Non-responsive guest went MIA with our keys, last day unpaid and belongings left being

[Salman34]

Hello,
 
We are new to hosting and have a weird  situationat our hand.
 
Our guest stayed for five nights (Jan 05 to 10) and at the end of his stay, wanted to extend for another night. He said that he's unable to make the reservation because he's transferring some funds from bank to credit card and then he will complete the booking. We said okay fine as long as you do it before the midnight it shouldn't be a problem. However, he did not make the reservation and the next day stayed there. We contacted him in the afternoon asking if he had checked out as we have to send in the cleaners. He responded that he is more than an hour ago and cannot be there. We asked him to message us ASAP when he is there. We did not hear back till 4 pm and messaged again, he said he is still away and would not be able to get back.

Around 6 pm, not receiving any update from him, we sent in the cleaners. We messaged him every hour and tried to call him but the phone was off and VM was full. did not we did not hear anything from him. Around 8 p.m. he messaged 'Hi' and then nothing, he just disappeared! So we kept on messaging him every hour till after midnight till 2 a.m. in the morning, and till the next day we did not hear back from him. Mind you it was the day when we had the ice storm in Ontario and we were concerned about his safety.

The next day in the morning we received a message from him that it was a bad day and he could not come. For the next two days, we messaged him to schedule a time to give us the keys back and get his stuff back, but no response. After three days, we contacted AirBnB and explained the situation. Meanwhile, we had to decline any reservations as we did not have the keys and cannot host with the situation that someone unauthorized has the key.

AirBnB security specialist recommended changing the locks and notifying the authorities. We messaged the guest day before yesterday, giving him till yesterday to respond otherwise we will go ahead with the lock change. As per AirBnB, the reimbursement would be provided by the guest.

Yesterday, when we did not hear back, we ordered the lock and changed them today and submitted a reimbursement through the resolution center. Soon after that we received a message from the guest (finally!) that the charges are far from fair and should schedule a time.

In our defense, we are not charging in for the declined reservations and loss of business that incurred during the last 6 days that he had the keys, not to mention the anxiety and frustration faced. The locks are already changed due to safety reasons so that cost us already incurred. However, we still have his stuff and honestly, do not want to face him at all.

What should we do with his stuff? Any suggestions? Advices?

Thanks

[Helen3]

Never let a guest stay if they have not paid @Salman34  it is not your issue if he is having financial issues. If he can't book on Airbnb he can't stay.

This was a huge red flag, but I appreciate may not have seemed so to you as a new host.

We have to remember we are running a business. Sadly some guests like this will give you the runaround and try and scam you.

Make sure you charge him for two extra nights (he was in occupation till cleaners went in at 8 p.m. on second day) charge him to change the locks. 

Speak to Airbnb and check your local laws but I would be tempted to give him a deadline (sounds like you have already had his stuff for six days and say you will dispose of it after a week (so one more day) unless makes an arrangement to pick it up or have it couriered within 48 hours at a time convenient to you.

Look at getting electronic locks that are set to guest check in and check out times. You can't be in a situation where you only have one key.

Please make sure you leave an honest review and mark the guest down on his ratings.

[Solveig0]

Hi @Salman34 ,

Sorry about your experience. Did you get any weird vibes from him ahead of all this at all, or did he seem perfectly normal? I very much go by my gut feeling after having had a few experiences as a new host where I ingored it. But sometimes you just don't know. 

For his stuff - I would give him warning that you are going to put them outside in a place he can acccess at a specific time, and if the stuff is not picked up by another specific time, you will have it removed and destroyed. 

Yours, 

Solveig 

[Rowena29]

I dont' think you have anything to "defend" yourselves about @Salman34  - you have been more than hospitable to this awful guest and the fees you have requested are more than fair. I DO hope CS does actually retrieve the money from this guest - I can see you being  very much out of pocket, 

 I completley  agree with @Helen3  - an electronic keypad is an excellent solution. ( we have one) There are a huge variety on the market. As well as being able to accept new guests, you would have been able to programme out this guests code, so you could be sure he could not return and gain access.  And you would have had no expense with new keys being cut and locks being changed.

I'm not sure what your legal obligations are, but I wouldn't spend any more time fretting over this mans' possessions. Bag them up and leave them on the footpath. Tell him they are there and to come get them and you can take no responsibility for them as his stay ended 4days ago  and your usual proceedure is to throw out left behind possessions.  Very definitely review him honestly. It's a good idea to post here what you plan to say - there are lots of hosts willing to help who can guide you. They can help you be factual, unemotive, etc. It's so hard to be honest, ( well I find it hard) but if you don't tell the truth you are enabling this man to do the same to more hosts down the track.

