By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Short-let damage protection has three separate layers: a security deposit for small damage and deterrence, the platform's guarantee for guest damage on its own bookings, and an insurance policy — the only one that covers serious loss and liability. Claim within the platform's short window, with dated photographs and a quote or invoice, before the next guest checks in.
The three layers, and what each is for
A security deposit is money held or authorised against the guest, released after check-out. It covers small damage quickly and, more usefully, changes guest behaviour by existing at all. Platforms handle this differently — some hold nothing and settle disputes themselves.
A platform guarantee — Airbnb's host damage protection and its equivalents — covers guest-caused damage on bookings made through that platform, at the platform's discretion and to its process. It is not insurance and does not include public liability.
An insurance policy is the thing that stands behind the asset: fire, flood, escape of water, malicious damage, loss of income, and liability if a guest is injured. It is the only one of the three that responds to something serious.
Owners get into trouble by treating the second as if it were the third.
Why claims fail
Almost always for the same three reasons, and all three are avoidable.
Timing. Platform windows are short — often a matter of days, and usually before the next guest checks in. A claim raised a week later, after the property has been cleaned and re-let, is generally dead.
Evidence. Photographs of the damage, dated, before anything is cleared or cleaned. This is exactly why changeover photographs matter: they establish the state the property was in when the guest arrived.
Proof of value. A quote or an invoice, not an estimate. "It was worth about £400" is not a claim.
The order to work through it
Photograph everything first, before any cleaning. Get a quote or invoice for the repair or replacement. Message the guest through the platform, politely and factually — a surprising share of damage is admitted and paid without escalation.
If that fails, open the platform's claim within its window, citing the evidence rather than the inconvenience. If the damage is significant, involve the insurer instead, because a platform process is not designed for a serious loss.
Keep all of it in the platform's message thread. A conversation held over the phone or on WhatsApp is not evidence the platform will look at.
Prevention is worth more than any of it
Screening at booking prevents more damage than any claim recovers. A local one-night weekend booking, a vague answer about the group, a guest count that does not match the description — these are the patterns, and declining is cheaper than claiming.
House rules that are specific and visible before booking give you something to enforce. Noise monitoring, declared, lets you intervene before a gathering becomes damage.
Our difficult guests guide covers screening properly. Under our agreements we can decline or cancel a booking we reasonably believe poses a risk, and we use it.
How we handle it
We make the claim — deposit or platform route first where that fits, escalating to a policy claim where the damage is significant. Photographs are taken at every changeover, which is what makes a claim provable rather than arguable.
Where a claim fails, the cost is discussed with you rather than deducted quietly. That is worth asking any company you are considering, because the alternative is a line on a statement you cannot query.
And you still need your own policy. Our agreements require buildings and contents cover suitable for short letting with £1m public liability, because no management arrangement insures your property. Our insurance guide covers what it should include.