Airbnb guest accidentally spills sauce on couch — now the host is demanding $3,000 to replace it

Airbnb has made it simpler for travelers to book accommodation that suits their needs and tastes without being confined to hotels. But at the same time, people have reported horrifying experiences at Airbnbs, including instances of violation of privacy. A group of travelers who were commemorating their late friend had a harrowing experience too, and one of them took to Reddit to reveal how they were asked to pay an outrageous bill of $3000 for an honest mistake. 

A Costly Stain

The Airbnb guest u/Vegetable_Earth_1319, shared that they "recently stayed at an Airbnb with some friends as an unofficial memorial for a friend who had passed away." The Redditor clarified that they were authorized to host people and did nothing wild. However, the guest made an honest mistake and spilled some sauce on one of the white couches. Out of kindness, they offered to pay the host "for her time and efforts to clean it," under the impression that it wouldn't cost much to get rid of a simple stain.  

However, what happened next was shocking to the Redditor. “She asked me to send her $1,100 for a new couch outside of the app, saying the stain couldn't be removed and the fabric has been discontinued by the manufacturer." The user added that the host said she didn't want to ruin the guest's ratings so she didn't file a damage claim on Airbnb. She also claimed that the couch was originally worth $2,500.

The Redditor further explained that they received several texts and calls from the host for more than two weeks demanding the money to be paid before the next booking, which was within the next three days. Given the outrageous amount, the Redditor asked the host to settle this over on the app thinking that Airbnb would help them out. However, the host hit the user with another surprise. The Redditor got a claim on the app worth a whopping $3,000 claiming that the host needed to replace the other couch as well, since the two were part of a set. The host did all this over a stain that was barely visible after cleaning. 

Thus, the guest took to Reddit desperately seeking some help. "Does anyone have experience with AirBnB damage claims? I'm sure I won't be responsible for paying for both couches, but I'm panicking a little! Please help," they wrote. 

Reddit to the Rescue

Several users were quick to offer advice to the guest suggesting ways to avoid the penalty. One user suggested that the host asking for money outside of Airbnb was against the policies and the guest could potentially pull them up over fraud. 

"This happened to me but it was over 'excessive electricity usage' the airbnb owner wanted to charge us €30 more, we refused, he made claim over airbnb, I showed airbnb the messages and they took our side. NEVER pay the airbnb host outside airbnb and always go through their guidelines, they are fairly helpful when it comes to additional charges," u/unknown93_01 wrote.

Several others echoed the feelings of the guest agreeing that it was outrageous to ask the host to replace the couch for such a small stain. "What kind of idiot host puts a $3000 WHITE COUCH in a rental that turns over once a week? If they are so concerned about their precious couch, they need to put a cover on it," suggested u/_baegopah_XD. 

For more updates, follow u/Vegetable_Earth_1319 on Reddit.