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I suppose I’m playing the devils advocate here, but is it possible that you were broken into by a third party, and it coincidental that this was the day your guests left?
I hope it doesn’t put you off hosting and that you get as satisfactory an outcome as you can, under the circumstances.
JF
Hm,I am new just started but with the Revenue tax nearly 50% and of course persistent risk to be robbed ,I am considering to stop hosting .My situation is the same and of course we lock our doors ,we have cameras but we are full time workers so cant be in the house all the time.,Moderator response is horrible, and looks like Airbnb is not willing to take any responsibility and help in this situation,just looking for excuses to not pay.
Hi @jaquo,
I don’t mean to sound contentious, but it’s not clear what one can do with valuables other than lock them up. I personally have quite a lot of antiques in my home, sitting in plain sight. I’m not even sure how much any of them are worth. At least @Carol12 locked up her stuff.
I’m personally pretty hands on about check-in and check-out. Also we do have security at the foot of this building, who would hopefully notice if people left carrying piles of stuff.
But not everyone is in the same position. And, as I understand it, self check-in and checkout is very much a thing, and people have places to go, things to do. Unless they have people to do it for them. I suppose one could buy a big safe and store stuff in there. But safes are expensive, and I imagine take up a lot of space. For many people it would probably feel like overkill. I guess a bank safe deposit box is an option, but those things don’t hold much. And they cost money too.
Please excuse ramblings…
We know that but the point is that the police and insurance companies don’t always see that as an ‘excuse’.
With the police, it depends very much on where you live and their own particular policies. In some areas, the police don’t consider a theft as part of their remit. This is especially the case with Airbnb, which is a dirty word to some local authorities, as the host is regarded as a responsible party who has ‘invited’ the problem into their home.
They also won’t accept anything but absolute evidence that the guests were the responsible parties. This is particularly the case if there are other guests in the property, or if any other people have keys/access or if people are coming in such as cleaners - in other words, if others could have been responsible.
None of this means that guests can help themselves, that it’s bound to happen or that it’s right but what it does mean, in the case of the OP, is that it would be over-optimistic to expect that the police will take serious action. Surely it’s better that she realises this?
As a side note, and I realise that this was some time ago and things could have changed, my own insurance company in the UK that covered my B & B also wouldn’t accept any claims of theft unless there was some sort of proof. This makes sense as anyone could claim for anything otherwise.
That’s what the police. my attorney and my insurance companies over the years have recommended. Not so much for check in but for check out. I don’t like to compare Airbnb accommodation to hotels but have you seen the lists of things that go missing from their premises? And that’s usually with a 24 hour staff around 
Hi @jaquo,
Sure, that is certainly the preferable way to go. But I too have had guests leaving in the middle of the night, and I didn’t police them. And much of the time, it’s simply not practical to keep watch over guests, certainly not at the prices people are willing to pay.
STR, like many other businesses, and other things, is all about taking calculated risks with people. Unfortunately, that’s life. The other option is to reject the world, and cower under ones bed. Some days that does seem like a good option, though. Cowering, I mean.
Oh, and speaking of “calculated”, this is one of the reasons I insist on ID and other information from guests. Unfortunately it annoys some people. In fact my next to last guest went on at some length in her review about how horrible it was that I asked her to fill forms. But I would still recommend it to @Carol12 as a way of deterring criminals. Criminals don’t like to answer questions. I know - I’ve met quite a number. Some socially. In my case, the Govt of India requires me to fill out forms for foreigners, but nothing stops hosts from collecting their own information.
Hello @JohnF it is actually no the case, because the main door and the guests door were perfectly close and locked, but my room’s door was broken. They locked those doors and left the key in the mailbox and it was locked too. Thanks for the suggestion.
@Inta_Jankovica it is the same situation as us, look what happened.
Exactly, as I said all the stuff you can have in your house is valuable, I did not know how much my entire stuff costs until they robbed me and I calculated all what I lost, they did no carry anything big, so they just fitted everything into their suitcases and left, locking the main door as anything happened.
Thanks everyone!
I’m pretty sure that when the cops and others said that we should be vigilant at check out time, they didn’t mean that we should be present at all check outs.
If guests are going to steal, it’s just as easy for them to do so during their stay as they can take small items out of the place when they leave for the day. Even larger items can go into a large styrofoam cooler as the guests ‘head to the beach’. There are many ways in which a determined thief can go about his or her business.
