hosts respionsibility when a guest is robbed

[Jacquie40]

Hi

Our current guests were robbed last night.

Their apartment is under ours.

They had left the doors open as it has been very hot.

Only ----wallets,money and id. were taken ,no possessions, or any of our things.

She is also an AirBNB host in the USA.

As hosts are we held responsible for security when they left the doors open.

Just checking what the situation is for these occurrences.

First time in 26 years that we have been robbed.

Thanks

[Elena87]

@Jacquie40 

Sorry to hear about this, very distressing crime to be a victim of. Truly dreadful.

With a disclaimer, my comments are purely layman's, not based on legal expertise, which you might seek.

First, report to the police and obtain a record of what happened.

Airbnb do not cover this situation via insurance, and if the guest reports, maybe just a goodwill response.

Even if you have home insurance, it's supremely unlikely to cover third party personal goods and even so, if the guests had left open the door, a claim would be rejected because of lack of due care.

There are some 'innkeeper' laws around the globe, thus normally hotels aren't liable for third party guest possessions unless they are kept in the hotel safe, so you can see these ' not liable' signage frequently in the trade.

If the guests have travel insurance, they should pursue a claim based on the policy coverage.

It sounds like an opportunistic theft, but you can undertake a review of burglary prevention strategies.

[Sarah977]

@Jacquie40  Also not a legal opinion, but I can't see how you could be held responsible for some random thief entering through a door the guests left open.

Theft is fairly rampant where I live as it's a major tourist destination. I don't have the problem myself, as I live a bit out-of-town and have a great watchdog. But most hosts here instruct guests not to leave doors or windows open unless they are sitting right in the room where the door is, to put valuables in the safe, or keep with them, etc. A friend had warned her guests about this, but one of the girls had left her handbag sitting on the kitchen table right in front of an open window on the street side, while she and her friends were up on the rooftop seating area, and someone nicked it. The guests told the host about it, but said it was totally their fault, as she had pre-warned them. They took full responsiblity for being lax, as they should have.

But I don't really think you should have to warn adults not to leave valuables in a room with an open door that anyone could enter. That's just common sense.

[Helen3]

Hello @Jacquie40 

I think your responsibility is to give the guest advice on how to report this to the police. The guests should claim on their travel insurance -although it might well be nullified as the guests left the doors open.

It is seemly foolhardy to leave your doors open (by the way are there fans/air conditioning in your place, I know how hot it gets there at this time of year).