So sorry you've had this awful experience.

@Helen3 is  absolutely right - you should never have let him stay, but it's often difficult to be hard nosed when you are in the moment with an actual person isnt' it?  I'm great at dispensing advice and seeing things as they really are when it's for someone else - when it is happening to me personally, I'm a bit of a sucker.

It's all part of the learning curve and this will make you a more experinced and saavy and better host.

Chin up, don't let him manipulate you any more

Regards

[Salman34]

Thanks, Rowena.

Here is what I intend to leave as a feedback for him. Any comments?

W**** stayed with us for 5 days but we are still suffering from the consequences of his actions after more than a week.

He started as a great guest and his stay turned nightmarish the day he was supposed to check out. He asked for another day's stay but had some financial issues and could not complete the booking, for which we sent him the money request, which is still unpaid as of the writing of this review. He also overstayed for another day, without paying of course and left without returning the keys. We had to contact AirBnB security after a couple days of him leaving his stuff (which is still unpicked). We were advised by AirBnB to involve the local authorities and according to Ottawa Police, his actions could lead to key theft charges for him. In addition, we also couldn't host the unit to anyone as we did not have the keys.

We are still dealing with the aftermath of his stay and it costed us more than $500 to clear his mess and change the keys out of pocket as he has not reimbursed any amount back. We are involving AirBnB as he is non-responsive and non communicative to the messages and claims and would eventually pursue a police report as a last resort. We wish we could have resolved this issue amicably if he was willing to do so.

We will advise other hosts to be careful when he stays and do not, under any circumstances, allow him to overstay. Unfortunately, due to his actions, we will never recommend him to anyone and regret being accommodating, hospitable and polite with him, which led to great frustration, loss of business, anxiety, and undue stress. Please beware.

Comments?

[Lisa723]

@Salman34 my two cents:  too long, includes irrelevant and personal info ("financial issues") and reference to Airbnb investigation, either of which might cause it to be removed.

My review would say:

"X overstayed by Y days, without payment or communication and without returning our keys. We would not host him again."

[Lisa723]

@Salman34 @Rowena29 @Solveig0 @Helen3 

See section 8.2.2:

https://www.airbnb.com/terms

[Solveig0]

Hi @Lisa723 

I think we all agree on the terms, and the guest would have (at least formally) had to agree), but not sure how practically applicable it is in this situation?

[Rowena29]

@Lisa723 

@Helen3 was right on the money when she said this to @Salman34 

I do wonder though, how much success CS will have in actually getting the money out of him.

Still it is always good to be as familiar as possible with all the terms and conditions ( even if CS doesnt' always apply them as they should)

Thanks for posting the link

[Salman34]

Hello everyone, 

Thank you so much for taking the time and for responding to the thread. To be honest, I was not expecting the detailed response and the support you all have provided.

First of all, I appreciate the mention of the clauses that are helpful in our case. With regards to the keys, I have learned my lesson and have changed the locks and this time, have used an electronic one. However, since it is a condo/apartment building, the issue of lending a fob to the guest will remain, which is very costly to replace. Any recommendations on that?

Also, I have no idea how to ask a guest to evacuate in case of an overstay. I am the kind of person who cannot think of being impolite to people ... LOL! Not a great business trait. Any suggestions are welcome.

I have seen that overall, people are observant of the rules and leave on time. Not sure how this exception just decided to stay with us. I have opened two claims with the  resolution center but the guest has not responded to any of them. It will be 72 hours today and I intend to involve AirBnB and escalate those.

Once again, thanks a lot for your support and valuable feedback. 

[Lisa723]

@Salman34 suggestion for how to tell an overstaying guest to leave:

Hi, X, it is now YY hours past your check-out time. Please be advised that per Airbnb terms of service you are liable for an overstay fee of up to  two (2) times the average nightly Listing Fee for each twenty-four (24) hour period (or any portion thereof) that you Overstay.

Please immediately remove all your belongs, vacate the premises, and return our keys to minimize your overstay fee. If you are still occupying the space at ZZ:ZZ today I will be forced to call the police to evict you.

Thank you.

[Salman34]

Thank you so much. This is very helpful 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Salman34  Being firm about house rules and check-out time isn't being impolite. Guests are being impolite when they ignore them.

Keep that in mind when it comes time to review your guests, as well. Too many hosts end up leaving misleading reviews for guests because they don't want to feel they are being mean. Reviews need to be honest, otherwise hosts get bamboozled into accepting bad guests with reviews that don't reflect the guest's true behavior.