Guest damage in holiday apartments: who pays, how the process works, what counts as wear and tear

Anyone who lets a holiday apartment will experience damage sooner or later: a wine glass, a scratch in the parquet, in the worse case a burn hole in the sofa. The question is not whether it happens, but how it is dealt with. For professionally managed apartments, the process follows fixed rules. We explain them.

The causer-pays principle

The basic rule: whoever causes the damage bears it. The guest is primarily liable. The management company asserts the claim on behalf of the owners – it is the party that knows the guest, has documented the condition at check-in and check-out, and has access to the deposit or the platform. There are several ways to do this:

• Deposit or credit card pre-authorisation from the booking.
• The guest’s private liability insurance, which for most Swiss and German guests covers damage in holiday apartments.
• The booking platform’s damage compensation programme, for example on Airbnb.
• Direct invoice to the guest, including payment reminders.

Legal action is only taken in agreement with the owners. If an amount remains uncollectable despite all efforts, the owners bear it – this is the entrepreneurial residual risk of any letting.

Documentation: without a photo, no claim

Damage can only be claimed if it is documented. That is why inspection is part of the standard process:

• General inspection at every check-out, or during the final clean by the cleaning team.
• A full inspection of the apartment at least once a year, plus regular inspection rounds outside periods of occupancy.
• Damage report with photos, date, the occupancy concerned and estimated amount. The report goes to the owners.

At Picobello Reinigungen, the team takes photos after every job. These images are not only quality control but, in the event of damage, the proof that the apartment was intact before arrival.

Wear and tear is not damage

Not everything that looks different after a season is damage. Normal wear and tear – dull patches on worktops, signs of use on door handles, a faded curtain – is part of letting and cannot be charged to anyone. For this, owners in managed developments usually build up a renewal fund. If it is disputed whether something is damage or wear and tear, the management company and the owners jointly obtain the assessment of a neutral specialist, such as a carpentry workshop or a painter; the costs are shared.

Minor replacements and minor repairs

Crockery, glasses and cutlery break continuously, often without any individual guest being identifiable. Such minor replacements are made to a locally customary extent without consultation and shown individually in the statement. The same applies to minor repairs up to a contractually agreed authority limit: the management company acts independently so that the apartment is ready for the next guest. Larger work is agreed with the owners; urgent measures to prevent damage – water damage, a faulty heating system in winter – are reserved.

Insurance in the background

For condominium ownership, buildings and household contents insurance is a matter for the owners’ association; it must expressly include use for letting. In addition, the owners need their own liability insurance as condominium owners. The management company, in turn, is insured through its business liability insurance for damage caused by its own staff. There is no liability for personal belongings that remain stored in the apartment – which is why valuables do not belong in the owners’ cupboard.

Frequently asked questions

Who decides whether a guest is held liable?

The management company examines the damage on the basis of the report and asserts the claim. The owners have a say in any legal action.

How quickly will I find out about damage?

With the damage report after the inspection, usually on the day of check-out. Larger damage is reported immediately.

Do I have to do anything myself if there is damage?

No. Documentation, asserting the claim, arranging repairs and settlement are all handled by the management company.

What about damage during my own use?

The owners are themselves liable for this; here too, an inspection is carried out after the stay.

How is a replacement sofa financed?

Larger rounds of replacement go through the development’s renewal fund, individual cases of damage through the person who caused them or the owners.

More on the model: [Management in Simmental](/bewirtschaftung-simmental), [Saanenland](/bewirtschaftung-saanenland), [Adelboden-Kandersteg](/bewirtschaftung-adelboden-kandersteg).

*This article describes the process for properties managed by Picobello Reinigungen and does not replace legal or insurance advice.*