Almost a year after its launch, first echoes of owners are heard here and there. Aircover, the protection service made in Airbnb and free for hosts inaugurated at the dawn of winter 2021 had seduced. His announcement was a direct response to the expectations of hosts and travelers. Almost a year after its launch, today we invite you to find out what the owners who have called on it think of it.
As a reminder, Aircover is a free service for owners:
On November 09, 2021, Airbnb announced – among 50 major new features – the implementation of its protection service, aptly named Aircover. In essence, it is damage protection and liability coverage up to US$1 million. A very reassuring amount but nevertheless well framed by the platform. Specifically, Aircover offers:
- Damage protection up to US$1 million
- Liability insurance up to 1 million US dollars
- Protection against loss of income for cancellations in the event of damage
- Protection against animal damage
- An accompaniment for deep cleaning and beyond normal
- An extension of the reporting period to 14 days
- Faster refunds
- And finally, an expedited processing process for Super-Hosts
The reception of this announcement by the hosts:
Obviously, additional and free protection in addition has largely aroused the sympathy of the hosts. Regularly confronted with the inconvenience of seasonal rentals such as the deterioration of equipment, the misuse of housing, damage and non-compliance with the announced rules, the owners were able to find here a direct echo of their concerns. If Aircover is a real protection system, Airbnb has always announced that it does not replace the insurance taken out by owners with their usual companies. However, most owners clearly understood the interest but also the limits of Aircover as soon as it was launched.
The main questions then arose on the terms of application or the conditions and exclusions. Elements that can be subject to subjectivity and very often controversial in the world of insurance companies. Owners were also worried about the reception of this announcement in the eyes of travellers: Won't they believe that they are fully licensed and insured regardless of their use of the accommodation? Moreover, this protection does not solve the problem of “vengeful stars”: the bad ratings sometimes unfairly left by tenants to landlords in dispute situations.
Our Concierge Manager Alexandra in Bordeaux brings his vision of things: Indeed, it is difficult for Airbnb to control the bad faith of some of its users without harming the transparency of the opinions on its site. This is a sensitive topic for landlords and, while important, was not mentioned in the protections offered to hosts. The reception of Aircover has therefore been largely positive although raising some questions which only beg to be clarified over time, thanks to the feedback from owners requesting this protection service.
Aircover, what results 1 year after its implementation?
Nearly a year after its implementation, several feedback from owners have been heard. While some welcome Aircover's services, it appears that many owners come to qualify these positive findings or even issue completely negative opinions. Here is a small anthology of the opinions left on the Airbnb community site :
As you can see, opinions about Aircover are very diverse. While some confirm the effectiveness of this protection, others criticize it vehemently. However, let's put things in their place: reviews are only binding on the users who post them. Each testimony is therefore to be taken with a grain of salt and the case of such and such a person may be different. In its implementation, Aircover seems to suffer from the following shortcomings:
- Complicated non-French-speaking assistance for non-English speakers
- Logistical problems (dead links, poor reception of documents, etc.)
- Longer processing times than advertised
- Monitoring by different operators affecting the fluidity of exchanges
- Reimbursements below owners' expectations
The importance of maintaining Airbnb insurance with your usual company:
These defects observed only reinforce the distrust and doubts expressed by the hosts a year ago. Some positive reviews, however, rebalance the balance, at least in part. Still, dissatisfaction is in order and the criticisms of the hosts must be heard by Aircover. The avenues for improvement are there and just waiting to be followed. We can however remember that this service is less than a year old and it may seem normal that all the cogs are not perfectly in place and that many problems raised will be solved in the future.
Moreover, keeping insurance taken out by yourself with an insurance company remains essential to benefit from optimal coverage. It is about the capacity of the hosts to turn around financially in the event of a big problem during the rentals or simply to be better protected during the smallest damage to the accommodation. As said earlier in this article, it is with this in mind that Airbnb created Aircover.
To continue reading, we invite you to consult our dedicated article on Aircover.
