The Security Deposit is typically a sum of money requested by hosts before the beginning of a rental, in case any damages occur inside the property during a guest’s stay. If objects get stolen or damaged, hosts are entitled to request all or part of this Security Deposit.
Since December 10, 2018, the Security Deposit is handled 100% online. Please note that it is only available on the website & mobile version (not available on the app).
When creating a listing, hosts set their desired Security Deposit amount. Please note that the amount is capped for Short Term Rentals hosts (from 100$/€ to 300$/€ for private and shared rooms; from 100$/€ to 500$/€ for entire places); but if the listing makes part of a gay-friendly agency selected by misterb&b (connected to channel manager Guesty), there is no cap on the amount. The amount is clearly displayed on the host’s listing page under the section Conditions.
In case of damages during a stay, hosts have 7 days after the guest’s departure to open a claim (go to the specific booking by going to “My listings”, then “My guests”, “Payout & Deposit” and select the option “I want to make a claim on the guest’s deposit”) to request all or part of the Security Deposit. Hosts need to provide any documents supporting their claim: photos of the damaged items or material, receipts, invoices, repair bills, etc.
Guests can accept or decline the initial request. They can also send a counter-proposal. In any case, hosts and guests have a total of 7 days to reach an agreement. When an agreement has been reached, the amount will be charged to the guest's credit card (claim management fees apply). Once collected, the money is transferred to the host.
If no agreement has been reached by the end of the 7-day period, the case will be automatically closed.
Important: during these 7-day period, hosts can also decide to escalate the complaint to misterb&b and ask them to settle the case on their behalf. However, they need to wait at least 96 hours after they opened the initial claim (Hosts can escalate the case by going to "My messages" and then click on ">> "Dispute-Settle with misterb&b"). Should the hosts choose to do so, they agree that the compensation amount deemed appropriate by misterb&b will be binding, final and non-negotiable.
Hosts are not allowed to collect the Security Deposit independently at the time of their guest's arrival.