The thief disguised himself as a guest and stole all the valuable things in the house.

[CloudCradle0]

The thief guest booked my house from Feb 15 to 17, last Friday to this Sunday, today.

They book my house at the mid night since my house was just set to instant book,

and they ask that "they prefer the privacy without the hassle of people in the basement" and I gave them enterance code without double about anything.

During the trip, I did not disturb them until they said they would check out at Sunday morning 10:30 am.

However,

when I come to the house, at 11:00 am, I find all my inside door was badly broken by someone, and the areas signed by "private space/ do not enter" were ruined and massed up by these thieves.

So I called the police immediately.

According to thechat history, the guest is still in contact with me before 10:30, and I came to the house immediately after the leave, and there is no more than 40 minutes in the gap.

what these thieves stolen:

Nikon camera D800 3080
Nikon lenses Tamron SP 24-70mm  1500
Sony TV 65 inch 4k 2000
Sony TV 40 inch 500
Dyson vacuum cleaner V8 Animal  599
Monitor 27 inch 200
Bed Sheet Set x 4 from ikea 160
Duvet/Quilt cover set x 4 from ikea 120
Pillow ikea 18
coffee maker   69.99
wine decanter silver limited edition from Europe 1650

Total value:  9896.99

It cannot be removed by 40 minutes. so as the policy confirmed, the guest is absolutely the thieves or accomplice

I have all evidence keep in my hand, and I need airbnb to help me.

[CloudCradle0]

It cannot be removed by someone else in 40 minutes after the guest leaving, which means to steal all above stuffs, need a lot of time especially like TV and other big electric device.

So stealing is likely to happen at last night or this morning..

what's more, all the rooms upstairs were clean and not used, except that all the cabinets were dumped and turned over.
So these people are not coming to stay, they are coming to steal things, they ran away after stealing things.

[Cormac0]

@CloudCradle

Don't worry Airbnb have your back, contact them and they will immediately reimburse you loss through the host Guarantee, well that’s the theory anyway...

Look on the bright side it will only take half  a year of your profit on Airbnb to put you back in your orininal position, if Airbnb don't cover you on the "host guarantee". 

 Presuming you're fully book if not it could take considerable longer, ouch!

[CloudCradle0]

• The guest booked my house from Feb 15 to 17, last Friday to Sunday.
  During the trip, I did not disturb them until they said they would check out at Sunday morning 10:30 am.
  However,
  when I come to the house, at 11:00 am, I find all my inside door was badly broken by someone, and the areas signed by "private space/ do not enter" were ruined and messed up.
  What the guest stolen:(updated 2019-02-18)
  ------------------------------------
  Nikon camera D800 = $3080
  Acer laptop = $699
  Samsung TV 65 inch 4k = $2000
  Sony TV 40 inch = $500
  Dyson vacuum cleaner V8 Animal = $599
  brand new Bed Sheet Set $40 x 5 from ikea = $200
  brand new Duvet/Quilt cover set $30 x 5 from ikea = $150
  brand new Hand Towel 14 x $6 = $84
  brand new Washtowel 20 x $3 = $60
  brand new bath towel 18 x $13 = $234
  brand Pillow ikea = $18
  coffee maker = $70
  Cuccio bag = $1300
  acurite Digital Weather Station = $75
  repair for inside house and door damage = $800
  cleaning fee for unexpected area = $300
  Currently, the total losses that have been confirmed and counted were $10169, but not limited to these
  As I called the police immediately, the policy confirmed the guest are the thieves other than someone else coming during 10:30 pm to 11:00pm.
  I have all evidence kept in my hand, recorded what they did in the private area, and the thieves fingerprint collected in the private area which a normal guest were not be able to enter into.

[CloudCradle0]

I have all evidence kept in my hand, recorded what they did in the private area, and the thieves fingerprint collected in the private area which a normal guest were not be able to enter into.

Even if I cannot get anything, I have to let everyone know what had happened to me.

To all airbnb hosts, I'll let them know, just be carefull with them, to be an airbnb host, airbnb would probably be not protect you. 

To airbnb Canada, you had to record them as thieves in order to prevent them from committing crimes again.

To all users, I'll let thieves know, you may continue to do this, cuz the host will suffering everything, and the thieves will not be punished!

[Julie143]

Oh no!

From your profile, it looks like it’s a brand new listing. Thieves are known to target these.

Was the stolen stuff locked?

Do you have any cameras on the outside of your property? I strongly recommend you do. Airbnb allows them, but you have to disclose in the listing.

Even a simple Ring doorbell camera, which costs about $100 would have helped you in this situation. You could see the people carrying out the TVs and other items.

You need to start the claim NOW, before any new guests check in. Call Airbnb immediately and they can tell you how to do it.

But prepare yourself for the possibility that you are not going to get all or any of the money back and it will be a long, annoying process. 

If I were you, I would turn off Instant Booking for now until you figure out what you are doing. 

[CloudCradle0]

 Yes, as you said, it's my first time to use airbnb as a host.

Do you know how can I start to claim
I had called airbnb and local policy immediately after the theif leaving. 
And I'm still waiting for their reply.

Indeed, instant book is so dangerous for me at this situation.

I used to living in this house, sometimes go out for weekends just like what happened yesterday.

I cannot imagine that if I was in the house at that time. Maybe I had already died.

and no one can see my claim at this time.

[Cormac0]

@CloudCradle

I can say with almost complete confidence that you'll get absolutely nothing from Airbnb since this is the first time you hosted on Airbnb's website

I think you’ll have to rely on your household insurance, provided that you’ve previously notified your insurance company that you're engaged in short term rental if not there is a very high probability they'll cancel your insurance policy outright.

[CloudCradle0]

I can provide all the evident I collected,

and I can also provice everything legal information that the thieves may not,

why can't I get help from airbnb? 

[Julie143]

How much information do you have about the guest?

You could try pressing charges or doing a civil suit, though I’m not sure how that works in Canada.

Keep calling and bugging Air. Don’t wait for them to call.

The best thing to do now is focus on taking pictures of damage and finding receipts for the stolen items. 

If you hire anyone to repair damage, make sure you have itemized receipts.

But as @Cormac0 said, the chances of Air giving you all or any of the money are low.

What other kind of insurance do you have for the home?

If it’s regular home owner’s insurance they may or may not cover it. Some policies don’t cover short term rentals, and you would need to have a special policy.

My homeowners doesn’t cover Airbnb renting, so I use Slice, which is convenient, because you can purchase only when you need it, one night at a time. I think they are available in Canada.

If you can’t get any reimbursement from Air or other insurance policies, you may be able to deduct something from your taxes. Again, may vary by country.

Looking ahead to the future:

get a doorbell camera

vet guests very carefully

make it sound like you are nearby, in the neighborhood, even if it’s not 100% true

[CloudCradle0]

I found that the root of all the problems lies in instant book.

If I did not set instant book, I will be able to check everything in details.

But instant book, let the guest book at the mid night, which means I can only check it by tomorrow which would be late at that time. 

[Ann72]

@CloudCradle0 - Are YOU CloudCradle, or are you an individual using CroudCradle?  If the latter, does CloudCradle not protect you? 

[CloudCradle0]

I'm Vincent, and I'm a individual want to use cloudcradle as my personal brand, to run my own business.