Do you put locks on bedroom doors?

[Louise85]

Hi everyone, I'm new to hosting on Air B&B and just wondered if you all had locks on your bedroom door and also the guests bedroom door? Is this compulsory? I guess I'm quite trusting. If you do have them please could you suggest what would be best - I have a new house with lovely doors so wouldn't want something too intrusive or that doesn't look nice. Any help would be appreciated 🙂

Thanks

Louise

[Sergio-and-Nicole0]

Hi @Louise0, I put locks in my guest's bedroom. I take into consideration that there are so many different types of people, some of which have privacy concerns and other have safety concerns. I think it's best to give guests the option to lock their doors.

[Karen77]

I've thought about giving guests keys to their bedroom door but this is just an illusion of security.  A host who has a key could easily have duplicates and let themselves in anyway.

[Sergio-and-Nicole0]

Sorry I missed part of your question. I also lock my own bedroom door just because you never know what could happen. I just use plain regular door knobs. However, I use an electronic door lock I purchased from Amazon for about 50 bucks or so for the main entrance to the apartment.

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

My guest bedroom has a simple handle and lock that they can lock from the inside - similar to a bathroom.  I always appreciate a lock like this when I travel so I can be sure no one accidentally walks in while I'm dressing, etc.  It is not meant to be locked from the ouside for security, the guests do not have a key to it.

[Tania-and-Andrew0]

Hello,

I have been hosting for over two years and I have never had an issue with this. Our guest's room has a handle with its own lock but they don't have a key, they can lock the door when they are inside but we make sure our guests know there's no key for that room (which is true...). Also, inside of their room they'll find a drawer that has a lock and a key, so we make a point to mention that if there's something they feel they need to keep safe they should use that drawer. We let them know that that's the only key so if they lose them we would have to break the furniture to take their stuff out.

The guest's room is on the first floor of the house and our room is on the second floor, we don't lock our doors but there's a door at the top of the stairs. There have only been a couple of guests that even dared go up the stairs and was just to knock on the door because they needed assistance with something (most just write a message).

Hope this helps!

[Melanie33]

No locks on bedroom doors.  Inside bolt on bathroom door.

So far no complaints but you never know about the next guest!

Mel

[Jacqueline506]

I picked an Airbnb that had a woman host. But when i arrived late in the evening i received a text from her that she will not be there. In stead i opened the door to find a 6'4" man. i understand there are other guests at Bob's but with NO BEDROOM LOCK + A MAN THAT IS A STANGER - how safe am I at 2 am. For physical safety and emotional peace of mind - I should NOT have to push a dresser in front of the door - which I did! Just because someone doesn't want to spend $10. on an inside lock!

[Andrew1095]

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[Alice-and-Jeff0]

We only have one room that we rent so there is only the door lock that the guests can use to keep us out of their room and bathroom while they are inside.  They do get a key to the front door so the house is locked at all times. Most guests just pull the bedroom door behind them when they leave and we haven't had anyone say anything about having a lock to keep us out.  

We never lock our door and leave the bedroom door open most of the time.  We even sleep with it open.  I have had to buy some better pjs for modesty because of this - no nightgowns that can ride up over my dupa and expose myself! 

If you want something that is not intrusive and want a lock, get a door sensor for your bedroom that will alert you when the door is open.  Tell the guests you have your door tied to the alarm system and it will go off if they open it.  Then make sure you set it. A door sensor is only about an inch long and would be placed near the top of the door - likely on the inside where it wouldn't be visible to the hall.  We use the alarm system in our home to keep us secure of a guest duplicating the key and coming back whenever they'd like.  We do this by programming a code specific to them for each reservation and removing it upon check out.  Takes less than a minute to do. Then if they come back and unlock the front door, the police will be called because they can't turn off the alarm.  But we do not do this for our bedroom and haven't really had a need - but I'm home most of the time so ymmv.  

[Bryan10]

We have no locks on the bedroom doors (just a slide lock in the bathroom for modesty). This hasn't been an issue in over 50+ guests until last week, when one guest said she was surprised there was no lock on the bedroom door: she was a difficult guest in several ways so I didn't worry about it. As someone else said on this thread, a host would likely have a spare key to the guest's room-lock, meaning the lock has little use, and unless you go down the route of an alarm system, I think it has to be done on trust. For my £30 / night I can't really afford to install an alarm system.  I think the main thing is to state clearly what facilities you have, so there's no surpises to the guest.

