Guest claims theft occurred after checking out

[Jeanette68]

Hi guys. I need your advice and thoughts regarding this issue. 

Two weeks ago, two girls booked my listing (a private room in my apartment) for a week. I provide a safe for my guests in the room to keep their valuables.

On the last day of their stay, they did not lock the door before leaving the apartment. I’m unsure how long it was left unlocked for and I informed the guests about it. It is stated in my house rules that they are to ensure that the door is locked when they leave my apartment, otherwise I will not be held responsible for their lost valuables. 

Before they checked out, I made myself completely available to them. They even asked me how to call Uber and what time they should go to the airport. After they checked out, they informed me that they lost their money in my apartment. When asked how much? They were unsure. The friend of the girl who booked the listing claimed she lost $200 for sure but her friend was unsure how much she lost. Then she said, maybe $100? 

As they left the door unlocked, I shouldn’t have offered them a goodwill offer but I offered them a $100 refund while I investigate the issue further. 

Today, she requested a refund of $400 because she said she’s sure they lost $400 because she checked at 1 pm on the day she was checking out. She checked out at 7:30 pm. 

I’m quite concerned about their claims because it seems dodgy for the following reasons: 

1. If they lost the money at my place, why didn’t they inform me ASAP? Why did they wait until after they checked out to inform me? 

2. There were two people occupying the room, could it be either of them? 

3. If they claim they lost money, they should be sure how much they lost but their amount keeps changing with the words “for sure” at the end. 

What would you (other hosts) so if you were in my shoes? 

Note: It’s hard to determine if a break in occurred because they left the apartment door unlocked. 

[Emiel1]

@Jeanette68 

You are not responsibe for their money, they should at least take precautions themself by putting it into the safe and lock the door properly (Or do not leave it anyway in the room).

I would not refund anything. If they have travel insurrance, maybe they can  make a claim, if cash is insured.

Best regards,

Emiel

[Jeanette68]

Hi Emiel.

I forgot to mention that they claimed that they kept the money in the safe. They said it occurred twice. The first time it occurred was on Friday and the second time it occurred was on Tuesday (the day they were checking out and also did not lock the doors the morning they went out.) 

As there were two of them in the room, only both of them knew the codes to the safe. If someone were to break into the safe, the safe would not be usable anymore. Also, if the override key was used to open the safe, the codes would have to be reset. 

What really confuses is why didn’t they inform me of the theft that they claimed to have occurred a few hours before their checkout? Why did they only inform me after their checkout? When they informed me about it, they weren’t even sure how much they had lost but today, they are very sure they lost $400. I’m really trying to understand this situation. 

[Emiel1]

@Jeanette68 

Just curious: Do guest choose the code themself , so you don 't even know it and use the override code to reset when new guests arrive ?

Best regards, Emiel

[Mark116]

@Jeanette68  I wouldn't give them a dime and if airbnb refunds them I would fight it.

I hope you have the back and forth on the unlocked door in the airbnb message system or some other way that leaves a trail.  If so, then since you already say in your listing that it's their responsibility to keep their valuables locked up and you aren't responsible if they fail to follow those rules...then you are not responsible for their irresponsibility.

Also, they don't seem to really know the money was lost or stolen inside your listing.  Since they didn't inform you until after they checked out, and several days later, they could have lost that money on the way to the airport or anywhere else.  They have no evidence to prove they had it in your listing and then inside your listing it was gone...because they never alerted you until many days later.

[Jeanette68]

Hi Mark. 

So they checked out on the 19th of March at 7:30 pm but they only informed me about it at 9:30 pm. Today, a week later, they submitted a claim requesting for a $400 refund from me. 

I do have proof that I messaged them informing them that they forgot to lock the door. 

[Gordon0]

I'm afraid @Jeanette68 you've been had. 

[Jeanette68]

Hi Gordon.

I thought so too. I found it very odd that they informed me of the theft 2 hours after they checked out but were only sure of the amount they lost a week later. 

What upsets me the most now is that Airbnb’s trust and safety team seems to be on their side without even asking me for my side of story. 

Anyway, I took screenshots of all our conversations and sent it to Airbnb as proof that she didn’t lock the door and only informed me of the theft details 2 hours after checking out. 

[Mark116]

@Jeanette68  I'd tell her and airbnb to file a police report and let the police investigate.  If airbnb refunds the money you should fight it, just because someone says something happened, is not evidence that it did happen.  It's ridiculous that you would be charged anything for an alleged theft for which there is no proof that it happened at all, let alone happened in your unit.  

[Jeanette68]

Thank you for your reply Mark. I totally agree with you. 

[Lisa723]

Just no!

[Susan17]

@Jeanette68 

Agree with @Mark116 100%. Everything about this story clearly indicates that these people are very obviously scammers, and fairly amateur scammers, at that. They're trying it on - no doubt because they've heard how ridiculously easy it is to score a free or heavily discounted Airbnb stay (at the host's expense), with Airbnb's full backing and support. Don't give them another cent, and if they do get a refund despite your completely justifiable objections, fight it every step of the way. 

[Jeanette68]

Airbnb’s trust and safety team is quite annoying. Even after providing them an explanation and all the screenshots of our messages, they said they’re sorry to hear of the incident that occurred and they have put that into my file. If I further violate the terms and conditions this year, my account would be permanently deactivate my account. 

To which I replied wasn’t fair and I wanted them to verify the situation that occurred and how it’s odd that they only said a theft occurred after their check out. I ask the trust and safety team to clear my name because it’s really not fair for me to suffer from a bogus claim. If that’s the case, I would be able to go and book a stay at any host’s house and claim a refund at the end of my stay. That’s not going to be fair for the host right? From my understanding as a host, if any situations were to arise, the guest/host should inform Airbnb or the guest/host immediately. Not wait until checkout to report it. 

So so so frustrated about this situation. 

[Lisa723]

@Jeanette68 ugh. Cautionary tale.

[Mark116]

@Jeanette68 @Lisa723  Right?  And yet this same company will claim that even if you have photos of the unit before a guest enters it, and then there is damage after the guest leaves, and the guest will sometimes even admit they caused the damage...airbnb will not pay because there isn't enough proof of who did it????