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If this was discussed (and resolved) in some prior discussion, please apologize, I couldn’t find it.
I think many hosts run into the issue of guests leaving the accommodation with windows left ajar or cracked open, whichever way you call it for not completely closing them.
While we ask our guests to make sure that everything is closed and locked whenever they leave in the house manual as well as during the check-in walk through, it remains an ongoing issue.
I would like to know from you fellow hosts how you handle these situations? When you notice it at the time they leave you could ask them to close the window right there and then. But it you notice if after they have left, which is probably the majority of times, what do you? Just send a reminder message to pay attention next time they leave and kind of “let it slide” or do you just enter the accommodation and close the window right away?
Our insurance - and I think all insurance companies - will not pay anything in case of a break-in into the house if it turns out that a window was cracked. So this is a biggie. It’s not just about “respecting the rules” (which some guests have huge problems with) - it’s a matter of being made whole in case of theft and damage.
I do tell folks to close the suite door and the front door in my check out instructions and I often find both door open. Leave a front door open - who does that?
I guess I don’t worry about insurance because how would the insurance company know that the someone left the window open? Even if you don’t lock up correctly, it’s not legal to enter someone’s property. I’ve never seen a statement in my insurance documents that say my coverage is void if a window was unlocked.
Ultimately I think that closing the windows and doors need to be your responsibility. Guests don’t really care about anything after they leave the STR (and even sometimes when they are still there) unless they are regulars and in that case I would gently remind them the next time they arrive.
Guests are generally much more mindful of things if you make it about them.
Instead of making it a “rule”, or something you are requesting they do, a better approach, IMO, would be “We strongly advise making sure doors and windows are closed and locked when leaving the house during your stay- we are not responsible for missing items a thief may take by entering an unsecured house.”
What I’m asking is what you do when guests leave the windows cracked open when they leave the accommodation (during their stay)? Pretty much all of our guests are either tourists or workers who leave early in the morning and come back late in the afternoon or evening. During that time the window(s) would be “open”.
I’m German and there the home insurance will NOT cover any damages or losses through burglary if you leave a window cracked. Police and insurance companies always emphasize that “a cracked window is an open window”. Insurance companies consider it gross negligence and will refuse to pay - particularly if windows (or doors) on the ground level or in places where no additional equipment is needed to enter, were completely closed AND locked.
Oh and if your place gets broken into the insurance company will send an investigator to check for break-in marks at the windows and that clearly shows whether the window was fully closed or just cracked.
The same applies to France.
I’m surprised to hear that in other contries the insurance companies don’t seem to care that much about this.
One of our studios has a (locked) connecting door to our part of the house. If a robber would enter the studio and then just kick down the door inside the house and robs us as well - there won’t be coverage. That’s the issue here.
We have security glass windows on the lower level which doesn’t shatter into pieces and still prevents entry even when broken. Therefore it increases safety if at least the windows were properly closed and locked.
That’s a good question. My rental is on the ground floor in a city. After the most recent family guests stayed, I realized that the child, who was about 12 years old but declared as 7 to stay for free, was hanging out of the windows and had accidentally left the insect screens open. As a result, when I arrived, the house was full of insects, mosquitos and flies, a full party. There are cameras outside, and if anything goes missing, I believe it is the guests’ responsibility during their stay.
I am now considering childproofing or securing the insect screens to make them more difficult to open. If local laws and insurance policies don’t provide sufficient protection, I think installing bars on the ground floor windows (along with cameras) is something worth considering.
To address my current issue and also reduce dust, I am thinking about installing a wall-mounted heat recovery ventilation system, which would allow me to keep the windows fully closed.
Yes, I understand that. Not how the guest area connects to yours, but I assumed there are things in the rental that you wouldn’t appreciate being stolen by some thief and that your insurance wouldn’t cover if the windows were left open.
You missed my point- that guests are more likely to close the windows (and follow instructions in general) if you can present the request as something that failure to comply with might negatively affect them, rather than you.
Where I live, people usually have bars over the outside of the windows, so leaving windows open isn’t a security issue.
I think I’m running into a language barrier as I don’t understand your points at all. Kindly elaborate so I can figure this out:
Who would “appreciate things being stolen by a thief” in the first place? If you’re implying that this would be a negative experience with out insurance in France, since they would not pay in case of a cracked open window - I suggest that everyone living in a country where the insurance companies do NOT care whether a window was left open, to have their valuables “disappear” so they can cash in the insurance money. Still baffles me how insurers in other countries seem to not care about that
How so? I need to explain them that open windows could lead to their stuff being stolen? Are we back to micromanaging guests and treating them as children? Or do you mean anything else that “affects them negatively”, like stating that this would be a violation of the house rules and they would be kicked out?
