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I’ve booked two night in a small cottage separate from the main house.
The host wrote I could just let myself in when I arrived, no instructions.
Three times I’ve written asking how I gain access to the suite and the answer sent in reply is " it’s a self-contained cottage. No need for us to let you in."
Finally, I asked: So the door isn’t locked and I don’t need a key or a code?
Her reply was :
That is correct.
We live in a very safe neighbourhood and if you have any valuables you can put them out of sight in the drawers under the mattress.
Hope this is ok
I then asked if there was a lock inside the door, so I could lock it at night.
There has been no reply to this last question.
I’ve phoned twice but no answer.
I don’t want to stay in a strange city in a cottage in someone’s yard where I can’t lock myself in at night.
I leave for the trip tomorrow morning and just don’t know what to do. Please tell me what you would do?
I’ve never thought of a wedge, clever! To the OP, our place is safe and we could leave it unlocked. I know hard to believe these days but there are still places where it’s the case. But if you don’t feel safe then the wedge, chair under the handle should do.
I do get your concern if you’re from a place where locking your door is essential (it’s not where I live either but I’ve lived in plenty of city areas where I wouldn’t dream of not locking my door). But look at it this way - if the host doesn’t seem concerned about the security of their own home, you probably have no reason to be either.
That said, if you’re uncomfortable I’m sure Airbnb would allow you to cancel.
I have stayed in several places where there is no lock on the door. Never had an issue but it is disconcerting if you are traveling with a lap top or other expensive equipment.
I wouldn’t mind at all not having a lock on my door if I was inside someone’s home. But I do feel a bit twitchy about being away from the main house with no lock on the door to the cottage.
Thank you, everyone. A door wedge is a great solution.
I understand your concern. But we never lock our house even when we travel overseas. Our guest cottage has a key to lock it. We live in a safe area and our dogs would lick a thief to death
We used to not lock our doors either. It’s a very safe area. However, some guests felt uncomfortable with that so we installed a keypad lock. The guest rooms have interior locks too but I once had a guest who suggested we get key locks on the bedroom doors. We didn’t take that suggestion because it would be a hassle with keys.
This makes me laugh when I think of hosts who have posted here that they don’t want a lock on their room doors in their house because they feel offended that a guest would want to lock their door. But they didn’t think of clever guests like you!
There are various travel locks you can buy to lock yourself in as well as the other ideas offered. I often leave the door into my guest room unlocked and no one ever questioned it until recently. They asked if they could lock themselves in when arriving, which they can. It made me aware, for the first time, that this would be a concern.
I totally understand you. I have had this situation once (outside of AirBnB), with a separate bungalow. Luckily the lady had another room IN her house so I asked to occupy that room.
If anywhere near to civilization, I would also want a lock.
I think your host is rude. She / he ignores your phone calls . That’s not cool. I answer even silliest of questions all the time because I understand if it’s especially firstbtime
Guests , they might be nervous about this whole homeshre sitiation. And I don’t think it’s ok to not provide lock for guest’s door especially if it’s a separate unit. I have locks on every private room .
I tell my guests: “park in the driveway and come in through the unlocked side door”.
Because where I live leaving the door unlocked isn’t an issue. I live upstairs so not worried.
Then again I had some people now staying for the long weekend. I went down early and they turned up while I was still playing with the dog and we were chatting. Then it occurred to me and so I asked: “have you gone in yet, you know the door is unlocked, right?”. Cause they hadn’t and were waiting for me to unlock it but were too polite to ask.
I provide a key indoors so they can lock the door when they leave if they want. I bought a large red ribbon attachment that says “detach before flight”. People are meant to use to remind themselves to not leave it in their luggage but I find it works for guests leaving as well,
