligned with what’s publicly shared, that’s an insane thing to say. He’s adamant, so I tell him would you be willing to put that in writing? He says, “Absolutely”. So I say “Ok, go ahead, I’ll wait. I want you to write that a single light bulb in an otherwise lit room is a valid claim under Aircover policy” He says “sure no problem I’ll do it now.” I laugh and say “There’s no way you are going to write that. You are going to write something that in no way is what I just said”. Here’s what he sends: Airbnb Support 11:45 PM “Hello, Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. This is to put in writing what we talked about on the phone that the guest is covered with our AirCover policy due to absence of lights in the room. We appreciate that this may not be what you’d hoped for, but won’t be able to offer additional support on this case at this time. Our review is complete now, and we won’t be able to offer additional support on this case at this time. Thank you for your understanding.” I laugh on the phone and say that is not what you said nor what we agreed you’d put in writing. He says ok, I’ll do it again: “Hello, Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. This is to put in writing what we talked about on the phone that the guest is covered with our AirCover policy due to absence of light/single light in the room. We appreciate that this may not be what you’d hoped for, but won’t be able to offer additional support on this case at this time. Our review is complete now, and we won’t be able to offer additional support on this case at this time. Thank you for your understanding.” Again, I laugh and say, "This is wild, you keep playing word games but are being so defiant on the phone about this. Write what we agreed you would say" He sends: “This is to put in writing what we talked about on the phone that a single light bulb is covered with our AirCover policy, therefore, we cannot overturn the decision made. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.” I tell him, I’m going to make this even easier for you, I’ll draft exactly what you’re actually stating and you just need to say “That’s correct” And he did… --- **Post Details:** - **Subreddit:** r/airbnb_hosts - **Author:** u/ZottN - **Score:** 43 upvotes - **Upvote Ratio:** 79.0% - **Comments:** 108 - **Posted:** 7/4/2025 - **URL:** https://reddit.com/r/airbnb_hosts/comments/1lr5nrw/airbnb_support_says_single_lightbulb_out_valid/