Places are being broken into no matter how busy it is around them. Yes, it is less likely but not zero.
And most importantly, as a home owner I do prefer to not even have any thief even attempt to break into a cracked open window as this would automatically lead to a shut down of the rental unit as it wouldn’t be safe anymore once the window is damaged, plus I’d have to wait weeks or months to have a custom window built and installed. It’s not like a broken coffee maker, which can be easily replaced.
Overall, this is a matter of situational awareness and respect towards the property owner. I myself grew up in a small village where literally no one cares whether the front door was locked or even shut over night. To this day I see houses that leave the doors open day and night. With a little of common sense and a minimum of exposure to the real world by watching TV, social contacts, travelling it should be commonly know that it’s safest to just lock the windows and doors to prevent any sort of problems (theft, damage, dust, smell, insects, rodents etc.). It’s not that hard.
Yes, I think it’s a language thing- “I wouldn’t appreciate…” is a phrase that means “I would be upset if that happened”.
As far as it being more likely for guests to comply if you word requests in a way that makes it seem like it’s about their own comfort or safety, of course adults should be aware that leaving a house unsecured is leaving it open to theft- but obviously, according to your experience, some don’t think about it.
As hosts, whether or not we think something should be obvious and that mentioning it is treating guests like children isn’t the point- the goal is to find a way to get guests to comply if we are finding that they don’t.
For instance, hosts who meet and greet guests in person don’t want to have to hang around all day waiting for guests to arrive, we want a fairly accurate ETA.
Guests are more likely to give you that and update you if they are delayed if you say, “As we don’t offer self-check in, to ensure that we will be available to check you in as soon as you arrive, please send your ETA and update us if that should change. We certainly wouldn’t want you to have to stand around waiting to check-in because we had to run some errands, not having any notice of your arrival time.”
As opposed to “Please notify us of your ETA so we don’t have to wait around all day to check you in.”
How does this relate to me saying that homes where I live have outside bars on the windows, so leaving windows open isn’t an issue here?
LoL, I’m sorry, I thought ‘bars’ as in ‘pubs’ or ‘cocktail bars’ with lots of people frequenting the place and making it less likely for criminals to engage in their activities . What you meant was ‘security bars’ or ‘burglar bars’. My bad.
In the UK, insurers also won’t pay out if you don’t lock windows/ doors when leaving premises unattended! ( In fact, most want you to have extra ‘security’ locks on downstairs windows that stop windows being jemmied open.)
In your case, I would contact guests to advise them they’ve unfortunately, accidentally, left windows open- which leaves the security of both their possessions- & the house & your things in jeopardy- & invalidates the insurance:if its inconvenient for them to return immediately to close them, you understand and you can go in to shut them.
And although not a big fan of written signs, if this can be a big issue where you are, maybe a helpful reminder on the main door to check all windows & outside doors are shut before leaving the premises?
We’ve already designed and attached stickers on the window frames in locations that are closest to the eye level in 4 different languages and it’s also written in our house manual and addressed in the check-in tour.
Your approach, seems to be right, of contacting the guests via message to inform them of the window(s) left open and the near 0 chance of them coming back to close them which then is up to us entering the accommodation to close the windows seems to be the logical thing to do - even when guests may not be thrilled about that “practice”.
I mean, we’ve seen it all. Front doors left wide open after check-out, same with the windows when they leave for the day as well as turning on every single light bulb when they leave for the entire day, literally running all lights 12 hours, during the day, for no one . To this point in my life after 50 years it is still impossible to predict which guests pull these stunts off. Some seem super mindful/educated where I wouldn’t break a sweat only to find out they have no sense of situational awareness and common sense.
I like @elizawild ‘s suggestion of a sign on the door(s) they use to exit. “Please remember you are responsible for the security of your belongings and ours. Be sure to close and lock all windows and doors every time you leave the property. Thank you!”
Add it to your house rules on AirBnB so if you make a claim after a guest leaves your property unsecured, the CS rep can see that you had it in your house rules.
. What you meant was ‘security bars’ or ‘burglar bars’. My bad.