In 2023, Airbnb removed the option for hosts to hold a traditional security deposit on guest bookings. The old model — a pre-authorised hold on the guest’s card, released after checkout if no damage was found — disappeared, replaced by the AirCover claim process as the sole path to compensation. For many experienced hosts, the shift felt like a downgrade: where once a €300 deposit covered the occasional stain without drama, now every small damage requires a formal claim with evidence, deadlines, and Resolution Center back-and-forth.
The change was not random. Airbnb had specific reasons to move away from deposits, and in several ways the new system is actually better for hosts. In other specific ways, there is a real gap that the new system created — and most hosts have not consciously adjusted their operations to cover it. This guide walks through what changed, the net outcome, and the practical options for dealing with small-damage events that were easy under the old system and awkward under the new one.
What the old security deposit system did
Under the pre-2023 model, hosts could set a security deposit from €100 to €5,000 per booking. The mechanics:
- Guest’s card was pre-authorised for the deposit amount at check-in.
- Funds were not actually charged — just held.
- If no damage was reported within 14 days of checkout, the hold was released.
- If damage was reported, the host could claim against the hold directly through Airbnb, and Airbnb made a judgement call on splitting the hold.
For small damages (€30-200 stains, minor breakages, tiny repairs), this was fast: a brief message, a photo, and a decision within 3-5 days, typically in the host’s favour when evidence was clear. The deposit also functioned as a behavioural deterrent — guests who knew a deposit was on file were measurably more careful with the property.
Why Airbnb killed it
Airbnb’s public justification centred on guest experience: pre-authorisations were confusing, sometimes double-authorised on cards with low limits, occasionally took weeks to release on slower banks, and caused customer-service tickets at high volume.
The less-public reason was Airbnb’s platform identity as a hospitality brand. Holding deposits felt hotel-ish in the bad sense — bureaucratic, transactional, suspicious of the guest. Airbnb’s positioning since 2018 has been increasingly “guest-first,” and deposits cut against that.
There was also a data-driven argument: internal Airbnb analysis (referenced in their 2023 host policy update) claimed that AirCover’s total payout to hosts across both damage and liability arms exceeded what hosts collectively recovered from security deposits, meaning the platform-wide economics favoured AirCover even if individual hosts felt differently.
What AirCover replaced it with
The new system is AirCover’s standard damage-protection claim flow — the same process used for large claims. The rough equivalence mapping:
| Old security deposit | Post-2023 AirCover |
|---|---|
| Pre-authorised hold at check-in | Nothing held |
| Claim filed through deposit release | Resolution Center claim |
| 14-day decision | 14-day filing deadline, 5-10 day decision |
| €100-5,000 cap per booking | $3M cap (effectively unlimited for damage) |
| Guest knew about the hold | Guest notified only when a claim is filed |
On paper the new system is strictly more generous — higher cap, broader coverage, no card pre-authorisation issues. In practice, the friction is in the process, not the cap.
The net outcome: better or worse?
For different host profiles, the answer differs:
Large claims (€500+)
The new system is better. The old deposit capped recoveries; a €3,000 mattress-and-floor event against a €500 deposit left €2,500 uncovered. AirCover covers the full amount subject to depreciation. For any meaningful damage event, AirCover’s cap is a real upgrade.
Medium claims (€150-500)
Roughly equivalent. The claim process is more bureaucratic but the payout is comparable or slightly better. The host’s time cost per claim went up — from ~15 minutes under deposits to ~45 minutes under AirCover — but the dollar outcome is similar.
Small damages (€30-150)
The new system is worse. This is where the gap sits. Small damages now require the same evidence packet, the same Resolution Center message, the same 14-day deadline as a €3,000 claim. Many hosts simply stop filing for small events because the time cost exceeds the payout. The aggregate loss over a year of hosting can reach €500-1,500 that under the old system would have been recovered through the deposit.
The small-damage gap in numbers
Typical host with ~40 bookings per year experiences 4-8 small-damage events (€30-150 each). Under the old system, ~70% were recovered via deposit. Under AirCover, ~25% are filed (because of time cost). The annual difference: €200-800 of unrecovered small damages — which functions as an implicit rate cut on the listing.
Where hosts feel the gap
The most common complaints from experienced hosts since 2023:
- “The deterrent effect is gone.” Guests no longer know a deposit is on file. Average damage-per-booking has measurably risen in host forum self-reports (anecdotal but consistent).
- “Small damages are not worth filing.” The time cost of documentation + Resolution Center + 14-day wait for €40 is not economic. Most hosts eat these.
- “Disputes take longer.” Deposit disputes had a shorter resolution path; AirCover claims can drag 2-4 weeks from file to payout.
- “Guest pushback is harder.” Under deposits, the hold existed before the guest could argue. Under AirCover, every claim is a fresh conversation with the guest who has zero skin in the game.
Private deposit agreements: the grey area
Some hosts have experimented with off-platform deposit agreements — asking guests to sign a private deposit document and holding the deposit via Stripe, PayPal, or Revolut. This is a legal and Terms-of-Service grey area:
- Airbnb’s ToS generally prohibit charging guests outside the platform for amounts not disclosed in the booking.
- Some jurisdictions allow host-guest private contracts that supplement platform terms, but enforcement against a non-cooperative guest is weak.
- Getting caught typically results in a host policy warning, and in repeat cases, delisting.
For most hosts, private deposits are not worth the risk. The few hosts who run them successfully tend to be in high-value categories (luxury estates, party venues) where the listing description explicitly frames it as a “host protection measure.”
Don't fight the platform
Private deposits outside Airbnb's approved mechanisms put your listing at risk. The better strategy is to raise your cleaning fee by €30-80 per booking, which captures the small-damage gap legally and transparently. Guests absorb this as a normal cost; Airbnb's algorithm does not penalise reasonable cleaning fees for well-rated listings.
What to actually do about the gap
Practical adjustments hosts have made since 2023:
- Raise the cleaning fee by €30-80 per booking. This invisibly covers the small-damage gap without requiring a claim for every stain.
- Build house rules with specific violation fees (€500 for smoking, €200 for unauthorised pets, €150 for parties). When a violation happens, the fee is deducted first through Resolution Center before AirCover even comes into play.
- File small claims in batches when multiple items overlap from a single stay. A €40 stain + a €50 broken glass is still worth filing; a €40 stain alone often is not.
- Use security cameras at exterior entry points (legal in most jurisdictions with proper disclosure) — footage deters damage better than a deposit ever did and strengthens any claim you do file.
Bottom line
Airbnb removed security deposits to smooth the guest experience and route every host-protection question through AirCover. For serious damages the new system is genuinely better. For small damages there is a real gap, and hosts who ignore it are leaving €200-800 per year on the table. Adjust your cleaning fee, codify your house-rules violations, and document every stay so the claims you do file are strong enough to win.
HostProof builds the pre-check-in and post-checkout inspection records that turn small damages into filable claims — the ones most hosts skip. See also how to write a winning AirCover claim and the Resolution Center 24-hour response window for the claim mechanics that replaced the deposit process.
Sources & further reading
- AirCover for Hosts — Airbnb official
- AirCover for Hosts · Terms & coverage details
- Host community discussion on r/AirBnBHosts, r/AirBnB, and the BiggerPockets STR forum
Last updated: 2026-04-21. Percentages and patterns in this article reflect Airbnb’s publicly documented policies plus aggregated host-community reports. Where figures are not directly attributable to an official Airbnb statistic, they should be read as community-observed patterns rather than official data.