This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
We remodeled our basement, adding some interior walls and doors. The doors are heavy, solid wood, vintage oak doors. The basement, when finished, will have two large locked areas. One area is half of the basement and will be used for storage of things that are only used seasonally (Christmas decor, lawn furniture, etc) or only used for certain guests (baby equipment or equipment for elderly/disabled) plus cleaning supplies and equipment, consumables, etc. The other locked area is a quarter of the basement and will be for linen storage, my laundry machines, and the internet router (so guests canāt mess with it).
The last quarter of the basement will be open to guest use and will have their laundry area (utility sink, washer, and dryer) and a large powder room.
I will put deadbolts on the locked doors and signs indicating the areas are off limits. I would also like to put cameras inside the locked rooms to monitor any successful attempts at breaking in.
I will be listing the house on VRBO and AirBnB. Is this breaking any rules on either platform? Does anyone have any experience with locked storage areas being broken into or any other relevant experience to share?
The photo is an example of sign I would post on the doorsā¦mine would be worded differently and would definitely explicitly say the area is monitored by camera. I donāt think I would mention the security deposit because my penalty would be different, especially depending on the circumstances.
If areas are explicitly off-limits to guests, cameras in them arenāt invading anyoneās privacy. You should probably mention in your listing info that there are off-limits ownerās storage areas of the basement just to cover yourself.
I havenāt listed on VRBO before and wondered if they even allow off limit areas. Their commercials emphasizing you get the whole entire house have me wondering about that.
Couldnāt say, have no VRBO experience, but Iām pretty sure that just means there are no shared living spaces with the host, other guests, etcā¦ For instance, they donāt accept private room listings.
Iām sure some VRBO hosts have private storage areas on the property, otherwise all cleaning supplies, extra equipment, like the baby stuff, spare bedding and non-perishable supplies you donāt want guests availing themselves of would have to be carted back and forth all the time.
I think that āentire houseā, on all booking platforms, just means the guests have exclusive use during their stay, not that there canāt be locked-off areas. For instance, many hosts with pools have locked pool equipment rooms because they donāt want guests messing with the pool pump, and other pool maintenance equipment.
My rental is an unstairs guest suite in my house. There are two additional rooms, 1/2 bath and my storage room that I keep locked. I do not have any signs, no cameras and no one has tried to break in.
I guess Iāve been lucky. All the things I read on this site are pretty shocking as to what hosts go through and what some guests do.
Many of our guests book through VRBO. We have numerous locked closets, and a few sealed by plastic zip ties to show they arenāt for guest use. No issues with Vrbo or complaints, since guests have plenty of drawer and closet space for their own things.
I put a simple lock on the sliding bypass closet door for awhile. I have spare blankets, sheets, towels, etc in there. Multiple times guests forced the doors open but nothing went missing. I assume they just wanted to use the closet. So I quit locking it and eventually changed the room so that the luggage rack is in the closet. Also no consumables like the large container of clorox wipes have gone missing. I know other hosts have a problem with this but the only thing ever taken here was by accident and partly my fault. The guest thought ācomplimentary water bottleā meant the glass reusable bottle too.
More supplies are in the āclosetā I created in the hallway outside their room. That door is locked with a simple deadbolt and no handle. Guests have never tried to break into it but I live here and have dogs.
All to say, locking cabinet in a locked room with a sign and a camera seems a bit much to me unless youāre storing guns, jewelry, collectible art or gold bars there.
That sounds to be an excellent facility for your guests.
The good news is that both our apartments have a locked tall cupboard and no one has ever tried to force a door or break into them.
I agree with @KKC that the signs, cameras, and so on give a strong indication to guests that there are valuables in there which could be more tempting to guests than a mere ownerās cupboard.
I point out the locked cupboards during the house tour and tell guests that they are junk cupboards and that āeverything falls out like in a cartoon when I open them, hahaā. This hopefully reduces any temptation.
@Keugenia, I do think that for Airbnb at least, I donāt know much about VRBO, that you must disclose those cameras in your listing to CYA. There isnāt any wiggle room with their camera disclosure policy. Personally, Iād be more worried about someone complaining about undisclosed cameras than someone breaking a deadbolt to rifle through my stuff.
My concern would be how to disclose those cameras on your listing without making it sound like you have something really good to come and steal. I think that people who are booking a place to stay are booking a place to stay and are not going to bother a locked door but there are people who look online for opportunities to steal stuff. So youād need to disclose them without making it sound like thereās something really good to come and steal (like @KKC mentioned, guns, art, jewelry, etc).
FWIW, We have four different locked rooms in our basement, in addition to the common basement area that has the laundry area. One of them is actually more like a cage, you can see right in but they all have locks and no one, not guests nor tenants has ever messed with them. Most impressively, not even with the cage where you can see the cases of wine and booze, etc (though I do try to get my husband to cover them, he just doesnāt).
I donāt think itās common, but Iāve read more than a handful of stories of guests breaking into locked rooms either by physically breaking the lock/door/frame or by non-destructive methods like shimming/lockpicking.
It would make for an interesting court case. Like would it be a felony, given that the guests had legitimate access to what is advertised as an entire home?
Thanks for posting, weāre in this situation. The basement of my duplex is off-limits to both floors, we have some booze in one of our locked rooms and are a bit paranoid that guests may try to break in out of sheer boredom. (Weāve had that before, one set of guests admitted they were sitting around bored and because the storage closet was locked, wanted to break into it to see what was there. I told them Iād happily let them in if theyād refold my twelve sets of sheets so the corners all lined up in a stack.)
The guests technically only have a ālimited licenseā to the home (even Airbnb explicitly recognizes this). It doesnāt give them the right to break a lock. No one has that right and itās always illegal to break a lock on something that you donāt own.
Generally, itās illegal to access property that you donāt own unless you have permission or authorization, even without a lock. In many places, the mere presence of a sign that says āno unauthorized entryā or āno trespassingā is enough to make it a felony (a sign that says āpostedā is enough in my state). And of course, it doesnāt apply to a closet but simply having a fence makes entering without permission a felony in most places (whether or not you can shoot them for it is an entirely different law ).
So, whether or not breaking into a basement closet is a felony or not (because it is a crime regardless) will have to do with the laws of the particular state (in the US) as well as the intent (thatās the big one) and whether or not they do any damage or steal anything and what the $value is of that damage and/or stolen goods. Those things will not only determine whether itās a felony vs a misdemeanor but also what the charge would be (e.g. breaking and entering or warned trespassing or trespassing or unlawful entry, etc).
A littleā¦. There wonāt be anything truly valuable there. It will be seasonal use things, specialty use stuff, like for children, extra inventory, etc. ā no alcohol, gun, gold, or valuables of that sort. I just want to be able to keep things organized and inventoried. I donāt want guests rummaging through it and helping themselves to whatever, whenever.
).