We rent a condo, and at some point I stopped providing guests with nice utensils and knives after I noticed that these things get lost. What is your experience? What do you chose to substitute with less expensive options to avoid tempting your guest to accidentally pack a few things that are not theirs?
To date, nothing from my home has gone missing. Too bad that you have had this experience.
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Nothing missing here in the last year, either. Well there was the ātraveling night lightā incident, but that hardly counts as it came home againā¦
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My sanityā¦
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I only have a room but a pillow was taken. Thatās it.
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A cheapo salad bowl (which probably got broken and thrown away) and a bargain beach towel (that was probably packed into a suitcase by accident). Thatās all, I think,
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I rent my beloved weekend and retirement home - entire house, not a bedroom - and I am not on the property when guests are there and I am happy to report that in six years of renting I have never had a single thing stolen that I am aware of. While most of my possessions are not fancy per se, they are mostly vintage or antique, and beloved by me. Folks HAVE broken stuff, but most of it of nominal value. I charged money for a breakage only once. I consider glasses and plates collateral damage and the price of doing business.
I chalk my experience up to the basic goodness of most people and the fact that my guests can tell that this is a beloved home and not an income property.
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I think that to believe in this is the basis of being a happy host. 
I tend to always think well of people until they prove me otherwise and as far as guests are concerned, I was only proved otherwise on one occasion that I can remember. And even then, they were nice enough people, just very untidy and noisy.
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I agree. When you assume people are trying to screw you and rip you off they tend to not disappoint.
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I sometimes think that anyone stumbling upon this forum would think that all hosts do nothing but whine and complain about their guests.
Letās face it, 99.9% tend to be lovely. Thereās nothing wrong with having a good old vent here but I think that most hosts would agree that hosting is largely a wonderful experience.
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For over six yrs. I have rented out my condo when not in town. Itās furnished for personal use as well as guests.
Through the years, many items have disappeared, apparently deciding to live elsewhere. Among my favorites of the Never-to-be-Seen-Again items are an expensive chefās knife, small (but powerful) binoculars, couple of figurines from Indonesia, a couple of jeweled boxes from China and Indiaā¦and other things that have faded in memory.
Of the more recent departures (a year ago): two flatware place settings, BBQ utensils, insulated coolers and gel packs, plastic-wareā¦stuff probably taken on an outing and forgotten or left.
I used to have out sets of 8 of dinnerware, drink cups/glasses, utensils, etc., and realized it was part of the problem when there are only two guests. Now I leave out only 4 of everything and only 2 quality prep knives. The housecleaner can now tell at a glance whether anything has run away with the last departed guest. For a year, everything has been accounted for in the kitchen.
Iāve also had 3 pillow protectors run away from home.
Probably what gets ālostā the most are the good batteries in the remotes. They seem to routinely get switched out for the 99-cents Store wannabeās.
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Wow, thatās a lot of stuff. That would annoy the crap out of me.
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Wow!! Swapping out batteries is a thing!?
Thanks for bringing this topic up! I should really count the cutlery.
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@KKC:
Spoken like a true āmeā! : )
Strangely enough the thing that got ālostā from our place most often was toilet paper! When we first started, we always used expensive high quality toilet paper. Apparently foreigners love the stuff so much they just couldnāt stop themselves from taking a roll or two when they left! It almost got funny. The night before a guest checked out we began checking how many rolls were in the bathroom. Usually it would be four. By the next morning at our 11:00 a.m. check-out time, there would be only two rolls left! This happened over and over and over again - to the point we knew it was no longer a coincidence.
It was so consistent that we finally gave cheap crappy toilet paper a try and see if anything would change. The minute we put in the cheap paper - the toilet paper theft stopped immediately!
The other thing that walked off so often that we stopped providing them were the universal/international plug adapters. These things cost around $15 each and every time a guest asked if we had one, we were happy to supply them with one. We started with four. Within about two months, all four were gone. The next guest who asked for one, we told them we were very sorry, but we used to supply them, but they all disappeared. At $15 each we didnāt think it was something we could afford to constantly re-purchase.
Other than that though, weāve never noticed anything else, or anything of real value. Every now and then people will scarf some food from our personal area where we tell them food is off limits - which always annoys the hell out of us, but itās really nothing of any consequence.
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I find this so bizarre! Iāve found that even though I leave four new rolls for guests (even the ones who are staying for a couple of days) that many guests buy a six pack and leave it in the rental! I guess that guests have their own loo papers preferences.
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Iām not buying and storing two kinds of toilet paper. Just raise your price $2 a night and let it go.
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LOL. yes,a roll of good toilet paper is irresistible to some of our guests as well!
Weāve been lucky and never had anyone take anything from our rentals. We actually have a tablet in one of our units so that guests can Chromecast and use Netflix and Iām surprised thatās still here 1.5 years later! I guess weāve been lucky with all our guests. We also donāt really leave anything expensive in the suite either, including high quality knives. We live upstairs so perhaps guests feel less inclined since they meet us and weāre right there?
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I suspect that youāre right. I was in a rental last year and there was a useful little plastic gadget that probably cost under a dollar. I was so tempted! Iām no thief but it would have been easy to simply take it. But although the rental was a separate apartment, Iād met the host and heād been so accommodating about everything - including flexible check in and check out times - that there was no way I could have stolen even an item that cost just pennies.
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