Do hosts have the right to enter a guests room without permission?

Sara292
Level 1
Lethbridge, Canada

Do hosts have the right to enter a guests room without permission?

I have a guest who leaves lights on or the fireplace on when leaving, it is in our house rule to turn these items off before leaving the home. Do I have a right to go in and turn them off?

159 Replies 159

@Helen56 I strongly disagree with you. I'm currently staying for a month at a house, and my host has entered my room at least three times -- without prior notice -- to open a window because the house was getting stuffy from warm temperatures, get something out of the closet, etc. She did not enter because I broke house rules, such as leave the lights on. The third time, she entered it and moved half of my belongings around to her liking, even my underwear and laptop. Incredibly creepy and inappropriate. She claimed it was because she was making sure my stuff was protected from the moth fumigation, but 1) she had notified me of the fumigation the previous week, so I had already covered/packed anything necessary, and 2) it was the type of fumigation that doesn't leave harmful residue. From my perspective, she used the fumigation as an excuse to root around. It took me an hour to find everything and sort it all back to my organization system.

 

And no, I am not messy, and I don't stink -- previous hosts have noted how neat and clean I am. Even if I were messy, I can be messy in the room I rented as long as I'm not damaging anything or leaving food to rot for days on end, then leave it clean at the end of the stay.

 

I was irate and sent a strongly worded message to her on the Airbnb messaging system to have it properly recorded. If she enters the room again, I will file a formal complaint to Airbnb. I did not pay $3,000 to have my belongings touched by a stranger, and my private space freely invaded.

 

So, sure, it's your house, and you have the right to feel like you can break the privacy rights of guests who have paid you good money. But guests have the right to make a much stronger claim of invasion of privacy and inappropriateness, and report you. Be prepared to deal with the consequences of poor hosting etiquette.

You may be dealing with a host who is not familiar with long term guests. Now you need to decide what to do about it. 

 

You can ask Air to re-house you. That means packing up and relocating. No guarantee of the same price or amenities. 

 

You can ask for money to compensate for violation of privacy. 

 

But if she is otherwise working out, it's time to put your big girl pants on and calmly explain that your room is private, andand you would like it to stay that way, thank you. 

 

She herself is at great risk. It is in her best interests, too. Because if anything is missing or broken, she is at risk. 

 

 

@Carolyn376  I'm not sure who you meant you disagree with, as you didn't tag anyone, but I definitely agree with you that what your host is doing is wrong and she should desist in this behavior, not just with you, but with all guests going forward. If the guest leaves the window closed and the room gets stuffy, that's the guest's business and a host certainly shouldn't move or even touch your stuff unless a plumbing pipe burst and she was trying to keep it from getting drenched. Like I mentioned in my post above, I never go in the guest quarters during their booking unless they ask me to for some reason, but I did go in to close a window when it started raining, or the guest would have come home to a wet bed. And I told her right away I had done this and she was grateful.

@Sarah977 Sorry, I forgot to tag the person I was addressing (tagged now) -- I was replying to Helen56. I think your scenario is understandable, and I personally would appreciate it, but would appreciate it more if you sent a really quick text before going in. That way I'd at least know you tried to notify me beforehand, instead of after the fact. And that could protect you against a future guest who may be less undestanding.

Sometimes you need to get in the room, such as to put in air conditioners. Try to give as much warning as possible, noting that servicepeople may need a 4 hour window. 

 

There are, of course, emergencies. A window left open in a storm. Or even air conditioning being left on. Text them immediately and wait  5.

 

Of course I will look around. Untidinesss is to be expected. But dirty dishes, exposed food or clutter is a potential hazard that is against my rules and will be addressed. 

@Carolyn376  Yes, I did text her before I went in but she was at the beach and didn't respond right away. And it was a sudden downpour, so I figured better to keep her stuff and bed from getting wet than otherwise. But I can tell you that I felt a little invasive doing it, rather than entitled to do so. And I didn't touch any of her stuff, or snoop around to make sure she was keeping things clean, I just closed the window and left. In and out in about 15 seconds.

The guest bathroom is in between my bedroom and the guest bedroom, with doors directly into the bedrooms on both sides. I don't use that bathroom, it's strictly for the guest, but it locks from the interior of the bathroom, like all bathroom doors. So all a guest would have to do to enter my room is open that door.

With that situation, I have to be very trusting with my guests and no one has ever breached my privacy, so of course I would never breach the guest's privacy either.

@Carolyn376 I need advice. Right now, I’m at  an Airbnb where the host is using my room door as a front door. She created 3 Units and the unit I’m in is attached to her door. She has another door she can use but she doesn’t use it. I also do not have control of the door, Which again is the only access in and out my room, ONLY LOCKS from her side... Not only that, she sent me to an address different from the address from her ad. I chose this place because it was close to my job. The new address she sent me after I purchased was 35 minutes away from my job. What should I do? I’m frustrated, I need my privacy but don’t want to be rude or off putting... Please help. 

@Arcott0  It's the host who is rude. Was this room/door arrangement mentioned in the listing info? This is a totally unacceptable situation. In fact, she's probably contravening fire codes. If she locks the door from her side, then you can't get out, right? That's outrageous. 

 

I would suggest you contact Airbnb, tell them what the situation is, and that you need to cancel the rest of your reservation and ask them to assist in finding you something comparable. You could talk to the host about it first, but it sounds like you already did? if not, tell her this isn't okay and that you'll be cancelling the rest of the reservation if she doesn't use the other entrance and put a lock on your door from your side. You don't have to be nasty about it, just be straightforward. But I'm not sure you'll get anywhere with this person. 

 

Airbnb customer service is impossible to reach lately by phone, but you can try contacting them, through their Twitter or Facebook accounts.

 

I know you said you chose this place because of the proximity to your job, but did you read the reviews? Or did you just look for something inexpensive and in the right location.

 

 

@Sarah977 So far, I've canceled my reservation. The host also showed me another door so I can leave and lock THAT door. However, it is 11 pm EST and the host is walking in and out of my room with her kids with the other door. I can't sleep and I'm on the phone waiting for an Airbnb rep. I'm exhausted.

😞

@Arcott0  Good luck. She needs to be booted off Airbnb. She seems clueless about being a host. Once you get out of there, make sure to flag her listing. There's a "report" button on the host's profile. 

So-called "hosts" like her give Airbnb a bad name. Hope you find a decent place to relocate to.

If you Instant Booked this place, I'd suggest in the future you communicate with the host before booking. Send a Request instead of IBing, or send an Inquiry, which doesn't obligate you in any way, and then if you feel okay about the response, you could go ahead to IB. You can often tell a lot about someone by the way they communicate.

@Sarah977 There were no reviews so I had nothing to gauge it off of. It was a new listing. I just looked for something reasonable and in the right location. 

OMG that is shocking!

I would leave immediately.

Hi Carolyne, my hosts enter my room without my permission when I'm not present, and they control my stuff? what Im supposed to do ? 

I work in insurance and if someone just goes in my room they are putting me in a very bad spot because of all of the sensitive documents I have in there.

Those documents should never leave an unsecured area. That's on you.