Host accusing guests for faking a robbery story

Inh0
Level 1
Munich, Germany

Host accusing guests for faking a robbery story

Hi all,

 

I recently traveled to Barcelona with three of my old friends, and had a traumatizing event happened at an airbnb listing.
 
The house was robbed on the second day of our trip. ~700 euros of cash, two laptops (each ~$1400 purchase value) and a jewerly (~300 euros) were missing. We reported it to both airbnb and the police, and we got a police report filed. There was no indicator showing that somebody broke in, however since the owner said that they have sent in a cleaning team on that day, later we asked for the contact of the team but the host refused the request. 
 
Airbnb cancelled the rest of the stay and provided us $150 to make up for the loss, which we thought is not sufficient. Airbnb advised us to ask to the host if he has an insurance, but that was pretty much it and it was not very helpful. We were able to contact the owner only a day after the incidence (it was late at night when we figiured out the robbery and they did not answer the calls around midnight). The host said that he has an insurance and that they will file the case, however it was not until 10 days later that he contacted us with the official insurance letter for the case.
 
In the mean time we wrote a review on airbnb describing the situation in the most objective manner possible, to warn people who are considering staying in that place. We found just now that the owner wrote a reply claiming that we are faking the robbery and that his house is totally secure (which is not true to begin with, as one of the windows did not even have a locking mechanism. We do have a photograpic evidence of it), and the cleaning team has been working with him for years, so they cannot be the ones to be blamed. He wrote that we are faking the case and targetting the insurance money, since we kept asking him about the insurance (which I would guess anybody who were robbed while staying at an airbnb would do). He does not provide any solid reasonings beyond that, while we provided all the document and info the police and the insurance had asked us to provide.
 
The incidence is deeply damaging us, especially me, not only because my laptop has all my research material and notes, but also the host is being irresponsible and blaming us without any solid reasonings. Does anyone have any advise or idea on any actions I can take or what airbnb can do to take care of the case?
5 Replies 5
Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Inh0

 

A horrible experience but I am not really sure what anyone here can do except advise you to proceed as you are and make a claim either against the host's insurance (if you can) or your own travel or home insurance (assuming you have cover for items out of the home).

 

You were wrong, in my opinion, to write a review like that without knowing who was responsible as you were implying that the host or his cleaning company were to blame. You really have no idea who or how the robbery took place. So I am not surprised that the host was more than annoyed at your posting. 

 

I do hope you get it sorted with one of the insurance companies...

Marzena4
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

Hello @Inh0. Could you paste the words you used to refer to the robbery? I am not sure I agree with @Gerry-And-Rashid0. If you only stated the (obvious) fact that you had been robbed, it's not an allegation but a statement, which is proper for a review. As a guest, I would definitely like to be able to learn that such an incident had taken place. 

Also, @Inh0, I would apply to airbnb to revise the response from the host, providing them with any evidence you have to justify this action.

// "The only person you can trust is yourself"

Hi @Gerry-And-Rashid0, @Marzena4,

 

I appreciate a lot for the comments!

 

@Gerry-And-Rashid0, I consciously tried not to accuse anybody in the review, although IF the house is PERFECTLY secure as the host claims, then logically the only person who had access to the house was the cleaning team (which I did not write in the review or any interaction with the host. We only requested the contact of the team, as the police also requested to provide it). IF the house is not PERFECTLY secure, I would assume that the people who are viewing the house would be willing to be informed about it.

 

As @Marzena4 asked, here is my initial review and the host's reply to it. @Marzena4, your comment is really helpful and I appreciate again! I will contact airbnb to revise the response from the host.

 

-Review

The house was robbed while we were out on the first day of the trip, and both airbnb and the host did not do anything to make up for it. We lost more than 700 euros in cash, two laptops and a jewelry of 300 euros. If this is not an enough reason to stop you from choosing this house, I will list a few more more details. According to Barcelona rental regulation, the host is supposed to provide an official complaint letter and should be able to have an emergency contact 24/7. These were not the case either. They did not answer the phone several times, and occasionally ignored messages. There was no instruction on fire extinguisher or first aid box, which is also against the regulation. When we found insects in the house, we reported it to the host and he said that they have sent in a cleaning team. It was the day when the house was robbed, and they rejected to provide us the contact of the cleaning team, only saying they've been working for the house for several years and that they cannot be blamed. After all the insects were still there, so I am not sure what the cleaning team did. It is taking more than a week for the host to merely file the case to their insurance, and they have ignored the request to provide an evidence that they are going through the process. They said that since the lock is not broken, it is not very likely that the insurance will cover the case. We have documented everything the police instructed us to do, but the host said that the it is not enough to fulfill the insurance requirements.

 

-Reply from the host

It's a fake - This group wants to collect the insurance with a fake history. The house has a special lock system with unlockable keys and the loks weren't broken. The windows and the terrace door weren't broken either. All the house is ok, and it's impossible to access from another place. They, all the time, told us that we to call to our insurance to collect the money from their things. They repeated insistently that we call the insurance. They invented there were bugs to have the excuse that someone had entered. The problem for them, is that the cleaning girl who went to clean has been working with us for many years. She enters every day in apartments with computers and money and she has never had any problems.

 

In my opinion calling us liars, just because we asked for the proof that the insurance claim is being processed, is WAY out of the line, especially considering that we lost so much from the incedence and that the host is only adding damages to it.

 

 

@Inh0 Imho, this sentence "If this is not an enough reason to stop you from choosing this house, I will list a few more more details." is too tendentious and should not have been included in the review.

 

// "The only person you can trust is yourself"
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

I am so sorry this happened to you @Inh0

 

However it is not Airbnb or the guests responsibility to compensate you for theft. 

 

It is your responsibility to claim against your travel insurance. What did your insurance company say, when you made a claim with them?

 

By the way you should always back up valuable content online from your laptop and other devices. You should never leave yourself vulnerable by having content like this only available on your laptop.