‘Essentially, this guy was a scammer’: Couple rents out their dream home on Airbnb, then a verified guest checks in and ruins everything

A Kansas Air Force veteran and his wife, Kassidy Thompson, are dealing with a terrible situation after a “verified” Airbnb guest allegedly destroyed their family home. The damage is estimated between $50,000 and $75,000. Thompson shared the story on TikTok, explaining that despite putting their life savings into fixing up the property and trusting Airbnb’s AirCover guarantee, the platform has completely denied their claim.

According to Bro Bible, Thompson and her husband bought and remodeled the house. They decided to rent out their “dream home” on Airbnb while temporarily moving in with her parents to earn extra income. They chose Airbnb because they believed AirCover would protect them. Thompson explained on her TikTok video they thought they were “more safe and secure with that because Airbnb has AirCover.” The platform promises to cover damages if guests cause them.

Problems started when they accepted a reservation from an account that looked trustworthy with good reviews. Thompson soon realized this guest was trying to scam the system to get free stays. Thompson stated, “Essentially, this guy was a scammer.” The guest was sending photos of supposed issues that were easily found through a quick Google search. Thompson suspects their refusal to fall for the false claims led to what happened next.

The scammer allegedly came back under a different name

After the first guest checked out, a new reservation immediately appeared under a different name and account. Security cameras caught the second person entering the property dressed in “all-black clothing.” They used the same four-digit code that had been set up for the first reservation. 

When the couple returned to the house after the two-day stay, they found it destroyed. Thompson said, “We could hear the water running as soon as we walked in.” A plumber later confirmed that the new, threaded plumbing had been intentionally disconnected, something that couldn’t happen by accident.

Thompson and her husband immediately reported the incident to both the police and Airbnb. They quickly connected the two reservations. The first scammer and the second destructive guest, despite using different names, both lived at the same address in California. This isn’t the first time Airbnb hosts have dealt with guests planning destructive parties at rentals. Unfortunately, the police noted that the residence being so far away made solving the problem much more difficult.

Thompson believed Airbnb would cover the damage after the company sent an adjuster to assess it. Then she received shocking news: Airbnb decided not to pay the claim with no explanation. The company simply decided that the guest or visitors didn’t cause the damage. 

Thompson followed up with the adjuster, who told her the guest who caused the damage never even provided a statement to Airbnb. Thompson questioned, “Like, how can they determine that if they can’t even get ahold of the guest that caused the damages?”

This situation has put incredible stress on the family, who are caring for an 11-month-old and expecting another baby. Thompson suspects Airbnb is trying to make them “give up” and drop the issue. 

While AirCover promises up to $3 million for guest damage, it’s not an insurance policy. It’s mainly a way to secure payment from the guest if issues happen. Some hosts have even faced situations where they were charged for fake damage claims. Airbnb can deny claims under their terms, but if they truly couldn’t contact the responsible guest, this denial seems completely unfair.