Update: 20-year-old Airbnb guest in Nevada faces $58k in damages after shower handle comes off at 2 AM and floods the rental—returns 9 months later with an update: 'I know I didn’t directly cause the damage'

I think a major problem here is the fact that a lot of “hosts” using short-term and vacation rental platforms are doing so ruthlessly for profit. And, yes, I am going to use quotations every time I write “host” here because they're basically just landlords with extra steps, and I find the accepted use of the word “host” for these types of short-term rental arrangements to be a really awkward euphemism that's used specifically to alter the prevailing sentiment about them.

Anyway, the entire modus operandi of these “hosts” is profit. The reality is, in most places, you make more money as a landlord for your “investment” rental property by charging hotel rates and surge pricing on a short-term rental platform than you do renting it out to a local family. 

Plus, they expect less wear and tear from not having people living there full-time, which equals less cost of maintenance. And landlords HATE maintence. Somehow they never account for that as a cost and are always put-out about it and think it is somehow the tenant's fault.

And slacking on maintenance costs is all well and good, until you fail to maintain the spa pool at the Airbnb I booked... The Airbnb I booked specifically for the spa pool overlooking the lake, only to arrive to find it totally empty and clearly broken for some time. (Special shout-out to my “host” in Queenstown, New Zealand there.)

There is a hold in this “less maintenance” logic, though… have you ever seen how people treat hotels? Some people use short-term accommodation as an excuse to go completely feral and let their freak fly for a week or weekend. Absolutely trashing the place and thinking nothing of it.

(Though, on the flip side, if you're like me, you're probably overly conscious of the fact that a stranger is going to be in there every day cleaning up after you. So you wind up doing everything you can to make their job easier and basically end up doing your own housekeeping.)

Anyway, the point is, things are going to break. Especially if you fail to maintain them. And it's pretty hard to point the finger at your “guest” (tenant) and say that it's their fault. It really just represents a clear cost of business in the enterprise you're running.

When the worst happened to this guest and the shower handle broke at 2 AM, flooding the bathroom of the place they were staying, they found themselves being finger-pointed to for the blame and the cost. They shared their account of events online, appealing to readers for advice on the issue. 

They shared the first thread below nine months ago, returning this week to give an update as to what had happened since.

They swear it was going to happen to anyone. But, one does have to wonder what a 20-year-old staying in an Airbnb was doing taking a shower at 2 AM… 

This guest stayed at a Nevada AirBnB. At 2 in the morning the shower handle broke off, and water erupted from the handle. A constant flow that flooded the bathroom. The guest notes that there was “definitely” damage to the bathroom despite getting the fire department to come shut the water off promptly.

Location: Nevada, USA

I stayed at an AirBnB a couple weeks ago. The shower handle broke off and began spewing water at like 2AM, and I immediately contacted the host for assistance and called the fire department to shut off the water. I did everything possible to dry the water from the floor, but there was definitely damage.

The host immediately began laying blame on them. Now requesting $50k in damages, presumably through the Airbnb platform/

The host didn’t respond to me until 8AM the next morning despite multiple messages throughout the night for help and immediately started blaming us for the damages.

Now, she is submitting a claim to request $50K in damage fees.

The user wondered if the part that broke wasn't due to a lack of scheduled maintenance on the part of the homeowner. But this seems doubtful; who on earth replaces their shower hardware every 2 years? 

We googled the shower part that broke, and she should have been replacing it every two years especially with renters and she did not do that. We weren’t rough with the shower and all the water fixtures seemed to be stiff and hard to work with, which wasn’t listed in the description of the rental.

I’m pretty nervous right now, does AirBnB usually side with the host in this sort of scenario? Has anything similar happened to any of you? Thank you all in advance for any input you may have!

I've personally never done or heard of this. But I think that is beside the point here. As top responses suggested below, there's a reason why the host should have insurance for this type of thing. However, given their response it is possible that the host did not have the right insurance for 

Almost one year later, the guest, who shared the original post, returned to share an update of what has happened since.

Hi everybody! It’s been almost a year since my first post here, and I finally have an update (please read the post linked below for context!). I didn’t respond to a lot of comments in my initial post, but your input was greatly appreciated.

Since their original thread, which appealed to readers for advice, the host elected not to go through the platform's own “air cover,” instead going through her renter's insurance.

The host decided not to go through Airbnb’s air cover before Airbnb could determine liability on either side. Instead, the host is going through her own renters insurance.

The insurer subsequently demanded $58,000 from the guest, alleging that the guest caused the leak and requesting either payment or homeowners insurance details.

Recently, I received a letter in the mail from the host’s insurance stating that I owe $58,000 for water damage; it is alleging that I caused the leak in the shower and stated that they could either go through my homeowners insurance to get the money or get the money from me directly.

The guest submitted their own records documenting the incident, but says the insurer continued seeking reimbursement.

I responded with my own records, documenting the time that the shower broke and everything that happened afterwards.

They responded that they “understand my liability position”, but because I was on the property while the damage occurred, I now need to respond with my homeowners insurance or they will look to me for reimbursement.

They add that the shower already wasn't draining correctly before the handle broke off, which could have happened to anyone. In fact, it's very likely that it would have. So, in that case, is happenstantial damage really the responsibility of the guest? Or is that a risk the host takes on when deciding to short-term lease their property?

My problem here is that I know I didn’t directly cause the damage, and this issue would have happened to anyone who used the shower next. The shower was already flooding and unable to turn off before the handle broke off, and the host did not communicate with me during this time to minimize damage.

The guest, only years old and on his mother's insurance, wonders what do do next.

I just don’t really know what to do next- are they able to sue me because I was on the property while this damage occurred? They have not directly stated this, but keep alluding to it.

Thank you for any help or opinions you may have!

EDIT: A lot of people are suggesting I just go through my own insurance first- I am a 20 year old and my mom’s name is on the homeowners insurance. She called them and they suggested we try to prove that I am not liable with the hosts insurance before going through my own insurance, because that would be “easier”. Maybe we will try our insurance anyways?