[Dennis83]

This is the 2nd reading about door locks for guest bedrooms.  The argument is that a standard door knob/lock is fooling no one.  Guests of course know you as host have a key.  Accidental entry by any one can happen and so this lock takes care of this issue. As a guest I appreciate a locking door so no accidents happen.  For hosts who put the bathroom knob type lock is as if leaving the door unlocked for guests who stay more than 1 nite and wish to leave belongings in their room.  

Locks are not expensive and great a feeling of security for guests. Period.  Guests that don't mention it and so why bother?  Guests for most park are in nature not voicing their concern as IT may perceived by THE guest as a complaint.  You don't want to see IT voiced in a review...put up some proper locks where guests can come and go withasence of security., and that's all it is, a sense. People with half a detrruation will not be stopped by locks nor alarms.  

[Marlene56]

Many answers here focus on a debate on whether or not one SHOULD provide a lock. Regardless of the opinion on this point, there is no explicit requirement, and as hosts point out, the option to indicate if one is present makes it clear that it's optional.

However, an overzealous Airbnb rep may arbitrarily determine something different, and because of the terms of use, you really have no recourse to that decision.

I just had a guest cancel after checking in because she was a newbie and expected the room to be a hotel room within the house - en suite bathroom, separately locked door. She cancelled because of "safety" concerns - she did not feel comfortable having to enter a common hall to use her private bathroom, nor in the fact that she could not lock her belongings in the room when leaving. Ironically, she seemed to have no problem having unfettered access to everything of mine. 

Even though I do not have the "lock" box checked, and she specifically asked me beforehand if there was a room key to which I answered no, AND she checked in and messed up the room before cancelling, Airbnb still gave her a full refund - with no feedback from me - because the lack of a lock was a "violation of hosting standards" and a safety issue.  This is an odd position, given that some rooms are a common area and have no doors at all!  More, I was given only 2 hours to respond to an non-emergency email from the case rep before they made this determination, which is why they received no feedback from me, as I was at work. 

Of course, once a guest has been told that they will get a refund, unwinding that decision is nearly impossible, so even though Airbnb was clearly 100% wrong, guess who took the hit?

[Michael1405]

If I were hosting a bedroom in a private home, I would not want to hand over a hard key to a guest for fear that guest could copy the key and return at a later time for some nefarious purpose.

I would install deadbolt door locks on exterior doors (front door, back door, and garage door) that lock with key and combination. I would install a deadbolt door lock on the guest bedroom that locks with a key and a combination. I would install keyed knobs on all other interior doors (master bedroom, other bedrooms, etc.). I would give the guest a temporary combination to the front door, guest bedroom, and possibly the back door and the garage door, but not a hard key. I would inform the guest of the security arrangement.

[Huma0]

None of the bedroom doors in my house lock, including mine. They have the original Victorian locks, for which I've never had keys and don't know if they'd work anyway. A builder told me that you couldn't just take those out and replace them with modern ones because the Victorian ones are much larger.

It's not something that I have worried about because I never had any guests complain about it. I have had the occasional guest ask beforehand if the bedroom door locks, but they seemed satisfied when I said there was a locable desk where they could stow belongings if required. Most say they don't even need that. There are also door stops provided so no one can accidentally wonder in to the wrong room when a guest is dressing/sleeping.

However, recently I had a young couple stay who gave me a 4 star review specifically because there was no lock on the bedroom door. They said it made them feel extremely unsafe and uncomfortable. I was a bit surprised by this as, in over 130 trips hosted, my guests have never had their privacy nor safety compromised, and neither have I. This is a private home, not a hotel or hostel with random people wondering about and of course the front door locks securely.

Today I had an enquiry from another guest who is questioning whether the lack of lock is a privacy and saftey issue.

I could put bolts on the inside of the doors, but to be honest, I don't like the idea of not being able to get in should there be an emergency nor of having to damage my valuable antique doors in such a circumstance, although I suppose this scenario is quite unlikely.

For now, I have just stated clearly on the listings that there are no locks on the bedroom doors, but I'm still undecided if I should add the bolts on the inside.