Guest left and didn't return keys

Sofia38
Level 1
London, United Kingdom

Guest left and didn't return keys

Hi!!! My latest guest left yesterday (checkout was supposed to be today!!!) and din't return the keys and I have a new guest in few hours!!!! What can I do???

I'm looking for a number or an email to contact any airbnb staff but can't find any!!! HELPPPPP!!!!

6 Replies 6
Christine1
Level 10
Glenbrook, Australia

  1. Sorry to hear this, we can hear your panic and distress
  2. Contact the guest now and have them be the ones to work with you to return keys.
  3. Organise backup keys to be sent to the accommodation asap
  4. have back-up keys in a handy location in case of future incidents like this.
  5. My view is that, there is little that Airbnb can do about getting your keys at this point that you cannot also do and you have all the guest contacts to be able to act on your behalf. 
  6. Guests walking away with keys is a foreseeable predicament and you need to plan ahead,  before your first guests arrive.
  7. hosts who cross their fingers and hope this won't happen to them are asking for trouble.
  8. Sorry to be so blunt, but you need to be off this forum and contacting your guest as well as organising keys/access.
  9. Commiserations and put the next keys on a HUGE keyring/lanyard
  10. A reminder email a day or so before check-out may also assist to prevent future key incidents.
  11. We look forward to hearing how things worked out and what you have decided will be a handy workable solution for the future.
  12. #: ) Good luck and hopefully it will all work out.

Regards, Christine.

I just had a guest take off with not only the key I gave him but the spare key, which I did not give him. clearly this should be considered a cost to replace the lock to be deducted from the security deposit (not replacing the key).

 

the real issue for me about this is how difficult airbnb makes it to find how to contact them about deducting the cost to change locks from the security deposit.

 

it'sobvious how to make this less likely to happen in the future, but when someone walks off with keys, you need to change the locks. In the United States if a tenant (yes, I know an airbnb guest is not a tenant, no need to correct me about that), does not return keys to the property they are considered to still be occupying the property & they owe payment for everyday that they fail to return the keys.

 

I want to know how do I access the airbnb's security deposit refund site.

Amaris0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Ok so once you have sorted out the priority for now which is organising access for the arriving guest then you can follow up with any of the options below.

 

I note you have two listings for the same property, one for a private room in the property and the other for the entire property. You only have a security deposit on one of your listings, the entire let titled 'Trendy flat in the heart of Fulham'. It would also appear you live in the property when it is let as a private room. I mention these 3 points as these as factors to consider in your decision.

 

  • You could liaise with the guest if they are forthcoming in arranging return of the keys or to pay for spares or new locks
  • Since you live in the property, you might feel more comfortable/ for your security and safety changing the locks all together since the guest has gone off with the keys. You can claim this against their security deposit (for applicable listing). This is the route I personally follow and have had to enforce twice so far
  • Cut another set of keys and claim against the guest’s security deposit, if booking was on the listing with a deposit
  • 4)If you decide to change locks, it can be expensive depending on what locks you have/ any home insurance specifications , how many locks you have and cost of locksmith to fit them unless of course you can do this yourself. If the booking was for the private room which does not have a deposit, you may be able to go down the host guarantee route - have a read of the policy to see if you quality - https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/279/what-is-the-airbnb-host-guarantee

 

I would also suggest that you do the following

  • Cut additional  spare keys for yourself; not just for the front door but any other internal doors that may have locks also
  • Consider a security deposit on the listing for a private room

 

