question - missing decorative glass bowl - unknown which guest

[Sallie-and-Bill0]

We noticed today that a glass decorative bowl was missing from our apartment.  It isn't worth more than $100, but wondered what, if anything, we can do to recover it?  We have had four guests over the past month and do not know when it disappeared.  I don't want to start asking guests if something happened to it, that feels accusatory.  We have small things disappear all the time.  IKEA is your friend for replacing bowls, forks, spoons, etc..  I am not worried about those, we consider them consumables.  But a glass decorative bowl is another thing.

If others have had this problem I would appreciate feedback on what, if anything, we can do?

[Anonymous]

@Sallie-and-Bill0  If it was something like a towel or a hair dryer, I'd think it was likely that a guest accidentally packed it with their belongings. But ok, nobody mistakenly packs a decorative bowl in their suitcase, so what I would guess happened is that someone accidentally broke it, threw the remnants away, and didn't fess up.

Airbnb doesn't process damage claims that aren't attached to a specific booking, so unfortunately the Host Guarantee doesn't apply here. Maybe consider a beautiful bamboo bowl as a replacement 😉

[Sarah977]

@Sallie-and-Bill0  There is nothing you can do to recover cost for this.

I'm not sure why hosts would have purely decorative, pricey  items in a str, but as you've found out, it's not a good idea.  The guests may have not even stolen it, but decided to use it for something, broke it, and threw the pieces in the garbage.

Aside from wall art, I'd not bother with outfitting a rental with anything that doesn't have a practical use, which doesn't mean it can't also be attractive, just not really expensive to replace.

[Lorna170]

@Sallie-and-Bill0   Well, they either used and broke it, they admired it so much that they just had to have it, or the spouse doing the packing didn't realize that it was not brought by the other spouse.  I have had a few things walk away -- sometimes they get returned (a washcloth once -- really!) and the rest of the time I get to replace the item or just do without.  Without knowing which guest is at fault, you have to just move on.