Ethics and legal aspects of entering a guest room

[Lisa1365]

Hi! I need to retrieve something from our guest room closet. Our AirBnB guest room is in our home. I trust our guest as she has stayed with us before, but she is messy without causing damage. Do I need to ask permission first or can I enter to retirieve the item (which belongs to me and is stored in the guest room closet) without notice if the geust is not there? I want to do the right thing ethically and want to know the legal rights too. And if I ask and she says "no" about my accessing the item, is that legally and/or ethically ok?

[Paul154]

Ethically, it's easiest not to enter.

Business wise, it's easiest not to enter.

So it's easiest not to leave necessaries in a guest closet.

But if the item is super important and you want to spy, you can nicely ask for permission to enter. If guest says no, just smile and say OK, would you mind fetching it for me?

You say she's a good guest. Why rock the boat?

If guest does not grant you permission to spy and she's a long term guest, you can DISCRETELY look in their room when they are not there. But what will you do with this info?Also realize they may have a nanny cam and with this proof, Airbnb will grant them a free stay. Is it worth the risk?

[Paul154]

Also note, women are very sensitive to men entering their private space.

Guys are not as guarded.

[Sandra126]

No. Do NOT do it. Just No.

[Helen56]

I rent out my spare room in my house.  If I need something from the room, which is rarely, I ask the guest if they are there, or I just go in and get it.  I don't move or touch any of their things and they have no idea I was in there.

I also look in their room when I go out to make sure that all fans, lights, etc are turned off. 

If it suddenly pours with rain (unlikely in So Cal, but it happens) I run up and close the windows.  I also tell the guest that I did this.

This has never been a problem.

[Rachel0]

@Helen56   I rent out the top floor of my home.  Last weekend we had torrential rain for most of Sunday.  I can see the top floor windows from the ground floor, saw that the guests had left them open so went up and shut them.  Just as well I did as the rain was coming in and landing on an open suitcase they had left on the floor.  ( I do provide luggage racks but they had not used them.) I told them I had done this when they returned and they thanked me profusely for being so kind.  Some guests also leave the bathroom lights on when they go out and this means that the extractor fan is also left running which is not helping my electricity consumption - so I go up and turn them off and tell the guests to make sure that this does not happen again.  It is my home after all and if rain gets in and causes damage it is my resonsibility to sort it out.

[Ephraim0]

Permission or emergencies.

If there is time before handling an emergency send a text explaining before you enter.

Ex. "Hi, there is water dripping from the ceiling under your room. I just want to inform you I must enter the room to see if a pipe broke."

[Gordon0]

I had a run of guests who would go out but leave the (ground floor) window open, creating a security risk. Likewise a number who'd leave all the lights on.

In these cases I'd go in to the room, make amends and leave.

As for having to **bleep** in to the guest room to retireve stuff, I avoid this by not having any of my personal belongings in there. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

I state in my listing description, house rules and house manual that the host (me and Henry) may enter the guest bedroom/bath during their absence to change sheets, empty trash bins, open/close windows, turn lights off, vacum the floor & under the bed when needed. We make it clear we do not touch or disturb the guest's items and respect their privacy. We haven't had any complaints yet~

With regards to retriving the item, like others have said, ask to enter the room and explain what needs to be retrieved and apologize for not thinking to retrive it before the guest checked in.  I'm sure most people won't mind at all. If they say no...... then I'd be worried about the state of the room. And in the future, it would be best not to store personal items in the guest bedroom.

[Letti0]

Guest can be really strange about this. I would not enter personally. I have a clause in my rental agreement that allows me to text them and enter 2 hours later, but I have never had a reason yet to use it. 

• Owner and Owner's Representatives entering Property– Occasionally, the Owner or their designated representative(s), including Housekeeper, caretaker, or repair person, may enter the property at any reasonable time for inspections, maintenance or repairs with a minimum of two (2) hours advance notice to Guest (from when a message is left on Guest's cell phone). Pest Control spraying, Landscape and pool maintenance personnel may enter the grounds of the property at any time, without prior notice.

[Tom611]

When they arrive, I tell them I will need to access the room occasionally to water plants on balcony. I'm a self employed English teacher and might also need resources like books stored in the room. I will not expect to access at an unreasonable hour, I will knock first, if they're not in I will enter get what I need and leave. I think if you're upfront with people it's OK. Just not to enter without speaking first. If they were in a hotel they'd have strangers entering to clean and change the beds.

[Cathie19]

Hi @Lisa0.

I just think that if a guest is paying for it, the space is theirs during the stay.

Consider the items in the space and remove personal items, even if this means your wardrobe is fuller than you prefer. Vacuum seal out of season clothes to save space. Remember, they are paying and they are not family.....

Unless you have major health and safety concerns regarding filth, odours, vermin,  amenity repairs, or can smell something burning... like bedding from a hair straightener left on! The no fire items can wait till the guest is home, or text message your needs in advance, then wait for a response. As I said, for  fire, respond immediately. For any other safety need, like @Letti0, contact the guest, write a rental clause but mostly be very open about the genuine reason for needing access. Curiosity is also not an excuse.

Guests should be offered a lock on their door, and hosts should not be leaving items in the space that they use, even if occasionally. Don’t forget, breaking boundaries and overfamiliarisatiin works both ways, and can work in reverse...

Like @Paul0 and @Sandra0, I must recommend to stay away. 

Just my thinking.

🙂

Cathie

[Suzanne302]

I host in my home and I personally would never enter the guest bedroom or bathroom except with permission or in case of emergency. Also, it might be a good idea to not store personal items in the guest room. I want my guests to feel like they can make themselves at home in the space and everything in the room is for their enjoyment.

I'm not in a situation where the windows would need to be closed or anything like that, but I could understand that being an exception as well.

The only time I've had to enter the room is when I had an exterminator doing an inspection of the whole house. I made sure the guests knew ahead of time, gave them a window of time when it would be done, and assured them I would be present during the inspection.