Guests leaving bags in front of house after checkout

Anthony608
Level 10
Silver Spring, MD

Guests leaving bags in front of house after checkout

I am thinking about adding in a new section to my house rules about rules regarding guests who need to wait extensive periods of time for rides after checking out.  I have only had a handful of issues with this (three or four over the past two years) but when it does happen it is not only annoying and disrespectful, but I think could get me into legitimate trouble if an issue ever arose.

 

What typically happens is that a guest checks out at the standard time of 11AM then leaves their bags sitting in the front yard for upwards of one to two hours while they are "waiting for a ride".  Often the guest will send some type of message over AirBNB asking "is it okay if we leave our bags here while we go to the store to get something" or even more brazen "I left my bags in your front yard, please watch them until my ride gets here".  They will then leave with unattended and abandoned luggage in front of house.

 

The new section to my house rules I am thinking should read something like this:

 

"Guests who are waiting more than a few minutes for transportation after checkout are asked not to congregate in front of the residence or leave unattended luggage in front of the house for prolonged periods of time.  For waits longer than 20-30 minutes, guests are asked to relocate to the corner stop sign at the entrance of the parking lot.  Guests needing to wait extended periods of time are suggested to walk to the bus stop on the main road in front of the neighborhood which has a dedicated bus shelter".

 

This is a rare occurrence but when it happens I think there are serious issues about liability for bags left in front of the house and also, for serious cases of abuse, the possibility someone might call the police for a vagrancy complaint if someone is sitting on the sidewalk of our neighborhood for hours on end.  This once almost happened with a homeless person who stayed with me then left their bags in front of the house for seven hours while they wandered about the neighborhood asking for food, water, and a place to charge their cellphone from various neighbors.  That was obviously the most extreme case I have ever seen.

 

Opinions about the new house rule addition?  Thanks!

2 Replies 2
Mike-And-Helen0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

Is there a simpler way of phrasing it?

 

You're checked out when you have left the premises with your belongings. £50 late check out fee.

@Mike-And-Helen0The times this has happened, the guest will leave the house, technically be completely checked out, but then leave their bags in the front yard most often at the end of our walkway where a sidewalk begins.  Its not a problem if they are waiting for a ride which is coming in ten to fifteen minutes, but when it becomes longer than a half hour, stretching into one or two hours and then the guest leaves the bags unattended (expecting me to watch them), this is when the issue becomes very disrespectful and intolerable.

 

This happens so rarely, and for those guests that do this they would not read the house rules anyway I think, I'm on the fence about what to see in my check-in instructions about this.

 

PS, somewhat related to what you said, I did have a guest once who checked out but then told me he was going to wait in the house for a ride and was still there, sitting at my kitchen table, an hour after checkout.  For him I said he needed to go up to the local bus stop and wait for his ride or pay late checkout to remain in the house.