Guest damage in a holiday let: what cleaners should record for a claim

When a guest breaks something, the host is the one who claims, from the platform, from a deposit or from their insurer. But the claim is won or lost on what the cleaner did in the first few minutes after walking in. You are the first person through the door, and often the only one who sees the damage before it is cleaned up.

Hosts remember the cleaning company that handed them a claim ready to send. They also remember the one that mentioned a broken table a week later with no photos.

What a claim needs

• Proof of how the property looked before the guest arrived, with a date.
• Proof of how it looked after they left, with a date.
• The dates of the stay, so it is clear which guest was there in between.
• A plain description of what is damaged or missing, and what it costs to put right: a receipt, a quote or a link to the same item.
• A report made in time.

The cleaner can supply the first, second and last of those. They are the three that most claims are missing.

Your after photos are the next guest's before photos

This is the idea that makes everything else work. The photos you take when a clean is finished show the property exactly as the next guest found it. Take them at every clean, of every room, from the same spots each time, and you always have a dated “before” for whoever stays next. Nobody has to remember to do anything special before a guest who turns out to be trouble.

When you find damage

1. 1Stop before you touch it. Don't sweep up the glass or right the furniture yet.
2. 2Photograph it twice. A wide shot showing where it is in the room, then a close-up. For stains and burns, put something next to it for scale.
3. 3Note what, where and when. “Cracked glass on the coffee table in the lounge, found at 11.10 on arrival.”
4. 4Tell the host the same day. Before the next guest arrives if you possibly can, so nobody can argue about which guest did it.
5. 5Keep the broken item until the host says otherwise. Some claims ask to see it.
6. 6Then carry on with the clean, and note any extra time the mess cost you.

The clock is short

Booking platforms and deposit schemes set deadlines for reporting damage. At the time of writing, Airbnb asks hosts to make a request within 14 days of the guest checking out; other platforms and deposit holders have their own rules, and they change. The host should check the current terms for wherever the booking came from. For you, the rule is simpler: report it the day you find it. A report made the same day is inside every deadline.

Damage or wear and tear?

Hosts can claim for damage, not for a property getting older. It helps to report the two differently.

Report wear and tear too, as maintenance. A host who hears about the wobbly chair in March can fix it before it becomes a broken chair, and an argument, in August.

Protecting your own company

• On your first clean of a new property, photograph everything that is already marked, chipped or broken and send it to the host. Otherwise the first claim may be against you.
• If one of your cleaners breaks something, say so straight away. It is what your insurance is for, and hosts forgive accidents far more easily than silence.
• A property left in a state is claimable too. Photos of the mess and the extra time it took are the host's evidence for an extra cleaning charge, and yours for billing it.

How RoomZoom helps

RoomZoom builds this for you. With photo quality checks set to every clean, cleaners send photos of each room as they finish, so every stay has a dated before and after. When a cleaner reports damage, or the AI spots a change between the last two cleans' photos, RoomZoom puts together a damage pack: the before and after photos side by side, the dates of the stay and the cleaner's report, ready to send to your client or download as a PDF for the claim.

Damage packs are part of Pro, which every new company gets free for 14 days. See how it works for holiday-let cleaning companies, or sign up free, with no card needed.