If something is damaged

Walk the house the day they leave

Checkout is 11:00 unless the listing says otherwise. Walk the rooms the same day — beds, bathroom, kitchen, the garden, the parked car, the boat if you have one. Look for what was not there when they arrived: a cracked pane, a burned hob, a missing lamp, a stain that will not lift, smoke in a house that forbids it.

Photograph what you find, in place, in daylight if you can. A before picture of the empty house from the last turnover helps. Do not wait until the next guest is on the path. Do not stage or AI-edit the frame. We do not accept AI-generated or AI-enhanced evidence.

Ask the guest first

Write them on the reservation with the photographs and a clear amount in AZN. Ask them to pay for the damage they caused. Many files end there. If they do not respond or do not pay, you involve Absolute. Do not invent a cash settlement at the door that never enters the thread — we cannot help a deal we cannot see.

Keep the conversation on Absolute Stays. A private WhatsApp argument without the reservation file is a weaker claim. If someone was hurt, or you feel unsafe, that is not a damage bargain: 112 first, then the 24-hour safety line.

What usually is covered

Guest-caused damage to the home and belongings when they will not pay, up to $3M USD: the house and its contents, art and valuables, cars, boats and other watercraft you park or store at the stay, damage from a guest’s pet, and extra cleaning to remove stains and smoke.

If you must cancel the next confirmed Absolute Stays bookings because of that same damage — a flooded room, a broken heater in January, a kitchen that cannot be used — you are compensated for the lost income on those Absolute nights. How AbsoluteCover for hosts works sits next to this page.

How to file

File within 14 days of checkout or before the next guest arrives, whichever is first. Send photographs or video, the message where you asked the guest to pay, a repair quote or receipt when you have one, and the reservation number. Once the file is complete, review typically takes several business days. Approved payouts are in AZN.

If a co-host has full access, they can file on your behalf. Do not let the next guest into a room you have already claimed as unusable and then change the dates afterwards. Keep those dates honest while we review.

What is not covered

Normal wear and tear, damage that was already there, natural disasters, cash and securities, consumables, mould and pollution, and damage from bookings made outside Absolute Stays are not covered. A side cash stay that breaks a table is your cost. A listing that already showed a cracked step is not a new file.

AbsoluteCover is not travel insurance and it is not your home policy. Exclusions in full sit on /stays/cover/. Read that page once. If a table or experience at the stay caused the damage, say so in the file — experiences liability may apply instead of, or beside, host damage protection.

While we review

Do not cancel the next confirmed guest unless the house cannot be hosted, and if you must, write Absolute the same day so income-loss protection can see the reason. Do not refuse a later booking because a name looks foreign. Do not post the guest’s ID or a revenge review while the file is open.

A low score that describes the damage they left is allowed. An insult with no stay in it can be hidden. Repair what you can before the next honest check-in. The useful end of a damage file is a house the next guest can enter — and a record we can stand behind.