Checked out guest who tries to reenter property

[Anthony608]

This is a somewhat hypothetical question based on something which happened to a friend of mine who does AirBNB in the Chicago area.  He had a guest checkout with no problems, but then about three days later, the man was back at my friend’s house in the early evening, knocking loudly on the door, claiming he “forgot” something and needed to get back in the house.  I think it was a basement apartment deal, with my friend living upstairs, and he knew there was nothing which had been left and suspected this was some type of attempt to get back on the property to possible to commit robbery.  My friend didn’t open the door and the man eventually left.  I don't know if a police report was filed.

So, my question is, what would one do if a checked out guest managed to somehow  get back on the property, hours or even days after leaving, and then claimed that they had an emergency and needed to stay again.  Would the best course be to call AirBNB?  Or simply treat it like a straight up trespassing, breaking and entering situation, and dial 911.  Opinions?

[Alexandra316]

@Anthony608I think that I would call the police first, if I suspected that there was an attempt at robbery/break and entry/theft. There is nothing that Airbnb could do to assist with removing them from the property, and as they are no longer a guest at that point, it would seem pointless to call them at that time. 

Once the immediate threat was dealt with, I would probably get in touch with Airbnb and report what had happened. If they're causing a safety issue, they should be reported and potentially removed from Airbnb.

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Anthony608: That is straight up trespassing and if they don't leave the property you call the police.

[Olga464]

Police may not helpful)))) I had a client who was a policeman from Turkey. He forgot the phone charger and started to write back in 6 months time that he is walking behind my windows seeing the light))) And wants his charger back))))) 5 bucks question. I asked to block him.

[Anthony608]

Yes, I've unfortunately heard a lot of horror stories about AirBNB in places like Eastern Europe and South America with guests who break back in after leaving, attack hosts, and then there are uncooperative or uncaring police forces who take no action.  I hope I never have to involve the police with an AirBNB guest, but at least here in the US they will at least show up and assess the situation.

[Ben551]

@Anthony608  personally, I'd push the little "call" button on my house Alarm to silently summon the "hired thugs" my wife refers to as New Zealand security guards... *shiver*... seriously, they're built like rugby players and look like they could fell a 200 year old English Oak tree with their bare hands... not a bad deal either for NZD $42 per month.  I don't know what the options are where you live, but I find it's a reassuring thing to have.

[Sam397]

Why not just answering the door and find out what he wanted. You dont have to open the door, just talk through the door, or even text him. If he left something you can look for it and give it back and thats the end of it. By not answering he will just come back. If you call the cops they wont do anything, he didn't break any laws. 

[Emilia42]

@Anthony, this happened to me once. A guest was passing through to a vacation spot and stayed in my apartment. Another guest later and I noticed a pair of pants left in the back of the closet. I wasn't 100% sure who they belonged to. One week later the guest randomly shows up at my door asking if I had their pants. Luckily, I haven't given them to the thrift store yet. I gave them their pants, they thanked me and left. 

[Jason7]

Hello people, did everyone (less Sam) overlook the fact that this person is not a tresspasser but a  past guest and may have some validity to their situation? I must say it seems odd that they would be knocking on the door rather then using texts or internal communications but I still would give them the benefit of the doubt before I called the poilce or send out the Rugby players from New Zealand. I also dont think that contacting Air bnb would be helpful as they dont often respond in a timely mannner. Now if you were actually threatend in some manner, that is a different story, but just thinking that a person might commit robbery is not criminal.