After all, how many times have we read here that guests have made off with a host’s supply of loo paper, snacks, toiletries etc? Not expensive items, certainly, but the methods are often the same. When we have people coming in and going out with suitcases, who knows what’s in them?
Cameras help and I’ve known some insurance companies who reduce their premiums if cameras are present. They work in the middle of the night too.
I just thought I’d mention this because it hasn’t been brought up yet. You need to check ID for every guest, every time. Even if their ID is verified on Airbnb, it doesn’t mean the name on the account has to match. If you live and host there, thats fair because they know where you live and you should know where they live!
@Carol12 I’m so sorry this happened to you. It’s awful when you think you’ve taken measures to protect your valuables and people break down your doors and steal.
Amen to this! I had a guest who was very, very difficult (his wife was lovely, but man… they drank and he was …argumentative…!). I didn’t ask for their IDs until their rental car got a flat in my driveway (oh man…) and the AAA person was looking for someone with an entirely different name. I calmly asked his wife (he was out, probably getting more wine) what their names were and when he returned with a new rental car, took pics of their passports.
When I called Air, they told me anyone on the platform can change their names to whatever they want. Except hosts (if I could, I’d change mine to be spelled correctly, but that’s another story).
I also have many antiques in the house, no idea what most of them are worth (I just say “family furniture, I’m too cheap to buy new stuff” when asked), have 2 safes, and many locks. IDK what else to do beyond that.
I changed my last name to be one letter. I never tried changing my first name because I want people to know who they’re dealing with but they don’t need the full name. Mainly this is because of cyber stalking.
Some guests are aghast when I ask for ID because many hosts don’t ask for it but most are fine with it. I’ve even had guests leave positive feedback about it.
The host is very involved. He takes the time to check in his guests. He takes responsibility for making sure his guests are safe by always knowing who is on the property.
My first name begins with a lower case letter, then an apostrophe, then a capital letter. Old family name (like the furniture…). When I got a FB account, I had to change the language to German or French in order to spell it correctly. So I’m fairly easily cyber-stalked… I could use the cat’s name… =^.^=
I used my real first and last name everywhere for 40+ years. I was a public school teacher listed in the phone book. Other teachers were horrified! Once a parent called me at home during my off time, that’s it.
Times have changed.
That is why we all need to collect and copy id’s. I get it everytime, I am lucky that the county requires I get a copy of ID and keep for three years. If someone complains to Air there TOS does not negate the regulations.
Sorry this happened to you
RR
Never checked a guests ID in 3.5 years and hundreds of guests. Nor do I know where they live.
Never had any problems with damage or anything being stolen.
Consider yourself lucky! because as evidenced by this post, the guest with 4 years on the site and 7 positive reviews robbed the OP. No amount of “vetting” or instinct would have changed the outcome I am guessing.
RR
Every case is completely different, I wish you all the best and hope anything like this happen to any of you!
Anyway try to be as much careful as you can.
I will update you if I get anything new, so far I am still waiting for the police report and I will start to push airbnb with media.
Thanks a million! All the best.
I am not sure it’s because I am lucky. I vet carefully and have my own home insurance for STRs @RiverRock It does seem odd that a guest with so many reviews would decide to steal from a host.
What happened when you contacted Airbnb on social media @Carol12?
Talk to the Garda again @Carol12 they normally give an initial police report with a crime number so not sure why they haven’t done this, in your case.
So sorry to hear this Carol. This is what makes me angry when I read stories like this. People are afraid to book outside of the platform because Airbnb has marketed to hosts that everything should take place on the platform “for safety” and that hosts are protected with guarantees, etc.
One thing I want to ask…are you positive that these guests are the same ones who had the reviews, etc.? Is there any chance they are using an account that maybe is not theirs? Like maybe an old friend’s account who says they don’t use Airbnb anymore? Maybe they said go ahead and change the email, etc.?
I think this is something rare and unlucky that happened to you in a home share situation. People in an entire home rentals are more at risk because there’s no one on site if someone wanted to unload the home’s valuables in the middle of the night. Since Airbnb does not share ID’s and because you don’t know if the person showing up is really the person who’s ID is uploaded onto Airbnb, the best course of action is to take ID moving forward. Security cameras won’t prevent this if there is no way to track down the person who really stayed at your house.
I know you vet guests, but if the what we are hearing is accurate you may have accepted these guests… and Air will not even provide the host a copy of the ID. Outrageous
I too have STR insurance but I suspect we are in the minority there. It would take a big loss for me to ever claim against insurance, I do not want to get canceled
RR
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