Any update on this situation @Alia_Gee? Getting an unfair bad review is bad enough but being falsely accused of stealing is a whole new level. If Airbnb doesn’t have your back on this, it’s outrageous. A petition might be in order…
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Even with a lock, you aren’t protected as you will have a key. I’d just post that host is not responsible for lost items. With ATM access travelers don’t need to carry a lot of cash. I would have said to them, please check all your receipts, and your ATM slips, you may have spent it and forgotten.
Sorry for this situation, I can imagine how this weighs on your head but I encourage you to put it behind you, we all go thru something similar to this sooner or later and yes, it makes you think if it’s worth it to do the airbnb thing, how much easier it would be not to do it; lets see how you can lower the chances of this situation happening again. In my house, each room has a keychain with the key hanging on the door of each room, so when the guest checks in they grab the key chain and just lock the door of their rooms, most of the renters do lock their rooms, peace of mind for them.
Honestly I think your over reacting, I know you personally feel bad, that sick to your stomach feeling when someone says something to you, but they didn’t trash your house or anything I don’t see the reason why you want to close your listing, just add to your rules something about valuables aren’t your responsibility.
To me it sounds like they were trying to trick you into giving them money,
oh no, shite situation! If they’re anything like me, it will be an oversight. I only use my debit card 2 or 3 times a month, but every time I look at my statement I think “I don’t recognise that, someones got my card, should I cancel?’ Then a couple of minutes later, “oh yeah, shopping and petrol”. I’m the same every time I look in my wallet: 'should be more than that!”, then later, “oh yeah, I went to the wine warehouse”.
But because I know what I’m like, I’d never accuse anyone, it’s unfortunate that this seems to be what happened to you.
Probably, not much worse than this can happen, in hosting land.
Take solace that they probably went to the wine warehouse, and fingers crossed it will occur to them soon.
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Ok, I’m starting to get “this is your last chance to review” emails and we have new guests arriving Friday so i think I’m ready to post a review:
S & I were a lovely young couple who communicated well before and at the beginning of their stay. They even brought us chocolates. They were quiet and tidy. An unfortunate incident happened while they stayed with us, however, and they didn’t tell us until they were literally putting luggage into their cab so we had no chance to help them deal with it in a constructive manner. We recommend them to any host that has a secure safe.
…
Is that too long? It feels too long. Ugh.
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This is a tough one. Do you realize that owners have keys to safes, too? We have two of the hotel-type safes. And sometimes people forget their codes. So the owner has to be able to get into the safe somehow.
I guess the question is whether you believe this was an honest mistake or an attempt to defraud you. If an honest mistake - why mention it at all? If you really think they were trying to defraud you, then be more direct in what happened.
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I’m so sorry for the angst this has caused you. It’s terrible to think of being accused of something you didn’t, wouldn’t ever do. I’m wondering if providing a combination type safe for guests would be a relatively inexpensive option to lessen the chance of this happening to hosts. Any thoughts, Airbnb community hosts?
I rent out two bedrooms in my home. I never thought about locks until one set of guests told me the other took sodas from their room refrigerator, which the other denied. It was just sodas, so no big drama, but it prompted me to replace the doorknobs with locking doorknobs so each guest can lock the other out. I still have a key, and have had to use it when they locked themselves out, but now the guests have more of a feeling their belongings are secure.
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Did you speak to Airbnb about this situation? Did the guests get to amend their review? Sorry if I missed this information.
I tend to agree with PitonView. Either it’s a review of someone who unjustly accused the members of your household, or it’s not. Have they left a review for you?
Yes, they left a review almost immediately upon arrival home.
I called Airbnb an hour ago, and the customer service rep said she didn’t want them as part of the airbnb community which was extremely satisfying.
So I have just this minute (because dinner and homework happened) posted a review. I have not yet read theirs because I’ve used up my bravery for the nonce.
“(Guests) were a lovely couple and communicated well before arrival; they were quiet and tidy guests. However, during checkout (as they were putting their luggage into a cab) they mentioned that cash had gone missing from their room and thought I should know. I was absolutely shocked because they suggested that maybe another guest or some visitor had taken it, and then left before I could respond coherently.
Ultimately I refunded them, after which they replied they would change their review of me.”
I kept it short and to the facts, I think. A potential host can always message me if they want more info.
And, gulp, I did not recommend them to other hosts.
I think maybe that’s a merlot badge, earned.
(Lol, autocorrect. This time, you are correct.)
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Well, I went and hunted it down. I won’t tell you what it said but I will tell you that if an American is looking at your reviews they won’t see it until they get to page 5 and then someone has to click on the more+ to see the critical parts. I don’t think it will affect you at all. Meanwhile your review of her is on top as she only has two.
I also notice her description of herself says she’s honest, trustworthy and reliable. Red flags. LOL.
Cheers!
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thank you for doing the deed so I don’t have to. Wish me luck, my next guests have a baby.
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It could be horrible. It could also bring you immeasurable joy. Whichever it is we’ll be here to listen to the stories when you are ready to share.
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I see a problem, you mentioned there were no other guests, so they were accusing you and your family.
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Thank you for your courage. You obviously thought this was not an honest mistake, but a way of extorting a refund from you (and it certainly sounds that way). I would never rent to these people with this review, but I might have with your prior version (since we have safes). They could still have accused us of stealing, since we have keys to the safe. And we might get taken in by them, too.
Bravo! It’s a two-merlot badge.
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Oh dear. You would really recommend them?
I wouldn’t.
X and X were lovely to host but i recommend them only to other hosts with either a safe or a locking door.
Or not.
I’m not sure I would review them if you cannot State the entire story, which is most upsetting…
X and X shouldn’t really stay with hosts who don’t provide safes or locking doors. They lost money during their trip and accused our family of stealing from them.
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No she didnot recommend them.
I have few doubts about this whole thing. Did the guests. Know there was no other guests?
I had an incidents too when I was in Uganda. I had 85$ taken from my wallet, and I am 99% sure it was at the house . I couldn’t bring myself say anything to hosts and 85$ in Uganda is like 2000$ in US. It’s the amount workers make there for 2 months.
But I was very close to saying something but friend convinced me not to.
We stayed in Entebbe, and it’s a small town where everyone know each other. The first person accused would be the guy who served us and he was so humble and so ready to please us . He would loose his job for sure.
So it was a dilemma for me/ not to tell could mean that he keeps on doing the stealing which I was not sure it was him in a first place . To tell means he would loose his job and never find another as news there travel fast, but what if it was not him?.
It’s just hard for me to imagine that someone traveling would do such a thing as to make up stories about stollen money.
But I know for sure if it was me as a host I would never refund them . Espexially how they said it at the door .
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Alia, your final version is way too nice, considering their review WILL state that you stole from them. it WILL. Just warning you. 
