This has been a constant issue with many guests.
Extracts
Now I contact support. And post the following link.
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140
However, select software-connected hosts may collect a security deposit off of the Airbnb platform. In these instances in which security deposits are permitted, they must be disclosed in the appropriate fee field so that it is disclosed to guests at checkout.
I give in and request via the resolution center.
Now he wants to cancel because it was not a line item at checkout.
How do you suggest I handle this?
it is clearly stated in the house rules.
How do you do this “security deposits are permitted, they must be disclosed in the appropriate fee field”?
This seems to be something OwnerRez needs to work with Airbnb, so their help matches how it works in practice or they are allowed to disclose the security deposit at checkout.
Summary response to Airbnb.
How do you do this “security deposits are permitted, they must be disclosed in the appropriate fee field”? This seems to be something OwnerRez needs to work with Airbnb, so their help matches how it works in practice or they are allowed to disclose the security deposit at checkout.
This is already configured and handled within OwnerRez. As long as you have your Security Deposit configured on your properties, and in your Airbnb API setting you have the option selected for OwnerRez Security Deposits, guests will be notified during checkout. You can see that in the image below:
After confirming that your Security Deposits are set up to be compliant, many hosts have found it helpful to share the following explanation when a guest or Airbnb team member has questions or concerns:
Suggested Message:
Thank you so much for sharing your concerns—I completely understand where you're coming from. You're right that Airbnb generally encourages keeping all payments on their platform.
However, as a Software-connected Host, Airbnb allows for external security deposit holds in certain cases. In my case, this is fully aligned with Airbnb’s policies. The deposit is clearly stated in my House Rules—visible before booking—and Airbnb also flags this during the booking process below the Price Details section of the "Confirm and pay" screen.
Completing both the Renter Agreement and Security Deposit is required to finalize a reservation. If either of these steps isn’t completed, the booking will need to be canceled, and any refund will be issued according to my Cancellation Policy.
For reference, Airbnb provides more detail in these articles:
🔗 Collecting fees outside of Airbnb
If a guest feels they weren’t clearly informed, you can guide them back to your Airbnb listing and have them walk through the booking steps again. On the first booking screen, just below the pricing details, it will show the security deposit requirement.
There is one other thing that can cause an issue, now & again, Airbnb occasionally does not properly update your account to show the "flag" when you connect from OwnerRez, which is what allows you to collect offline security deposits. If an Airbnb representative says you are not allowed to collect Security Deposits, share the above linked articles and ask the Airbnb rep to check if the "Offline Security Deposit flag" shows on your account, or not.
This flag is also what puts the label in the above photo, so if you see that then the flag should be correct.
Thanks for the reply. I added it as an offline surcharge. Since most people use their phone. I needed to get a screenshot from the app. It does not help that the Airbnb help is not very clear and the Airbnb support staff equally do not really understand how all this works.
