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First timer here, and have had a booking really quickly! - Almost too quickly, ha.
I need to safeguard the house this weekend ready for guests arrival as it’s an entire house rental. I was wondering which items to store away and which items are most likely to get pinched (if any!) I don’t mind going out and buying cheap things that I don’t mind being taken.
Random one, but what do people do about your underwear drawer? haha, just trust that people don’t snoop??
And do I take down photos I have in the house?
I’ve had a read of quite a few threads on here for other tips and made notes. Thanks.
Ha ha! The underwear drawer question made me laugh. My feeling is that if someone really wants to sniff my underwear then I wish them good luck! Ha! In the end, you just have to trust people or decide that things like that really don’t matter.
When we rent our whole house we bag up any really personal items in some large, cheap laundry bags and put them in the attic.
I think a reasonable starting point is to lock up your valuables. if you don’t have a safe, get one. Even a portable one will do, provided it is reasonably big. It’s unlikely the guest is going to walk off with your safe.
Haha! I know! I just have three workmen staying in my house and have visions of them prancing round in my bras on an evening, haha! Only joking. Think I have some of those bags in the loft actually, will dig them out, thanks.
You don’t live in the house? Or you are not going to be there while the guests are there?
IMHO you’re being a bit paranoid. Understandable for a first time host, I suppose. I would expect to find the house fully decorated – do not take down pictures. If you have things you do not want stolen or broken, remove them and replace with less precious items. But guests aren’t going to bother artwork, unless you have an original Renoir or Picasso hanging around!
As mentioned, if you do not have a safe, get one. Otherwise store any real valuables somewhere else while you aren’t home.
As many of you know I rent my weekend/vacation/retirement home. I don’t hide away a single thing except a Chromebook laptop I keep up there and I am pretty sure that in 6 years of renting I have never had a single thing stolen. We keep our closets only about half full and we leave two dresser drawers open in both bedrooms for guest - they have labels on them that say GUEST DRAWER.
My cleaning person is very eagle-eyed. When I rearrange my kitchen, or rotate dinner and glassware, she will always call me and ask if I did it, and she has also never noticed a single thing missing.
I keep all financial documents locked in my desk at work. Other than that, I really don’t have anything of value that I don’t take with me when I travel. Any jewelry is worthless. Unless someone wants to try and haul out my tvs or furniture, there’s not much for the taking. I did have someone go through a storage box in my guest room closet and pull out some Christmas ornaments…I don’t know why…because that’s weird. The only thing I’ve lost since hosting is a spoon. It only annoys me because now my eight 5-piece place settings are 7 and 4/5 place settings…
I’ve been hosting for 2 years with a very steady stream of guests in an apt attached to our home and nothing has been stolen. It’s pretty amazing when I think of it although I do have a $500 deposit which I think deters certain kinds of guests.
One guest broke a glass and left $10 and a note of apology. I’ve been really, really lucky with unusually considerate guests.
I thought I’d lost all the teaspoons from the guest apartment until I found they had migrated to the drawer in our kitchen. i sometimes sit in the flat when we have no guests (it’s really nice, I’m thinking of moving!) and have coffee and obviously I’d been borrowing their spoons.
However, we have lost two corkscrews, one from each listing!
I’m interested in the replies though, as I’m considering letting our whole house while we’re away and was wondering what to do with personal things. We have very little of real value, it’s more that we seem to have a lot of “stuff” and I wouldn’t want to put people off by being surrounded by our personal things. We’re not hoarders by any means and the house usually looks tidy. Do those of you who rent out your home d a big declutter before you go?
The only thing stolen from my room in seven years as a host were shampoo and bug spray and I know exactly who did it. I have had guests break things and hide them. That is kind of stealing. But outright stealing has never been a problem.
A few glasses, a little ceramic bird broken. and a bowl broken. A few notes from guests when they broke something, but not the bowl, which I found in the garbage – part of a set from the '70s – glad for eBay, a couple of forks disappeared, and one lady left with an umbrella, although I wouldn’t call that stealing, My guess is that she had it in her purse and forgot about it. I buy mostly from thrift stores. I get awesome umbrellas for $2-$4, glasses for about a buck each. I had at least ten “Good to Know” cards in the info drawer, outlining the marijuana laws (I’m in Colorado) and I only have one left. Souvenirs
I live in the Alps.
People come here to drive around visiting tourist spots, or long hikes. or ski trips. They often borrow things to take with them, and forget to return them.
Scissors
Can opener
Tape
Shot glasses
etc etc
Especially shot glasses. I need to restock them every season.
I wonder how much it would be to have custom ones made with a logo of your rental and then raise the price a few bucks to cover the cost and then tell them to take them as a souvenir.
I am considering having my logo printed onto reusable bags. By December 1, no stores in our local towns will be allowed to “give” out one-use bags, so any guest who wants to buy a few nibbles for their visit or even a take out dinner will have to pay $.10 per bag just to get their Tandoor Chicken home! Pricing this out on a decent bag has been a surprise. Quite affordable. Affordable enough that if a few disappeared, it would not be a hardship.
I have had guests break things and hide them. That is kind of stealing. But outright stealing has never been a problem.