The short version
- Film the property at every turnover, once it is cleaned and staged. That clip is the baseline for the guest who arrives next.
- Film again as soon as they check out, before the cleaner touches anything.
- Get close on the damage, then wide, so it is clear which room it is in and that it is your property.
- Itemise the cost — receipts, a like-for-like replacement listing, or a repair quote.
- File before the next guest checks in. Once someone else has stayed, the claim is usually finished.
Why host claims get rejected
A platform reviewing a damage claim is being asked to move money from one user to another on the word of the person asking. What it looks for is evidence that the damage was not there before this guest, that it is the cost you say it is, and that nobody else could have caused it in between. Photos taken after the fact prove the first and last of those not at all.
The listing photos do not help either. They are marketing images, usually months or years old, often taken before a refurbishment and always shot to flatter. As a baseline they establish almost nothing.
The turnover routine
Two clips per booking, each under two minutes once you are used to it.
- After the clean, before the arrival. Walk the property in a fixed order with everything staged: beds made, surfaces clear, appliances closed. This is the frame the next guest is measured against.
- Immediately after check-out, before cleaning. Same route, same order. If your cleaner does the turnover, this clip is theirs — put it in the checklist and pay for the two minutes.
Keeping the same route matters more than doing it beautifully. Identical walks make the two clips directly comparable, which is the whole point.
What to film in each turnover
The expensive stuff
- Sofas and upholstered chairs, cushions included
- Mattresses, headboards, bed frames
- TV, sound system, coffee machine, games console
- Artwork, mirrors, rugs, lamps
Surfaces that get ruined
- Worktops and dining tables — heat rings and cuts
- Carpets and soft flooring, especially near seating
- Walls and paintwork behind furniture
- Bathroom sealant, shower screens, grout
Inventory and consumables
- Linen and towel counts
- Crockery, glassware, pans, cutlery
- Remotes, keys, fobs, parking permits
- Welcome items you replace each stay
Outside and extras
- Garden furniture, barbecue, parasol
- Hot tub cover and water condition
- Pool area, decking, fencing, gates
- Bikes, kayaks or anything else provided
When something is actually damaged
- Do not clean or repair first. A cleaner scrubbing a stain before it is filmed destroys the only proof it existed.
- Film it in place, then widen out to show the room, then film the same spot in the previous turnover clip alongside it if you are compiling a claim.
- Price it honestly. An eight-year-old sofa is not worth a new one, and claims that ask for betterment invite a refusal. A repair quote, a replacement listing or the original receipt is what makes a number credible.
- Keep the messages in one place. What the guest said about it — including an apology in the chat — is often the strongest single piece of evidence you have.
- File before the next check-in. This is the deadline that ends most claims. A gap with another guest in it means nobody can say who did what.
Wear and tear versus damage
Short-let properties wear faster than homes; a platform or an insurer will not pay to refurbish. Flattened carpet in a hallway, light marks on a wall by a switch, a thinning towel — these are operating costs. A burn in a worktop, a broken chair leg, a stained mattress and a smashed screen are damage. A pair of dated clips makes the distinction obvious instead of arguable, which is as much protection for a fair guest as it is for you.
Doing it with CompareAI Inspect
- One project per property, with a scan per room generated once and reused at every turnover.
- Before is the staged clip, After is the check-out clip, paired by room name, so the AI reports what changed during that stay rather than describing the room.
- Findings carry a location and a severity, which turns "the place is a mess" into a list you can price.
- The PDF report is what you attach to the claim — dated, per-room, with a SHA-256 fingerprint on each clip and on the report, checkable at compareai.work/verify.
- Cleaners can record the turnover on a shared project without being able to delete anything.
Free keeps footage 30 days, which covers a turnover cycle; Pro keeps it 12 months, which covers a season. Exported reports are yours to keep either way.
Not legal advice. Platform policies, host guarantees and claim windows change and differ by region, and none of them are set by us. Check your platform's current rules before you rely on a deadline in this guide, and treat your own insurance as the primary cover rather than a platform guarantee.
Questions people ask
How quickly do I have to file a damage claim?
Platform rules vary and change, but the practical deadline is the same everywhere: before the next guest checks in. Once another stay has begun, nobody can attribute the damage, and most claims are refused on that basis alone. Check your platform's current published window as well — it is usually counted in days from check-out.
Can I use my listing photos as the before?
Rarely with any success. Listing photos are marketing images, often years old and taken in ideal conditions, and a reviewer knows it. A clip filmed at the turnover immediately before the stay is a different class of evidence: same property, same setup, dated days rather than years earlier.
My cleaner does the turnover. Can they film it?
Yes, and that is the version that actually gets done. Put the two clips in their checklist, pay for the extra minutes, and share the project with them so the footage lands in one place rather than in a phone you do not control.
What about damage I only find days later?
Film it as soon as you find it and be straightforward about the timing. A claim is weaker once another guest has stayed, but if the property has been empty, the check-out clip plus the later discovery still forms a coherent record. This is also the argument for filming the turnover properly rather than glancing around.
Do I need receipts for every item?
You need a defensible number, not a perfect paper trail. A repair quote, a current listing for a like-for-like replacement, or the original purchase record all work. What gets refused is a round figure with nothing behind it, or a claim for a new item to replace an old one.
Does this help with my insurance rather than the platform?
It helps more, in fact. Platform guarantees are limited and discretionary; a short-term let insurance policy is a contract. Either way the insurer asks the same questions — what was the condition before, what is it now, and what does it cost — and a dated before/after report answers all three.