Guest concerns

[Pat8450]

My husband and I have 4 young men staying in our air B and B for one night.

It is two private rooms in our house with a shared entrance. There is a private bathroom. My question is this…when we went to bed last night one of the bedroom doors was left open and I saw that one of them had gone into our hall closet and took a basket that had snacks for future guests, along with plastic cutlery, napkins and other items meant for guests.

This basket was sitting on the bed, but nothing was eaten. Our guests were out at this time. I took the basket from the room and put it in our room. I had provided our guests with complimentary welcome snacks before their arrival…so I’m not sure why they thought it was okay to go into our personal closet space and help themselves.

I sent them a message last night to share our concern about helping themselves. They have not responded to my message. They are expected to leave this morning…just wondering if we should say anything to them when they leave today. Any advice would be appreciated.

Pat 

[Gordon0]

Whatever we may think about guests helping themselves to the snacks etc., going into their room while they were out is likely to get you into hot water (should they complain), @Pat8450. Personally I'd have let it drop and put it down to experience.  

[Anonymous]

@Pat8450  The guest committed a minor transgression by taking items from your closet that weren't offered to them, but it's one you might have prevented by putting those items in locked storage or communicating the boundaries more clearly.

From the guest's perspective, you may have committed a much more serious transgression by entering their privately rented space without informing them first. They wouldn't be out of line to wonder if you also rummaged through their personal belongings.

Anyway, the damage is done, and it's too late to take back the scolding. If you say anything further to them before they leave, I'd suggest saying sorry for not contacting them before you went into their bedroom. 

[Sarah977]

@Pat8450  I'm not sure why some home-share hosts seem to think it's okay to enter what you rented to guests as a private bedroom, but it is not at all okay. I read about hosts going in to turn off lights that were left on, turn off a fan or heater, or check to make sure the guest isn't making a mess. It's disrespectful and can get you booted off Airbnb.

If your guests are doing something that isn't okay, you talk to them about it. They aren't your children whose rooms you can enter at will.

The only reason to go into the guest's room is in an emergency situation, which almost never happens. 

[Sarah977]

@Pat8450  P.S. You need to change your listing photos- you are showing both bedrooms on each private room listing. Each listing should only have the photos of the bedroom corresponding to that listing.

[Branka-and-Silvia0 · Accepted solution]

@Pat8450  our closets in the hallway are locked. You should put a lock on everything you don't want your guests to use.  "Private" sign could help too.

[Pat8450]

Thank you. We are realizing that there is always room for improvement in how we handle various situations that come up when hosting people in our Air B and B. I do appreciate your helpful suggestions. 

[Lisa723]

@Pat8450 what would be your purpose in saying anything more to them about it, especially when they are leaving? Presumably they got your message, and even if they didn't, obviously after they depart the incident cannot recur. As others have mentioned they may see your unannounced entrance into their private space as as much of a violation as you see their entrance into yours, so I would certainly drop it. All you can possibly accomplish by bringing it up again is to leave them with an even worse final impression of you, probably triggering a more negative review and possibly a report to Airbnb that could bring down your listing.

FWIW, Airbnb terms of service say "The Host retains the right to re-enter the Accommodation during your stay, to the extent: (i) it is reasonably necessary, (ii) permitted by your contract with the Host, and (iii) consistent with applicable law." "Reasonably necessary" is obviously open to interpretation, but I doubt that retrieiving a snack basket qualifies.