Complete guide
Airbnb check-in and check-out reports: full method and free template
The checklist above tells you what to check. This guide covers the rest: what the rules say, what Airbnb actually asks for before reimbursing damage, a method for evidence that holds up, and how to use our free Airbnb check-in and check-out template (PDF).
Updated
Is an Airbnb property inspection mandatory?
It depends on where the property is, and you should check the rules that apply locally. In France, for example, the official public service website states that a check-in and check-out inventory for a holiday let is not mandatory, but recommended. It also gives a warning worth remembering anywhere: if an inventory was made at check-in but not at check-out, the guest may be held responsible for damage that happened after they left.
Whatever the law says, the practical question for a short-term rental host is different. With a new guest every few days, what matters is not the original condition of the property but which stay caused the damage. Only two inspections close together, right before and right after each stay, can answer that.
With self check-in
You can rarely inspect the property together with the guest. Do the check-in inspection just before arrival, then send it to the guest the same day through the platform's messaging, asking them to report anything that does not match within a few hours. The dated message is your record.
What Airbnb asks for before reimbursing damage
Guest damage falls under Host damage protection, part of AirCover for Hosts. Airbnb states that it is not insurance or a financial service: it is a reimbursement process with its own deadlines and evidence rules, run through the Resolution Center.
| Step | Deadline | What to provide |
|---|---|---|
| Request payment from the guest in the Resolution Center | Within 14 days of the responsible guest's checkout | Description of the damage, amount, photos or videos, quote or receipt |
| Guest response | 24 hours | Nothing: the guest pays, pays part of it or declines |
| Airbnb steps in if the guest does not pay in full | Complete request form within 30 days of checkout, under the protection terms | Proof of the damage and its cost, answers to Support's questions |
The Host Damage Protection Terms require legitimate and verifiable evidence: photos, videos, receipts, documents, which must not be doctored or falsified in any way, including by the use of artificial intelligence. Always keep the original files. The terms also expect you to cooperate with the review, for example by showing what remains of a damaged item.
Normal wear and tear is excluded, as is cleaning tied to standard checkout tasks such as laundry, dishes or taking out the trash. Many claims fail on exactly that line. Deadlines and conditions can change, so reread the official pages when you file.
How to do an Airbnb inspection, step by step
A good inspection is not judged by its length but by how easily it can be compared. The whole job is to make check-in and check-out line up.
Once: set up the property template
- List the rooms in a fixed order, following a natural walk from the front door.
- For each room, pick two or three wide angles, always shot from the same spots.
- Count the inventory once: plates, glasses, linen sets, towels. That is your expected quantity.
- Record existing defects (scratch, chip, old stain) with a close-up so they can never be blamed on a guest.
- Keep purchase receipts for valuable items: they price a replacement.
Before each arrival
- Photograph every room from the set angles once cleaning is finished: that is the condition actually handed over.
- Take meter readings if you recharge consumption or want to spot abuse.
- Check inventory quantities and the number of keys, fobs and remotes handed over.
- Rely on the device's automatic timestamp. A handwritten date proves very little.
When the guest leaves
- Inspect before cleaning. Once the place is clean, a stain, a smell or a moved item can no longer be proven.
- Follow the same order and angles as at check-in, then add a close-up of each issue with a sense of scale.
- A short continuous video of each room backs up the photos.
- Recount the inventory, read the meters, collect the keys.
- Close the file the same day, before the next guest moves in.
Damage found at check-out: the first 24 hours
- Document before touching anything. Wide shot, close-up, video. Do not throw away the broken item.
- Compare with check-in. Find the matching photo from before the stay. The pair is what convinces, not the damage photo alone.
- Message the guest through Airbnb. Factual and polite: what was found, when, with photos. Keep the conversation on the platform.
- Put a price on it. Repair quote, original receipt, replacement price for an equivalent item, invoice for exceptional cleaning.
- Open the request in the Resolution Center without waiting for day 14.
- Protect the next booking. Repair or replace what affects the next guest, and keep every receipt.
For a full action plan, see our article on deposit disputes and Airbnb evidence. For direct bookings made outside the platforms, a security deposit on a saved card saves you from chasing payment afterwards: nothing is charged unless there is damage.
Paper, PDF or app: which format to use?
| Criterion | Printed paper | Filled-in PDF or Word | Dedicated app |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Paid subscription |
| Setup | Immediate | Immediate | Property set up once |
| Link to photos | References written by hand | References or photos added by hand | Photos attached to each room of the flow |
| Photo date | From the phone, sent separately | From the phone, sent separately | Recorded with each photo |
| Same angles in and out | Up to each person | Up to each person | Possible with a guided flow |
| Several properties or staff | Quickly unmanageable | Files to sort yourself | Centralised, reviewable remotely |
| Best for | One property, keys handed over in person | One or two properties, organised host | Self check-in, property managers, cleaning teams |
Paper and PDF work well for a host who welcomes guests in person, which is what the free template below is for. Their limit is volume. When cleaners carry out the inspection across several properties, every visit has to produce the same result and you need to review it remotely.
That is what Check Easy does: a guided photo flow room by room, a reference photo shown as an overlay to match the angle, the device's timestamp and GPS coordinates recorded with each photo, and an automatic inspection report you can export as a PDF. Check Easy also covers cleaning checks, with flows your staff open from a simple link, no app to install. See short-term rental inspections for how it works and pricing for plans.
Keeping your evidence
- One folder per booking, named consistently: arrival date, property, guest name or booking reference.
- Original files with their metadata, not compressed copies. Some messaging apps strip the date and location from photos.
- A backup off the phone, so a lost phone does not take your evidence with it.
- Guest messages, with dated screenshots of the important ones.
- As little personal data as possible: photograph the property, not the guests or their belongings.
Keep at least the full file until any Airbnb request is closed, and longer for stays that caused a problem, as long as a legal claim remains possible where you operate.
Free Airbnb check-in and check-out template
We turned the structure described in this guide into a printable A4 template. Each line has the condition at check-in, the condition at check-out, notes and the matching photo reference.
Airbnb check-in and check-out report template
5 A4 pages: property, guest and times, meter readings, keys and fobs, room-by-room condition, equipment inventory, priced issues, supporting documents and signatures.
- Print one copy per stay. Check-in and check-out sit on the same line, so the comparison reads at a glance.
- Use the template's condition codes (good, fair wear and tear, damaged, not working, missing) instead of free wording: they force the wear-versus-damage distinction Airbnb relies on.
- Number your photos by room (KIT-01, BATH-03…) and write the reference on each line.
- Send a photo or scan of the completed check-in page to the guest through Airbnb on arrival day.
- If there is damage, the issues page and the supporting documents list give you the outline of your Resolution Center request.
A template is still just a document: it does not take the photos for you or make two people work the same way. If you manage several properties or your cleaning team does the inspections, the same content exists in Check Easy as a guided flow, with photos attached to each room.