Yes they do, but alas, all disappears after they check out and you have no way of reaching them. Case in point-- the time the guest wanted to send ME something! he took a beautiful time lapse video of the night sky while here and all the stars but it was past the reservation. No way to get it to me, just as if he was a new guest making an inquiry. Never did see it.
No itās in your regular email, I have a copy of every guests phone contact information on my iPad and laptop.
Hereās a copy of an old email from April I put the xxxās to hide the name and phone number but they were there.
This is a reminder that Sharon xxxxxxx has a reservation to stay with you during Apr 15 - 18, 2016 at Xxxxxx
_You can reach the guest by phone at xxxxxxxxx or by email. _
2016-04-08 02:08:59 +0000
So far , have one package to USA and one to Asia and had to foot the bill both occasions. Me is going to get more firm in future and ask for postage.
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Guests are just careless. And guests who forget stuff are even more careless. Why would they bother paying for postage once they received the package? Therefore, I always have and will continue to ask for postage upfront.
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I did it a couple times in the beginning of hosting - sent the items back to be nice to hopefully receive nice review and maybe guest will return next year.
Forget it!! Guests think they are entitled when you do something like that. It only encourages them to continue to behave carelessly everywhere they travel. I learned very quicklyā¦
I agree that guest should pay to have items shipped back.
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This is a given. Not only should they pay the postage they should pay you for your time, packaging them up, schlepping things to the POā¦This was one of the many unpaid tasks I had as the manager at the friendsā rental. Never againā¦ (Along with, can you receive and store packages for guests who want to ship things ahead? ) Did it once and then NONO NOā¦
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Well this might be one of the downsides of being an Airbnb host. There are many of us and chances of guest returning next year are very slim. And most importantly, what one Airbnb host does will not rub off on other hosts.
On the other hand, if I stayed at the Hilton and forgot something important, I might be expecting them to send it back to me free of charge. After all, there are so many Hilton hotels, all over the world, and chances are that I might be choosing one of those again (rather than go to a Wyndham, or Hyatt) if Iāve had the good experience of having something sent back to me. Not sure.
You can tell the guest to request a UPS pick-up at your address. He will have to request it online, and he has to pay for everything with his credit card. (Works internationally.) So you would not have to collect any money from the guest.
Butā¦I knowā¦guests would rather prefer that you go to the post office and use the cheapest option to post their items for 10$ (instead of multiple of that when using UPS with pick-up service).
I just had a guest who left a painting which he has bought here. I have no problem in taking it to the post office the next time I am there, and he will pay by Paypal.
I have a huge collection of sunglasses, necklaces and other stuff that people have left in the apartment. But the guy with the painting was the only one who contacted and asked if I could send it. Most of the stuff is found behind the bed, under the sofa, under the carpet or in any other location so that it is not clear to which guest it belongs.
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Aloha Eberhard,
From past experience of mailing items to guests and not receiving the postage reimbursed as promised; I now send everything COD. Cash on Delivery. The Post Office collects the money plus a fee, sends me the postage money, and problem is solved.
Iām over sending back old clothes that stunk so bad I had to keep them in the garage hoping the guests would return to pick them up themselves. They usually donāt, even though they are passing the house on their way back to the airport.
My time and expense is secondary to their choice of how they are spending their vacation time. No more.
COD or nothing.
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I just got done mailing some fools pillow back to him. Took an hour of vacation time in order to get to the post office. Had to buy a box, tape, and a stamp for my self addressed stamped envelope. Total actual monetary cost= $14.85. FIxing my house rules right now to advise guests that if anything needs to be mailed back to them, itās a $20 fee on top of postage.
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Is there an Airbnb policy on this? Iām too lazy to check lol!
Even this requires time to pack it and take it there to even send out COD!
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Yupā¦ This is what I mean!
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Where are you Rhonda? Iām in Kona. I rarely have them leave anything. And do remind them to check around the apartment before checking out.
This should be subject to the $20 convenience fee. Or inconvenience as it were. 
Aloha Konacoconutz,
My property is ātechnicallyā in Captain Cook.
I was horribly disappointed that the Governor vetoed the tax collection issue.
I emailed, phoned, gotta love living in Hawaii.
$15 mil? Automatic deposit? No thanks.
Hawaii makes history again.
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Whatever fee the post office charges, there is a line where you can add a āpersonal feeā, or āhandling chargeā.
It was my past experience that #1, since they did not refund me for the items sent, then #2 my only option became COD; unless it was something as simple as a key in an envelope for 50 cents which isnāt going to break this galās bank account.
Aloha Maggieroni,
I would suppose the proper thing to do would agree through the airbnb message thread and then use the resolution center for collection.
This caused problems with addresses being hidden within the emails.
I have had to resort to using the resolution center when guests have left without paying the taxes.
Many hosts here in Hawaii use the resolution center for tax collection; but airbnbās accounting system is not on target, so monies collected are added to your gross income which then needs further bookkeeping headaches to keep track of the expenses.
I wasnāt aware of the UPS idea, thanks for sharing tomdxb, that will become my new improved way of return rather than as brook2asks stated. I was resentful of my time spent at the PO waiting for the clerks to remember how to send a COD package and call in the supervisor after my packing, taping, etc., time used prior to arrival to the P.O.
me too!!! Keeping in mind Captain Cook is HUGEā¦ extends from Kealakekua to the Kaāu lineā¦ a pretty large district.
Ige vetoed it because certain language had been removed at Airās requestā¦ He said it can be resubmitted next session when itās fixed up. Forget what it was aboutā¦ but we will see this bill again. Speaking of taxes, I am going to go pay them at Yano Hall now. Works for me!
I get it in cash. Never had a problem. Guests always willing to pay. Maybe one or two were not.