Aircover Airbnb for Host: What is it, How to Claim, and Pros & Cons?

Updated : Mar 12, 2025

Airbnb AirCover is a built-in travel protection program designed for both guests and hosts, ensuring peace of mind when using the platform. Automatically included at no extra cost with every booking or listing, it provides coverage for unexpected situations, from refunds for guests feeling unsafe to insurance for hosts managing property damage or liability claims. There’s no need to opt in—it’s always there, offering a safety net for everyone involved in a booking.

For hosts, AirCover is especially valuable as operating an Airbnb involves a lot of risk, often requiring permits, adherence to regulations, and tax payments. The program includes Host Damage Protection, Host Liability Insurance, and coverage for Airbnb Experiences, providing extensive safeguards against potential issues.

For guests, while AirCover offers essential protection, having additional travel insurance or backup plans can mitigate unexpected costs, such as rebooking accommodations last-minute. Together, these measures ensure a secure and hassle-free Airbnb experience.

What is Host Damage Protection in Airbnb Aircover?

Airbnb’s Host Damage Protection, formerly known as the Host Guarantee, is a property damage protection program designed exclusively for hosts. This program provides coverage of up to $3,000,000, safeguarding hosts against damages caused by guests or their pets during a stay. The protection applies whether or not a security deposit has been collected, and it extends to damages that exceed the deposit amount, offering a critical safety net for property owners.

Coverage is active from check-in to check-out, ensuring hosts are protected throughout the guest’s stay. With Host Damage Protection, Airbnb offers peace of mind, allowing hosts to focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences while safeguarding their property investments.

What Does Airbnb Host Damage Protection Cover?

Airbnb’s Host Damage Protection program offers extensive coverage for hosts, ensuring peace of mind when opening their property to guests. 

The program includes protection for:

1. Property Damage: Covers damages caused by Airbnb guests or their companions to your property, including accidental or intentional harm.
2. Personal Belongings: Protects against damages to your belongings caused by guests or their pets, including certain fine art, jewelry, and collectibles, which may be repaired or replaced at appraised value.
3. Pet-Related Damage: Includes coverage for damages caused by a guest’s pet, extending to some high-value items like fine art, jewelry, and collectibles.
4. Vehicles and Watercraft: Covers damages to cars, boats, or other watercraft parked or stored at your property.
5. Unexpected Cleaning Costs: Addresses additional cleaning expenses resulting from unusual guest behavior, such as removing smoke odors in a non-smoking property or cleaning up after pet-related incidents, like replacing furniture damaged by a guest’s dog.
6. Lost Income: Compensates for income lost due to the cancellation of confirmed future Airbnb bookings if damages caused by a guest render the property unusable.

With this comprehensive protection, hosts can feel confident in their ability to recover from unforeseen incidents while maintaining a welcoming space for guests.

What Does Airbnb Host Damage Protection Not Cover?

The program does not cover:

• Theft of Cash or Securities: Losses involving cash, savings bonds, stock certificates, or similar financial assets are excluded.
• Theft of Pets or Livestock: Stolen animals, whether pets or livestock, are not covered under the program.
• Wear and Tear: Damages resulting from normal use over time, such as faded furniture or scuffed walls, are not included.
• Natural Disasters: Damage caused by acts of nature, including earthquakes, hurricanes, or floods, falls outside the scope of coverage.
• Personal Liability: Hosts are not covered for incidents involving bodily injury to guests or third parties; this type of liability is addressed under Airbnb’s separate Host Liability Insurance.

How Does Airbnb Host Damage Protection Work?

1. Collect evidence, such as photos, videos, repair estimates, or receipts.
2. Submit an AirCover request through the Airbnb Resolution Center within 14 days of the guest’s checkout.
3. The guest has 24 hours to respond and pay.
4. If the guest doesn’t pay, contact Airbnb Support and submit your evidence within 30 days of the incident.

Reimbursements are usually processed within two weeks. Superhosts receive priority support and faster claims.

What is Airbnb Host Liability Insurance?

