Guests snooping around and maybe robbed us

Hi all,

My wife and me decided to rent out our home during our vacation in Asia. We rented out our house for 3 weekends. The first guests we’re great; they had a good time and left the house very tidy. The second weekend the renters were two guys. The booking process for this booking already had me a bit suspicious since the payment was rejected at first. The same day however this was resolved.

We moved out antique silverware and jewellry and cash and stored this at my parents. We put all of our clothes and shoes in our walk-in closet.the closet can only be entered from the bedroom or from another door in the hall. Since we do not want guests going through our personal stuff, we locked the door with a doorclamp from the inside so it can’t be opened from the hall, and we closed the door to the closet and put our top mattrass against it so it Would be impossible to look into the closet (the Doors have glass in it so normally you can look inside). We explicitly told all our guests that access to the closet and the other room was prohibited. This was also in our house manual.

Our cleaning lady just got back to us and told us that indeed the guests have been in our walk-in closet and the other room. She send us the pics to prove it.

The idea of having our beautiful home left to strangers who went into rooms where they were not supposed to be in is totally freaking us out now. I am afraid they might have taken some expensive stuff like designer belts and shoes, but since we are not at home and we can check only when we get back, we are not sure what to do.

We already send that guest a message asking if it was indeed him gaining access to the rooms which were off-limit and if yes, what his reason was to do this.

Just hoping we are not robbed. The rest of the house was in good condition. At first sight nothing missing. Just one broken glass but that’s no problem.

Maybe Some of you experienced something similar?

1 Like

Are you new to Airbnb? Is this your first time renting it out?

The reason I ask is because I don’t think it is a good idea to do a trial run with Air while you are out of the country.

It could be that the guests were testing the door and didn’t mean to break in. You simply won’t know until you get back. If it was two guys I am not sure why they would want designer belts and shoes but I guess there is always a first time.

2 Likes

:face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow:
You surprise me with your conservatism :stuck_out_tongue::wink::kissing_closed_eyes:.

4 Likes

Touché…you got me there… but would guys like girls’ belts???

1 Like

:face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow::face_with_raised_eyebrow: Your doing it again ! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Judging by some of my hubby’s gay friends :grin:, I would say: As long as it fits anything goes :joy:.

Don’t worry, your remark and question were totally normal :wink::relaxed:.

2 Likes

Lol, newsflash; there are also expensive designer belts for men…

I would love to get invited to your house for dinner or a party! :heart_eyes::clap::rofl::joy:

2 Likes

Whenever you are in Amsterdam, hit me up :joy:

1 Like

I was just there!!! Passing through the airport, but I was there!

1 Like

I would never rent my personal home out on ABB. If I did, I would charge about $400/night to ensure they weren’t deadbeats. I put nice stuff in my units. I have antiques, animal skulls, museum quality pieces… But I also have a wired high definition security system, and disclosures all over the place about that.

Basically thieves would literally need to be ninjas in order to steal anything from me. I only have cameras pointing at the driveway. What I tell my customers is that this is so I can notify my cleaners that the guests have checked out. What a thief trolling ABB thinks is ‘Damn we can’t rob this guy.’ when they see that. You can check that box as a disclosure now on ABB.

1 Like

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the reply. In fact we are renting it out for a good €400 per night.

Getting a camera set up at the our front door is not a bad idea. Will certainly do that.

1 Like

Wow, maybe they are using a stolen card for that! We priced a unit at $75 usd/night one time, and had a meth drop take place. I had them arrested as one guest had a warrant out for their arrest. No damages done. Price too low, and this stuff happens…

1 Like

Well my sister in law who did the check in, checked the passport and everything checked out. I’ve checked out his social media, and he went to an electronic Music festival whilst staying at our place. I suspect the guests being under influence of drugs and maybe getting lost in our house lol.

2 Likes

Yea, sometimes we have guests wander around to other units which are attached to theirs. They are usually intoxicated, and luckily, we have had zero troubles yet!

Many guests don’t read the manual if that makes you feel any better. I mean like, I will post instructions on the back of the front door, on what to do for check out, internet log ins, and basic important info. They somehow, can’t seem to find it. So maybe that could have happened with your guests.

My worst story is the meth drop and subsequent bust. But other times, I’ve had guests walk into other units, by mistake, and go as far as to eat some of their food. Guests are crazy sometimes…

2 Likes

Why don’t you get your sister in law to check for key items if you are concerned about things having gone missing?

Well, our guest just reported back to us. He said (in quite bad English) that he opened the drawers because he was looking for towels and that he did not enter the walk-in closet. He only just replied after I send him a message asking him to answer the message my wife previously sent him asap. If in fact he or the other guest did not enter the closet and other room, it would mean we would have been visited by someone from outside which does not seem very likely, since nothing else from downstairs was missing. Normally when a burglar makes a visit, he/she ransacks a home to find quickly find any valuables.

I am now waiting for his reply to my question if he can confirm again that there were no towels put ready and that he and the other guest in fact did not enter the walk-in closet and other room.

Girls’ belts might not fit a bloke; mine certainly wouldn’t fit him. Actually, I’m not sure if they still fit me! but what if it’s a shared wardrobe, like ours? Himself has more designer belts and shoes than I do, with the excuse he still works in the City and I don’t. The beast…

2 Likes

I just stayed in a holiday cabin in Lapland Finland. In the master were locked closets. Now I know better from being on this forum but it DID occur to me maybe I could the key to get in them, maybe we were meant to open these? Then I caught myself. What the heck am I thinking? This is the owner’s personal stuff! Some people just bumble around in a house. It should be obvious that that is locked for a reason but maybe it’s just another closet? it’s not always clear.

1 Like

Well, after extensive messaging back and forth it turns out he in fact did not read the manual and rules and thus claims he was not aware of the closet and other room being off limits. At first he even denied entering the rooms, but after having applied some gentle pressure he admitted entering the rooms to look for extra towels (we supplied 4 towels for just 2 guests…) and an extra blanket since he was very cold. Instead of him messaging us or reaching out to my sister in law, he decided to just go look for it himself and thus entering areas which were off-limits to him.

He already wrote a review for us, but I am not going to write a review back since I do not want to end up in some silly review Battle etc

After 14 days his review of you will appear on your listing and you will have lost your opportunity to review him in turn.

(And why you don’t know this is beyond me. Please become familiar with Airbnb policies! Why should guest read all the manuals and policies? Hosts don’t)

2 Likes