 BW, Ama

Steve-Timothy0
Level 1
Salisbury, NC

Hello all, I am Steve, a host for approx ten years (and now SuperHost, for which ABB CS tells me I have a dedicated support team, which I find to be a joke); now, on top of the original issue, which involves my house key not returned and the "guest" bold face lying to me about returning it, I am really out of patience with AirBB's inability to even offer any support or get back to me. I am now about 36 hours into trying to speak with someone there, and have requested a supervisor. But, back to the topic of this stream: I had a young couple here over the weekend who were getting married, from my own city, but wanted a non-family place for the groom and his guys to meet....all fine and good (btw, this is my home and my wife and I live here...we have made a separate suite within our home and separated it off from the space we use, but it is still part of our home, accept vaccinated guests only).  On the day of the wedding, Sunday, a few of the groom's party arrive (I had been told they would meet here and I said OK), then a bus pulls up to pick them up (the guest says he mentioned this; maybe he did and I didn't pick up on the reality of what he was saying...I mean, fine, I don't care who picks you up, as long as you are picked up and it doesn't take forever); so a bus pulls up in front of my residence, and it is the longest bus I have ever seen...and it stays while other members of the wedding are still on their way, and the bus just sits there, idling. I raise the point with the young groom that this will for sure cause neighbors to complain in my quiet neighborhood, if they don't soon get everybody on the bus and leave. He has the driver take the bus down the street, and they park in front of someone else's house...this is a whole situation in itself, but I will cut to the matter of my house key that disappeared. That evening, they had reserved my space for a second night, but they chose to come by and get their stuff - we never heard them, and it may have taken place while we were out for an hour. They only communicated that they would not  be staying the second night by text, and here is where they claimed to have returned my key by putting it in our "mailbox". Well, we do not have a mail box, but a slot in the front door; I told this to the young lady who booked the reservation, and she says "oh, yeah, I meant your mail slot". We looked all over the front of the house, the foyer where anything put through the slot ends up, checked every nook & cranny, no key was ever found. I called the young woman (who had booked the reservation but never stayed here) and told her we do not have our key. This call went badly, as she, and then her new husband, got irate and said I was rude, basically because I insinuated they were lying...well, perhaps, but I didn't say "you are lying"; I did say there is no key here. She said she heard it bounce on the floor when she put it through the slot, to which I said that should not be the case, as there is a rug there and anything dropped through should not be heard hitting a floor on our side of the door. The call got worse, as the new husband took the phone and really let me have it, threatened all kinds of bad reporting to AirBB and a terrible review, and wanted a refund. I basically ended this call by saying we would continue to search, and that I would offer a partial refund for them not staying both nights of the reservation (and yes, I don't owe them anything, and in fact, could make the case I needed the security deposit for paying a locksmith), but I tried to say that if we find our key, I would provide some refund..no key has ever turned up! I am now in the process of getting a locksmith, and still have not heard a thing back from AirBB in support. I see comments here about taking proactive responsibility to have spare keys, or reaching out to the guest and if they are responsible people they should simply return the key they mistakenly kept when they left. I firmly believe that by them leaving in a hurry, they were already out of town (leaving the state for a honeymoon I believe) when they realized they had my key, then decided to simply lie and say they returned it. So, all the solutions here about the host solving their own problem don't apply, as I am dealing with guests who would rather lie than help fix the problem. Now, to make matters worse, they live here in my city...but I don't ask them to recheck their belongings to see if they still have my key, because they already lied repeatedly and jumped on me (by phone) when I even suggested they may have returned my key to the wrong house....again, the woman who booked my space never stayed here, so if she were the one supposedly returning the key, at night in the dark, this could be an explanation. But when I said this might be the explanation, she went off on me for offering a stupid scenario...like "why would we go to the wrong house". I said, well , if you tried to return my key from the outside of the house, at the same time you were inside getting your stuff, I guess you would not have the wrong house....but why not just leave the key in your room , on on the table in the adjoining room (a dining room / office space) where they had been given the key in first place. Ok, I am so out of patience with lack of support from AirBB...would love to hear from folks here, per these specifics:

  1.  Can this person go ahead and post a negative review on me, when I am trying to work with Resolutions on this issue?  Do reviews automatically go up for the public, even if I am not writing one on the guests? (I've just decided to not write one at this point, so to not pour gas on the fire).
  2. I offered a partial refund, just because I don't mind refunding some part of their payment any time someone cuts a stay short...and especially if it is a result of not being comfortable (he told me on the phone I was rude to them...the reason I told the bus part of this story, above).  I have not yet put in the refund, as I am still waiting for AirBand assistance in dealing with these people. Actually, I would prefer for AirBB to handle all further communication , directly with the "guests". What would you do?
  3. Is it true that AirBB has no policy that helps off set the cost of changing locks when something like this happens? Again, I cannot ask the person lying to me to find a key and return it, when these same people know they are lying and just got offensive with me when I told them I didn't have it.

Kind regards,

Steve Timothy Brown

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Steve-Timothy0 To answer your questions

1) Yes the guest's review (if they leave one) will go live 14 days after the stay whether or not you review them. As such you really should review them to warn your fellow hosts of their behaviour.

2) If the guests owe me a new lock then there is no way I would refund them money as well.

3) The guest will tell Airbnb they returned the key, you will tell airbnb they didn't. I am afraid this puts you into an impossible situation where you will be very lucky if Airbnb compensates you in any way. I would just change the locks and move on but I am lucky that I can do it myself for a relatively low cost.

The best thing to do in this case(next time) is to assure your guests with an accommodation, so there are two ways to do this, first one is to give them another place to stay if you have it, or you can call an emergency locksmith croydon, Emergency locksmiths usually works fast enough and your door is going to be opened in the next hour. After you assured your next guests with a place to stay you can write your previous guest to return you the key, in case you'll find a common way to solve this issue then its okay, in case you will not, you can write a feedback about this client and contact the support chat to find out how you can solve this issue of yours