Airbnb hosting glossary

Airbnb's built-in host protection program. Up to $3M per stay, but only if your evidence meets an unwritten standard.

The composite 0-to-100 score that predicts whether your damage claim will be approved. Built from evidence depth, timeline, evidence quality, and presentation.

The deadline that catches more host damage claims than any other AirCover rule. Why the clock starts at checkout, not discovery, and how same-day turnovers compress the window to hours.

The structured, timestamped walkthrough that establishes a clean baseline before the guest arrives. The single most important workflow for damage recovery.

Why Airbnb no longer holds traditional cash deposits, and what replaces them in the AirCover era.

The documented, unbroken record that proves evidence has not been tampered with. The difference between a photo that proves something and a photo that proves nothing.

The in-platform tool that handles every damage charge. Where claims are won or lost in the first 24 hours.

The estimated total dollar amount a host absorbs each year from damage that goes unrecovered. The main output of the Airbnb Risk Calculator.

The estimated likelihood that an AirCover claim will be denied, based on a host's documentation habits and inspection workflow.

An inspection document where every photo is tagged with GPS coordinates and a timestamp at capture, meeting the independent verification standard AirCover requires.

A permanent, publicly accessible URL tied to a specific inspection report that proves the document has not been altered since it was generated.

Any mark or breakage present before the current guest arrived. Without a dated baseline you cannot charge for it, which is why this is the argument that wins most guest disputes.

Documentation built so any change after capture becomes detectable. The reason a reviewer can trust a report has not been edited since it was created.

Minor harm from ordinary use, distinct from accidental and negligent damage. The category decides who pays, and the evidence decides the category.

The hidden date and location a camera writes into an image. Easily stripped by messaging apps and easily faked, which is why it cannot prove a damage photo on its own.

A per-night charge above a guest threshold. Its underused job is evidentiary: it records the agreed headcount, turning an over-occupied stay into a clear breach.

The cost of abnormal cleaning a guest leaves behind, such as smoke or pet mess. Recoverable only when the condition is documented before it is cleaned away.

A structured, dated record of damage found at a rental: what broke, the likely cost, the evidence on hand, and the days left to file. The document a co-host hands the owner so a claim can be filed in time.

A reservation from a guest who lives near the property. Usually legitimate, but it is the best-known single behavioural signal of a party booking, which is why screeners weight it highest.

The amount an owner actually receives for a month after every cost: total collected minus refunds and every expense, including the management fee. The bottom line of an owner statement, and negative when expenses exceed what was collected.

The half of AirCover that reimburses guest-caused damage to your property, up to $3M per stay. A platform program rather than an insurance policy, which is why the burden of proof sits entirely with you.

The other half of AirCover: up to $1M when a guest is injured or their property is damaged and you are responsible. Decided on whether you took reasonable care, so maintenance records are the defence.

Gradual deterioration from ordinary use that no single guest caused, and the default category a reviewer assigns to any mark that cannot be dated to one stay. The most common reason a genuine claim is denied.

What an item was worth at the moment it was damaged: replacement cost minus depreciation. The basis most damage payouts are settled on, and the reason a used item never reimburses at the price of a new one.

The deduction for age, use and expected life that turns a replacement price into a settlement figure. Soft goods lose the most, structural work the least, and invoiced labour escapes it entirely.

A forced reversal of a card payment, initiated by the guest through their bank. Who defends it depends on who processed the payment, which is why direct bookings carry an exposure platform stays do not.

The 2026 standard your claim file is judged against: genuine, unaltered, and checkable by someone who was not there. Most rejected files fail the verifiable half rather than the legitimate half.

Images produced or altered by AI tools, excluded from damage claims. The wording is broad enough to catch ordinary brightening and sharpening, which is how honest hosts fail the rule.

The party that processed a card payment and must defend it when a guest disputes the charge. On platform bookings that is usually the platform. The moment you take the payment, it is you.

A small non-refundable fee paid at booking that covers accidental damage up to a limit, instead of holding a deposit. Low friction, capped recovery, and usually no cover for deliberate damage.

The guest's own money held and returned after checkout, either as a charge that is refunded or a pre-authorisation that is released. The strongest protection and the highest booking friction.

The traveller-facing half of the AirCover brand, for guests who cannot check in or find a listing not as described. It reimburses nothing to hosts, and in a bad incident it is a cost on your side.

Airbnb's retired host protection programme, replaced by AirCover. The term survives in old articles and forum advice, which is how hosts end up following deadlines and processes that no longer exist.

A guest who stays past the reservation and refuses to leave. Once occupancy runs long enough, often around 30 days, tenancy rights may attach and removal becomes a legal process, not a hosting one.

The professional treatment that removes smoke residue from textiles, surfaces and ventilation. A reviewer cannot smell your property, so the specialist invoice is the entire claim.

Specialist decontamination for bodily fluids, blood or waste, which a turnover cleaner is entitled to refuse. Genuinely recoverable, and routinely absorbed because nobody photographed it first.

Measuring sound levels without recording audio. The one indoor monitoring device Airbnb permits, if you disclose it in the listing, and the log that ties a noise breach to a specific hour.

Reimbursement for nights lost when damage makes a property unlettable. Consistently the biggest number in a serious incident and the least likely line to be paid, because it has no invoice behind it.

What a new equivalent costs today, with no deduction for age. The more generous settlement basis, found in policies written for it, and not how platform damage claims are usually settled.

The formal response a merchant submits to defend a charged-back payment. One documentary submission, judged against the issuer's reason code and a deadline measured in days.

The dated record of a property's condition at checkout, and the document a damage claim is built on. Without one, a reviewer has only your description of what changed.

One of the four pillars a reviewer weighs: whether your photographs are original, timestamped and verifiable, rather than simply numerous.