Items Left Behind

[Quincy]

 

Hello everybody!

Do you know that moment when you're cleaning after your guest has left and you find all kinds of things and you think, how could one forget that? I have found iPods, keys, headphones, and even tablets/laptops!

I once had to call my guests to let them know that one of them forgot their laptop (found it behind the bed!). My poor guests had to travel all the way back from the airport to collect it.

I'm wondering if any of you have had the same experience?

Love to hear what you've got to say 🙂

[Ken-And-Lisa0]

We once had guests leave some green tea leaves in a jar, which of course we thought was pot since the rental is in Colorado. LOL. But last January, I had a guest say he left his hatchet by the bed...?????????? He said he had been using it to cut kindling (even though we provide kindling.) When I offered, he said he wanted it shipped to him and agreed to pay the $20 cost, gave me his address, & I shipped it. It was a lot of trouble becasue it had to be bubble wrapped. (all documented in our Airbnb message history) But he never has paid me, and I've sent 3 messages via Airbnb. Now when I go to the Resolution Center to "request money," his name as a guest doesn't appear as an option for me to check. I know now to get paid first, & then ship... but any suggestions? 

Lisa

[Quincy]

Hey @Ken-And-Lisa0, sorry to hear about the bad experience while you were trying to help someone out retrieving back their lost item. As you've mentioned, maybe it'd be better to collect the money first next time. Let me know how that goes in the future! 

[Nancy67]

Various and sundry night clothes and underwear hidden, tangled in the sheets (tee hee)

Phone charging cords

Earrings-- Lots of earrings, including but not limited to (all returned) Diamond, custom gold and several pair of hoops

Fancy shoes

Novels left in the (backpack) beach chairs

My favorite things people leave behind are kind and personal thank you notes and gifts. Expensive liquors and wine, books about our city and state that we didn’t already have-- books by chefs from our town, a photograph of our boardwalk printed on metal and mounted on a weathered board, a cactus (from Texas) lots of flowers, wonderful cookies and chocolate from all over Europe, impromptu drawings of our dogs, the Airstream and even a silk scarf from a guests home city in Belgium. I have all the notes on a board in my utility room, where I can see them when I'm doing the crush of laundry.

[Annette47]

I had a couple with a baby that said they were coming here to hike...they lied....they were moving and when they left my RV it was filled with trash.  The frig was full of half eaten food, they left a bunch of child toys, blankets, shoes behind.  They left 6 large plastic tubs for me to dispose of....I had so much left behind I had to make a trip to the dump and 2 trips to the goodwill.  Summer is really busy for me and I barely had things ready in time for my next guest.  

[Laura-Ivette0]

Hello everybody, well I read most of the mns and I'm so happy some guest forget a p or of thi 's here but never answer so fast .

Once a girl need to return from San Miguel de Allende to teotihuacan just for a jacket. She doesn't want to sent her at home because she wants to come back to by something she really love...  Other guest send to me my keys of the house because he founded on his bag... He honestly call me and said please I will never open your house I live in Canada. Jajaja. Don't worry. Some of them never return for their things until I send a mns or calling back .... With those how can we know how to richthem

[Carl64]

I love our Airbnb community, we have had many small items left behind over the years, but the most memorable are from guests who do it on purpose and leave a lovely note!  Like the guests that left their guidebooks to Yosemite for future guests to enjoy and use to plan their trip or the guests who left their lovely travel cooler for future guests to use to pack a lunch for a day trip into Yosemite.it is things like this that help us become even better hosts,  we added cooler packs in our freezer for guests to use with the travel cooler and additional books on Yosemite such as photography and great hikes.  I love growing as a host and helping make my guests experience on their travels extraordinary!

[Helga0]

What a nice experience, @Carl64. It happens, when people feel taken care off, that they start leaving nice things for the next to share. It's like they want to contribute and pass on the positive surprise they felt. And you add a bIt and everything gets better and better. 

It one of the aspects of hosting I love best, when you feel the guests were happy and want to please other unknown people. 

[Quincy]

@Carl64, this sounds great! I bet your guests will have a good experience being with you 🙂 

[Katie203]

I just had a guest leave a brand new waffle maker. I can't imagine the shipping charges being cheap for that one...they insisted we keep it for future guests' use. 

[Quincy]

@Katie203, I can imagine the costs of sending that over would be quite high. At least you and your guests get to make your own waffles haha! 

[Katherine136]

I've had many of the same things left as well, shampoo, soap, etc... and some clothing items. But the one thing that surprised and made me thing I lost my mind was one guest packed up my shoes - because he thought they were his wife's. I got a message the next week profusely apologizing and I assured them it wasn't a problem (and actually - I felt bad they took them, they were my garden, crappy shoes.) And I told them they could toss them, but nope - they shipped them back to me. 

[Quincy]

@Katherine136, nice that they returned your garden shoes. Sometimes items have personal value! I'm glad to hear you got them back 🙂 

[Linda-And-Richard0]

My guests have left behind very few items.  I did find a pair of black lace panties in the laundry hamper but just tossed them in the trash.  Then a few stray socks under the beds.  One guest left behind a phone charger.  I notified my guest and she sent me her mailing address.  The postage was minimal so I was happy to return the item.  I live next door to my listing so I do a walk-through with my guests at check out.  This allows me to see any damages before they leave.  It helps the guests make sure no items are left behind.  We walk the property together and check the kitchen, fridge, closets, under beds and so on.  Just like when you turn in a rental car.   So far, so good.  

Linda

[Quincy]

Hello @Linda-And-Richard0,

It's amazing the stuff one can forget, isn't it? You sound very organised 🙂 

[Teresa236]

Yes I have I just think that's not my responsibility. But this last guest was very messy I wish I could block people from coming bk. Let her dog in season bleed all over the place had to chuck quilt out cusions and bedding. Disgusting what they leave behind.