The cottage was clean and the surrounding landscaping was beautiful. However, the property was much older than it appeared in the listing photos, which was somewhat disappointing.Unfortunately, when we departed very early in the morning before daylight, part of the landscaping near the driveway was accidentally damaged by our vehicle. We were unaware of the incident until the host contacted us and provided photos. After reviewing the pictures, we immediately acknowledged responsibility and offered to pay for the damage.What concerned us was how the situation was handled afterward. The host initially requested 100 for what appeared to be minor landscaping damage and suggested using payment methods outside of the VRBO platform rather than filing a claim through VRBO. We felt this was unprofessional and preferred that any damage claim be handled through the proper VRBO process. We repeatedly expressed our willingness to pay for the damage and requested either an itemized breakdown or a quote, but the communication became uncomfortable and felt unnecessarily pressured.We understand that guests should be responsible for accidental damage, and we were prepared to do so. However, we believe damage claims should be handled transparently and through the platform whenever possible. Future guests may also want to be aware that some landscaping is located very close to the driveway, making it easy to accidentally damage when arriving or departing, especially in the dark.