If you are searching for the Airbnb Host Guarantee, you are looking for a program that no longer exists by that name. This guide explains what it was, why it was retired, and how AirCover, its successor, is different and broader.
The Airbnb Host Guarantee no longer exists by that name. Airbnb retired it and folded it into AirCover for Hosts, which raised damage protection from up to $1 million to up to $3 million per stay and bundled in $1 million of liability. If you were searching for the Host Guarantee, AirCover is its successor. The claim process and the reliance on documented evidence carried over unchanged.
The Host Guarantee no longer exists by that name
Damage protection rose under AirCover
It was folded into AirCover for Hosts
It still pays on evidence, just as before
The Host Guarantee was Airbnb's earlier promise to hosts: protection for your property against guest-caused damage, up to $1 million. It sat next to a separate liability protection program, and together they were the platform's answer to the risk of hosting strangers. It ran for years and shaped a lot of the host advice still floating around online.
Its core idea is the one that survives today: rather than making guests post a large deposit, Airbnb stood behind the host. What changed is the packaging and the numbers, not the fundamental bargain.
| Host Guarantee (retired) | AirCover for Hosts (now) | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Host Guarantee | AirCover for Hosts |
| Damage protection | Up to $1 million | Up to $3 million per stay |
| Liability | A separate protection program | $1 million bundled into AirCover |
| Status | Retired | The current program |
The two halves of the new program, and how they differ from the guest-facing side, are explained in AirCover for guests vs hosts.
It is tempting to think a bigger number means an easier payout. It does not. The parts of the old program that frustrated hosts are the parts that carried over.
A higher ceiling does not help if the claim is denied. Under the Host Guarantee and under AirCover alike, payouts are depreciated and every claim lives or dies on the evidence behind it.
The current mechanics are in the Airbnb damage policy guide, and the reason the big number rarely lands in full is in how much AirCover pays.
Host Guarantee or AirCover, the hosts who get paid are the ones who documented the stay. Checkout Shield builds that record automatically: dated, verifiable proof of condition before and after every booking.
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Score My Claim, FreeThe shift from Host Guarantee to AirCover for Hosts was not just branding. The old name suggested a guarantee, something that simply pays out. The reality, then and now, is a claims process that turns on evidence, and the rebrand is a good moment to drop any lingering assumption that protection is automatic.
Under either name, a claim has always been decided by what you can prove: that the guest caused the damage, during their stay, beyond ordinary wear. What changed over the years is that the evidence bar rose, culminating in the 2026 Legitimate and Verifiable Evidence standard. A host who still thinks in Host Guarantee terms, as a safety net that catches them, is exactly the host most likely to file a thin claim and be surprised when it is discounted.
The old term has not fully disappeared. You will still find it in older blog posts, forum threads, template messages, and the occasional out-of-date help article. When you do, read it as a historical reference, not current policy. The mechanics it describes have been replaced by AirCover, and any dollar figures or steps attached to the old name may no longer be accurate.
The practical risk is copying an old process. A message template or checklist written around the Host Guarantee can quietly encode outdated deadlines or evidence habits. When you inherit one, update it against the current damage policy and the damage claim guide before you rely on it. Working from the live rules, under their current name, is what keeps a claim from failing on a technicality that was retired years ago.
Strip away the name change and here is the process a host follows today, under AirCover. It rewards exactly the habits the old "guarantee" framing let people skip:
The full version of each step is in the damage claim guide. The point is that none of it happens automatically. The Host Guarantee name implied a payout you were owed; the AirCover process delivers a payout you can prove you earned, which is a meaningfully different thing to prepare for.
The questions hosts ask about the old Host Guarantee, answered plainly.
Not under that name. Airbnb retired the Host Guarantee and folded it into AirCover for Hosts, which is the current protection program. If you are looking for the Host Guarantee, AirCover is what you want; it is the successor and it is broader.
It was Airbnb's earlier program covering host property against guest-caused damage, up to $1 million. It sat alongside a separate liability protection. It was the predecessor to today's AirCover for Hosts and worked on the same basic idea: the platform reimbursing hosts for guest damage.
AirCover for Hosts. It raised damage protection to up to $3 million per stay and bundled $1 million of liability protection into a single program. The claim process, the filing window, and the reliance on documentation carried over largely unchanged.
On paper, yes: a higher damage ceiling and bundled liability. In practice the same caveats apply as always, payouts are depreciated and claims depend on your evidence, so the upgrade in limits does not remove the need to document every stay.
The core mechanics, request from the guest, escalate to the platform, prove the guest caused the damage, still hold, but the name, the limits, and some rules have moved on. Rely on current AirCover guidance rather than older Host Guarantee articles for anything specific.
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