Guests who lost our keys gave me a bad review because I opened a file with the Resolution Centre claiming money to replace all the locks

Thanks for your reply. Can I have the brand and model of your keyless lock please?

Is your keyless entry lock for outdoor use?

Sounds like itā€™s time to replace the locks with modern ones? If it were me, Iā€™d do that so I have a master key that can open everything. As an alternative, Iā€™d replace front door locks with combination locks so that you can change the combination after each guest.

@NordlingHouse

As I said, due to type of locks and custom doors involved, replacing them is not really possible from what Iā€™ve been told. I have unique tags for each one so master key isnā€™t really a need and iā€™ve been using these keys/locks for decades.
And I donā€™t see need for changing combinations as 85-90% of my guests are repeats and some have been coming for many years and are friends now. Combo locks are more needed in places where you have numerous overnight guests, whereas here, they stay for week or two or more.

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Things may be different there as while here in US, I have gotten a typical simple house key copied for $1.50 or so but when I was in Sweden for auntā€™s funeral and went to locksmith to get some more blanks for my unique Swedish ASSA lock, I found that if I was getting a copy of that key made there, it would have been around $10-12 USD but I was able (because i was taking them out of country) to buy blanks for about $3 each (I think) and have it cut in US for less than $2.

I have not read all the answers ā€¦but why did you even have to replace door locks? They are tourists ā€¦they left. Ptobably never coming back. This whole things with them not leaving keys is very strange ā€¦and you have no copies ?
To pay 1100$ is so excessive.

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I believe this is a violation of the review guidelines which states that youā€™re not allowed to mention resolution cases. Contact another airbnb agent

@Miyima

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Miyima, absolutely, glad to. I have Schlage locks, the Connect series, I think. However, if that doesnā€™t work in your locale, there are a bunch out there now. There are a few posts on here regarding locks but I havenā€™t checked in a while so I donā€™t know how old those posts are, but if you search the forum Iā€™m sure someone has chimed in. People are good for that on here, haha. If I can help, just let me know. :+1: Best wishes to you, this rental stuff has some tough knocks sometimes but itā€™s a good experience most days :wink:

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Sorry to pile on, but a surprise $1k charge is going to sour anyoneā€™s experience with you. That fee mightā€™ve been 25% of their holiday budget. (guessing!) The review sounds quite restrained and fair to me.

Iā€™d change your setup so you donā€™t run into this in the future. If you canā€™t find a less expensive/risky way to grant access, you should disclose the fee in your listing, as it is wildly high compared to others. (It would cost me $2). Iā€™d also find a better key return than the mailbox.

Yes to getting a keypad lock! Some even work with Airbnb to activate/de-activate door codes at your check in/out times (ResortLock). I use a simple one, Kwikset 910. We push a button on the inside panel and then key the 4-digit code (last digits of the guestsā€™ phone number). Itā€™s the last step in our cleaning process, so only one set of guests can arrive any time, and they can never walk in on us before the place is clean. Iā€™d personally avoid any that require an app/phone: more complexity=more problems.

Also, on the locks for your stroller/outdoor things: We use those word combo locks so there are no keys to lose. I suppose thereā€™s a small risk a prior guest could return to steal thingsā€¦Iā€™m willing to risk it for the convenience of no keys.

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And there may be combo locks that are suitable for that purpose which allow you to set your own combination which could be changed as desired, like weekly/monthly. I have that type lock on my rental storage unit that i have in FL for my overflow ā€˜stuffā€™.

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Losing the keys is a common if not a frequent thing.

I host only out of towners. It is hard to believe that people who live hundreds or thousands of miles away will come back and sneak into my house. Let alone that the house is almost always occupied.

It is hard to believe that you, as a host, donā€™t have extra copies made for yourself, for the cleaning lady and more extras. You donā€™t have to change all the locks in the house. Also, it is very unfortunate that you asked the couple to leave the keys in the mailbox. At least get a lockbox or something. The mailbox is not safe. Anyone could have stolen them; a kid on your street, someone playing a prank; an envious neighbor. Unless you have an outdoor camera and footage they left them in the mailbox I think you have no case. They wont pay you and ABB will dismiss your case.

To make a copy of the key cost about 3-4$ max in US at least. This whole thing is just unbelievable. Of course when you threaten the guest they will retaliate.

I lose my keys all the time. My own keys of my own house! Even my car key! I put a Tile on my car keys and installed a keyless garage opened that i have to punch in a code or use an app to open. You can either put a tile on your keys or better put keyless locks.

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@adrienne12

As I posted above, when I was in Sweden, I found that only locksmiths there can make key copies (unlike US where hardware stores, etc do it also) and charge around $10-12 for simple key copies so the $3-4 may be valid in some places but not all.

still itā€™s the cost of a sandwich, not 1100 pounds she was asking.

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Yes, I too think you overreacted a bit, and incurred too many costs for the scope of the issue. I would have chalked this one up to experience and moved on, eating the costs as a business expense. They were honest, they really didnā€™t do anything wrong, and a little grace goes a long way.

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@Miyima Did you replace the locks because a random neighbour had your keys plopped into their mailbox, so your home was then vulnerable to a burglary by that random neighbour? Your keys were labelled so that anyone finding them would have the address?

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Here you go: got it on Amazon. Outdoor and indoor lock capabilities.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001COBTBC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, I can see that now. I didnā€™t fully understand that initially.

Obviously, if you donā€™t know who has the keys and suspect that whoever does may know which apartment they belong to, you have to replace the locks.

I apologise for jumping in too quickly :frowning: I hope you can find an affordable replacement locking system because it will probably happen again and that is a LOT of money to spend. Guests lose keys all the time and/or donā€™t understand what theyā€™re supposed to do with them on check-out, no matter how clearly you try to explain.

Also, things that seem obvious to you are not obvious to someone from another country. For example, Iā€™m in the UK where it is standard to have a letterbox (mailbox) on your front door. In old apartment buildings there are still letterboxes on each apartment door.

I remember reading about a host who instructed guests to lock the apartment and then post the keys through the letterbox on check-out. He couldnā€™t find the keys and asked them what happened. Apparently they put them into the main postbox on the street outside the buildingā€¦
He had to wait for the postman/woman to come at the allocated collection time so he could retrieve them.

Having written all that, I realise that UK hosts will be chuckling and everyone else may be thinking wtf are you talking about!!

Anyway, this is yet another reason why personal check-ins are so good if you are able to do it. Then you can physically show people what to do.

Here is a UK postbox for anyone that is curious.
postbox

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@Magwitch Ahhh. I remember that thread. Lol

Iā€™m grateful to you, Gem20, for finding me the solution. The other Airbnb agent has just removed the review and confirmed to me that neither hosts nor guests can mention the details and the sum involved in any resolution cases. Thank you so much! Iā€™m asking the locksmith to look into the possiblity to replace the locks with a secure keyless system.

Cheers!

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Iā€™ve read that hilarious post also. It is such a crazy act to drop the keys of your host in a postbox. Iā€™m considering installing a keyless system to our main door, because the same problem can happen again.