I am now already in a +10 day discussion with Airbnb on an i...
Latest reply
I am now already in a +10 day discussion with Airbnb on an issue of blocked days that are being switched to 'active' in the c...
Latest reply
Hi,
I have a guest from Belgium with me at the moment. He booked two nights. He came to attend a football game in London. He seems nice, in his 40's and educated.
I showed him the house, clarified a few questions and then he went off out. I went to bed around midnight and he was not back.
The next thing I know I heard a great bang and realised, he had tried to open the door to my bedroom. Obviously, the bang (an item behind the door falling) left him startled and me woken u[ and wondering what happened.
When I confronted him in the morning, he replied that he had mistaken the door for the toilet. However, he had used the toilet befor he left and so knew where it was.
I live on my own (female) and really feel quite at a loss of how to handle this man. He is off to the football game now and I wonder what might happen nect. He did not react aggressively, when confronted, but amused.
Of course, things can happen, but really I do not quite believe what he was saying.
Any tips/hints?
Is there no lock on your bedroom door, @Christiane149? Get one, if you don't have one. Do you think you could get a friend to come over for the night? Do you trust the guest in your house alone while you go to a friend's? I think those are your best options. You have nothing to go by to get him rehoused except the feeling he was lying. A phone rep will dismiss that since they weren't there to see the guest's amused reponse. Absolutely, though, if he tries another "oops, wrong door" you will want to mention it in the review. Be vigilant. Call the police if you need. As you say, you don't know what's next.
A tip you might try for innocent late-night confusion of doors is to hang a sign on the toilet door. I have a nice framed one that says "bathroom" on mine, and it does help.
Will you write tomorrow to let us know all was well?
thank you for all your kind suggestions. will be in touch to let you know. hopefully, all will be fine. I will put a sign for him to point him to the 'loo' now!
I would imagine something like this could set quite uneasy, as if I were single and by myself as a host on AirBNB, would definitely have the same concerns! My first thought is that he more than likely was possibly intoxicated after going out to a bar or something and having a few drinks? If coming back that late at night, I would imagine that's what he was out doing, and would explain the strange mishap. However, there's really know way of knowing 100% for sure what the "motives" or reason behind this incident was, so taking precautionary actions moving forward to avoid situations like this and any uncomfortable circumstances would definitely be the smart route to take.
Is there a restroom connected to the room you're renting out to guests?
I would honestly suggest a good smart lock for guest rooms to help differentiate doors and areas of the house other than common spaces of course, easily for guests to identify and access, and maybe even considering a lock of any kind for your room and areas you would rather not be accessed by guests to avoid this as well.
We just got this new lock a couple months back and absolutely love it! It syncs directly to my AirBNB calendar, sends guests emails with key code and instructions as soon as they book a stay, disables codes at time of check out (and accurately lol), and auto updates itself for me. I don't have to do a thing or have to worry about keys or anything myself, it's awesome. We've gotten tremendous feedback from guests about it as well, as it just makes the whole booking and checking in and out process so much simpler and easy to go about, and actually based off what guests of ours have said as well, actually makes them feel a bit more secure or "at home" I guess you could say.
Here's a link to check it out, I highly recommend it!
https://www.amazon.com/AirLocking-Smart-Lock-for-AirBNB/dp/B0759NPC5Y/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=airloc...
I have guests who arrive exhausted after a long trip and who occasionally mistake my bedroom door for the bathroom door as I have long hallways with multiple doors. This mostly occurs on their first night before they've had a chance to adapt to the house. They do this even though they may have used the bathroom earlier in the day. What seems easy during the day can become confusing in the night when it's dark and they're tired. I wouldn't get too alarmed over this.
The day I feel I have to put a lock on my bedroom door in my own home to protect myself from my guests is the day I'd quit hosting.
@Michael956's post above is quite sensible.