Airbnb’s Host Liability Insurance, formerly known as Host Protection Insurance, is a primary liability coverage program designed to safeguard hosts and their team, including co-hosts and cleaners. It offers protection of up to $1,000,000 for claims involving bodily injury to guests or third parties, or damage to their property during an Airbnb stay.

As primary liability insurance, it takes precedence over other policies the host may have, ensuring coverage applies first in the event of an incident. This program provides hosts with essential legal and financial protection, making it easier to manage unexpected situations.

What Does Airbnb Host Liability Insurance Cover?

Airbnb Host Liability Insurance protects hosts, co-hosts, and cleaners for incidents during a guest’s stay (check-in to check-out). It covers:

• Bodily Injury: Injuries to guests or others on the property.
• Guest Property Damage: Damage to a guest’s belongings.
• Guest Property Theft: Theft of a guest’s belongings.
• Common Area Damage: Damage caused by guests to shared spaces like lobbies or neighboring properties.

Coverage applies to all types of accommodations, including unique stays like treehouses, yurts, buses, watercraft, and more, as long as they are parked and used for hosting.

The policy also covers claim investigation and legal defense costs, offering hosts financial and legal support in case of lawsuits or formal complaints.

What Does Airbnb Host Liability Insurance Not Cover?

• Bodily injury or property damage that isn’t accidental, including intentional harm.
• Damage to the host’s property or belongings caused by a guest.
• Losses resulting from assault or battery by an insured party.
• Claims arising from the transmission of a communicable disease.
• Claims brought by one insured party against another (cross suits).
• Damage or loss related to electronic data, such as corruption or inaccessibility.
• Losses related to sexual assault or allegations involving an insured party.

This insurance focuses on accidental incidents and excludes deliberate actions or certain specific scenarios.

How Does Airbnb Host Liability Insurance Work?

If you experience an incident covered by Host Liability Insurance, file a claim by completing the liability insurance intake form. Your information is sent to Airbnb’s third-party insurer, which assigns an adjuster to handle your case.

The adjuster will contact you to gather more details and investigate the claim. Once the investigation is complete, the claim is settled according to the terms of the policy and local laws.

Can you opt out of Host Liability Insurance?

Hosts can opt out of the program by emailing Airbnb at epi-opt-out@airbnb.com. To ensure your request is processed smoothly, include the following details:

• The email address linked to your Airbnb host account.
• Your full name.
• The phone number associated with your account.
• The exact title of your listing.

Pros of Airbnb Aircover

#1 Smoking and cleaning coverage

Say a guest comes in and smokes thick on your property. You are now left with a smoke-filled property to be ready by tomorrow for another guest. Cleaning fees will skyrocket to remove the smoke odor from your property.

If you can provide actual proof of the problem such as photos of the damage, the amount that it will cost you, or the expensive team that you will have to assemble, Airbnb will now cover your cleaning charges.

#2 Pet protection

The point to note here is that with host guarantee did not involve pet protection earlier. Hosts have earlier mentioned that they had to mince their words when it came to damage to their property by pets. But now you need not!

You do not accept pets on your property, but your guest shows up with one! You will be protected by Airbnb Aircover and compensated for your pet charges. That same pet eats your sofa for lunch? You will be protected by Airbnb Aircover.

#3 14-day timeline

Even under the host guarantee program, you had 14 days to report your damages. The catch, however, was that you had to report before another guest checked into your property. The argument was that there was no certain way to know if the damage was caused by the previous guest or the guest currently staying on your property. With Airbnb Aircover, you now have 14-days after check-out time to report damage even if a guest checked into your property during that time.

Once you contact the Airbnb resolution center about the damage, they will get you in touch with the guest. They will have 24 hours to review your request and get back with a decision. If they pay, it is always amazing. However, if they don’t, Airbnb will step in.

The issue here is that guests might leave you a bad review during their review of the damage. You can, however, work around this. Collect all evidence of damage and have it in a draft. Cushion your guest into leaving a good review after they check out. Once they’ve left you a good review, send the evidence for review. This way, you can protect yourself from a bad review. Another point to remember here is that guests can edit their review if you have not replied to that review yet. Make sure that you respond and cement the review before accelerating the damage.

