Does Anyone Really Not Lock the Door?

[Gina158]

Hi,

I have a guest who checked out yesterday, didn't lock the door and left all the lights on - when he texted me to let me know he wasn't locking the door, I asked him again please to lock it as he was leaving.  Turns out he had been gone for 12 hours, and was already home.  He became angry and has been texting me for an entire day because he is upset thinking that I am going to give him a bad review.  I have gotten nasty text message after another, swearing, etc. threatening me if I give him a bad review.

In truth, my only concern was trying to find someone to go to my apartment and lock the door, as I live in the city and would never ever leave the door unlocked.  I ended up blocking this man from my text, as the amount of texting from him was just ridiculous.

He has explained to me that no one at an AirBNB he has ever stayed at has ever wanted the door locked when he left, and that if I wanted him to lock the door I should have a big sign up next to the door to remind guests... For me, it is common sense and not something I have had to ever ask anyone more than once, and it seemed obvious.

Are there any hosts out there who do not lock their apartment doors?  Am I really in the minority and with an unreasonable request to lock the door on departure (as of course it was locked upon arrival).  

Maybe I am missing something....

Am actually curious if there is really anyone who does not lock their door.

Thanks.

[Moacir4]

I never had this issue and I have on the Rules that must be locked and the keys returned to a Lock Box and than scramble the code. If someone not follow the rules we can report  

[Gina158]

Thank you!

Nothing was damaged so I don't know what I would report except to leave him a bad review.

The most troubling is that he has been sending me text messages since yesterday threatening me if I give him a bad review - he is very concerned about it (and not about leaving my apartment open).

[Marzena4]

Hello @Gina158. I think it's pretty much commonsense to actually lock the door so do not fall into despair over your sanity. 😉

And since I know that other people's sobriety might be questionable, I have a pull-knob on the outside - just to be on the safer side. I remind my guests about it and so far it has happened only once that someone forgot to take the key with them.

PS Do reflect the guest's performance in your review for him, do not hide such a fact from other hosts.

[Allison2]

The response you got from the guest is really over the top. I hope you'll flag the messages and ask Airbnb to intervene. Leaving a door unlocked is one thing, but he's just compounded it by being a huge jerk. If customer service has their wits about them he won't need to worry about a poor review because they'll just ban his account.

Most people like to leave their doors locked, especially in a city. I have heard of hosts who leave the keys in an unlocked apartment rather than arrange a key exchange, but I'd imagine they're an exception. I ask guests to lock the door before they leave - there have only been a couple who didn't. I'd expect them to apologize for the oversight, not berate and swear at me!

[Matthew285]

@Gina158, if the guest is claiming that "no one at an AirBNB he has ever stayed at has ever wanted the door locked" he must stay at some unusual places.

I can't think of a situation where any host would want the door left unlocked (unless we are talking about a room inside their house).

If a property owner prefers to leave the front door of their property unlocked when there is no one inside, why would they even install a lock in the first place?

[Paul154]

Look up the definition of "gaslighting"

Most of my lifetime I have not locked my door. However, when I am a guest I expect my host demands that I lock their door.

[Willow3]

I’ve lived in 10 states - and I’ve never locked my doors. As for installing locks, every house I’ve lived in, came with them, lol. I do lock my doors when I have guests because I know I’m the odd one and my goal is to make my guests feel comfortable. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Gina158 Different people with different habits. Never assume that all people have common sense ... assumption is a mother of all fu**ups.

I tell my guests to lock the door,  let them try to do it in front of me (locks are different arround the world) and have a sticker note "Always lock this door with a key " on the door .... and still some guests don't lock it on their way out. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

My mom always locks doors and windows whereas my dad tends to leave them open and this is used to drive my mom crazy. They invested in a auto-locking door with a keypad 🙂 

[Kelly149]

@Gina158 The lock is a red herring at this point. The guest should be banned for harassing you. Please get on the phone w CS and get him stopped. That behavior is unacceptable— he just earned himself the bad review he doesn’t want. 

[Allison116]

He is being ridiculous. I hope you give him thumbs down. Someone could accidentally forget to lock the door but his reaction to your request is not acceptable. Clearly he gets a zero star for observing house rules.