Let’s look at an example, a guest stayed at your property for 3 days and 2 nights. During their stay, they managed to smoke heavily and pollute the air.

What steps do you take here?

1. Analyze the air quality in their room. Use any machine available in the market to make the analysis and file the observation somewhere safe.
2. Are there nicotine stains anywhere? Photograph them.
3. Are there cigarette butts anywhere in the room? Store them and photograph them.

After you’ve done all of this. You need to go and report it. The first thing to do here is to check if the guest has left a review for your property.

Review Message Template

Now, let’s imagine they have left you a review. As we mentioned before, it is important for you to comment on the review. Once you reply to that review, they will not be able to edit it after you raise a query.

Response review template

#4 Priority for Superhosts

You have put a lot of effort into becoming an Airbnb superhost. You already enjoy a lot of benefits. Another benefit that Airbnb is bringing to you is fastrack support. Both superhosts and other hosts are going to go through the same process. But you will be given priority in getting your issues resolved.

#5 Lost income policy

This is probably one of the most talked-about policies under Aircover. Let’s say that a guest came in and broke a pipe. You are forced to shut down your property and take care of the broken pipe. Because of a guest liability, you’ve been forced to cancel bookings and lose income. Aircover will cover you for the lost bookings.

The important point to note here is that Airbnb will cover you only for bookings on Airbnb and not other platforms. If you’ve had to cancel a booking on Airbnb because of guest liability that was caused because of a booking on Airbnb, you would be covered.

Cons of Airbnb Aircover

#1 Damage cap for properties

Let’s look at the cleaning compensation first. Assume that your property is a one-bedroom flat, a small property. Then your cleaning charges would also be less. So Airbnb’s cleaning coverage would cover your costs. The same amount would not be sufficient for a large property, say a three-bedroom condo. Your cleaning charges would also be high. Airbnb’s cleaning charges might not be sufficient for you.

Airbnb’s one-size-fits-all policy might not be able to cover the diverse needs of every type of host and type of property. The same goes for the loss of income policy. A larger property would be booked far out for mid-term or longer-term bookings. For them, it would be easier to claim the lost income protection.

If your property is smaller, you would majorly receive last-minute bookings. For you getting the claim may not be feasible. If you don’t have future bookings during the time of the damage, Aircover does not cover your loss of income.

Airbnb AirCover: Your Hosting Safety Net Defined

Airbnb’s aircover comes after Vrbo and Vacasa came out with their $1M liability insurance policies. While there are differences between each platform’s insurance or protection policies, it is important to remember that you need to have property insurance over and above these protection programs. If you have a listing on Airbnb, you are automatically covered by Aircover. You can, however, opt out whenever you want. Simply send Airbnb an email, and you will be able to opt-out of the program.

One way to ensure that everything is communicated even before guest books a stay is to make your listing proper. You can follow various Airbnb hosting tips and tricks to add another armor to your arsenal. Make sure to be on top of everything and maintain proper evidence of all the damage on your property. Let’s hope you never have to avail these protection and insurance policies. Even then, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Do I File An Airbnb Aircover Claim?

To file an AirCover claim with Airbnb, follow these steps: First, gather evidence of the damage or issue. This could include photos, videos, repair estimates, and receipts. Next, submit your claim through the Airbnb Resolution Center within 14 days of the guest’s checkout. This is where you’ll file your AirCover request. The guest will have 24 hours to respond and pay. If they don’t, contact Airbnb Support, providing your evidence within 30 days of the incident. Airbnb aims to process claims quickly, often reimbursing hosts within two weeks. Superhosts receive priority support, with a dedicated claims line and faster processing.

2. What Is The Limit For Aircover?

AirCover provides comprehensive protection for Airbnb hosts, with varying limits depending on the type of coverage. For property damage, AirCover offers up to $3,000,000 in coverage. This includes damages caused by guests, their pets, or any incidents that exceed the security deposit amount. For liability protection, Airbnb covers hosts with up to $1,000,000 for bodily injury or property damage claims brought by guests or third parties. These limits apply automatically to all Airbnb bookings, without any additional costs or actions required by the host. It’s important to note that AirCover also provides coverage for Airbnb Experiences, with specific limits for those activities as well.