Guest stole money from me

Nick1866
Level 4
Limerick, Ireland

Guest stole money from me

Hi guys,

 

I think this might be something that sadly a few hosts would have experienced before, but I had my second negative experience with a guest in a row over the weekend.

 

To put it bluntly, I am fairly confident my last guest stole money from me.

 

In a drawer in my bedroom, I have a wallet in which I had left 30 British pounds, gifts from family and friends from Christmas and birthdays in the last year. I am based in Ireland, and due to the pandemic, I've not had the chance to go over to the UK to spend this, or deposit it in a bank.

I normally have the door to my bedroom locked, but (stupidly) I think I left it unlocked for a period of time on Sunday night when I went shopping leaving him in my place alone.

 

The guest left on Monday morning, and when I was clearing out the room he stayed in, I noticed a couple of items left lying around which I know had been in my bedroom previously (an old mobile phone and a Danish phrase book). Obviously, this rang alarm bells with me, so I went to my bedroom to check the contents of the drawer. It appears nothing else had been stolen, apart from the £30 which was left in the wallet in the drawer. A cheque which another relative had sent to me, which was made out to me, was left in the wallet.

 

It's very difficult, as I don't think I have any real proof it was him - but it is not going to have been anyone else. Before he stayed, that money was still in the wallet. After he left, it wasn't - and items from my bedroom had been moved into the guest room.

 

Really disappointing, as he seemed like such a nice genuine guest. His mother actually made the booking on his behalf. He told me he was really short of cash, and I sympathised with him. If he'd really needed €30, I perhaps would have helped him out. But I'm angered that he went into my room and rifled through my belongings and took money that was given to me as gifts from relatives.

 

A particularly difficult part of this is he had booked to stay for the following five Sundays - although tonight, he has cancelled his upcoming stay for this Sunday.

 

It's a lot to take in, I know, but wondering if any of you had any advice on where I can go from here? Obviously, I'd have concerns around any bad review from him, and the impending stays. I'm not sure I want him in my apartment any more after this.


Nick

11 Replies 11
Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

It is always difficult to realize that our own actions have contributed to our be victims of theft.  Pretty certain most of us have had a similar experience.  For you, having accepted a third party booking (not allowed on this platform) was one of them and leaving valuables unsecure was another one.  Not much you can do about that except realize the lesson learned.

 

Has this guest booked on his own profile, or did his mommy book for him?  If the latter, then you can contact Air BNB and request a concellation of the subsequent bookings based on the no third party bookings.

 

As to a review, the problem is since this was a third party booking, he is not being reviewed as the review will show up on his mother's profile.  

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't actually aware of the rule around no third party bookings to be honest.

 

I suppose I asked the question about the review in terms of whether I follow up on the issue. Will his mother leave a retaliatory review?

 

It's so sad that people can be so nasty and dishonest isn't it?

 

- Nick

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Nick1866 

It is a 3rd party booking, which is a violations of  Arbnb terms. So ask Airbnb to cancel the upcoming bookings penalty free. You have no (enough) evidence of the accusation, so next time be sure to prevent guest accessing  your personal space by locking it.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Nick1866  What a nasty situation. As others have said, cancel his upcoming bookings. You can't really accuse him of theft, as you have no proof, although it's patently obvious that he took the money. But you can mention in the review that you found several of your personal items that were in your bedroom drawers in the guest room after he left, which was an invasion of privacy.  Even though his mom booked for him, you can say the review is actually for her son, who she booked for. 

 

Even if you didn't know about the no 3rd party booking policy, if a guest needs their mommy to book for them, they aren't adult or responsible enough to book for themselves, which is a big red flag. It's quite possible that he had his own account, and was banned for reports of theft from other hosts.

 

I am always careful about leaving money around, not necessarily in regards to my guests- I can't imagine any of the guests I've had doing such a thing. 

 

But I raised 3 kids and when they were teenagers and had friends coming and going from our house, I always kept my bag and wallet hidden in my room, unless it was just me and my girls at home. Same for the days my cleaner comes, once every two weeks. I totally trust her,  but better safe than sorry or having to accuse someone.

 

And I would do more with money than have it in a drawer, even if your door is locked. Try to find a hiding spot where no one would look.

Johan1311
Level 2
Wassenaar, Netherlands

Sad. the problem with AIRBNB is that if you write a review on the guest, the guest can read it.
In this case you can not write a review because of a lack of evidence. The result, this man can continue on AIRBNB.

We had a guest who damaged our apartment. We  could not do anything because he lives nearby and might come for revenge after reading a bad review.
So, no review...... he will continue......sadly.

The AIRBNB review system does not work this way and is completely useless. . Bad guests can easily continue their bad behavior.

@Johan1311 Of course you can write a review; the fact that the recipient can read it is not a problem unless your own personal fears make it into one.

 

However, the fact that it constitutes a public statement means you have to be careful about what you say. Publicly accusing someone of a crime (even if you feel certain they committed it) can be construed as defamation, so you can only present what you know from your own perspective.

 

 

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Anonymous 

That Andrew is a really good point....the only time you can get away with derogatory statements is when they are already in the public realm.

Here is how I handled a potentially libelous comment yesterday.

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-CheapOAir-scam-its-clients/answer/Robin-Shannon-7

 

I have not slandered by personal innuendo the company involved, I have made no comment relating to any personal involvement with the company concerned, I have simply passed on information already available in the public domain.

 

Cheers........Rob

Tell me Andrew, why do I only read positive reviews on the guests? Obvious because people will not be honest. I understand. what the hell if this bad guest will continue using AIRBNB?

In the newspaper today that AIRBNB paid 50 million euro to hosts where their apartment where damaged etc. We should protect the hosts by changing this system and make these reviews hidden. Why should a guest be able to read this?

It is in Dutch:
Airbnb betaalt naar verluidt jaarlijks $50 miljoen uit aan gasten en verhuurders, waaronder voor het...

@Johan1311   You can only read the reviews of guests that someone bothered to write.

 

Unfortunately, it's much easier for a guest with a bad review to create a new profile, or have someone else in their group book, than it is for a badly reviewed host to start over with a new listing.

 

It's not fair, but a public review is a public review. That means everyone can see it, including the subject.

you are right. 100% secure is not possible they can make a new profile.

If a guest can not read the hosts his review, the guest won´t know he has a bad review. No need to make a new profile.

so it is better to make all reviews about the guest hidden. Just readable for the hosts.

The review system now, does not work at all.


Luis3920
Level 1
England, United Kingdom

Hi Nick I just found out that I had a Rolex mariner worth 5.000 and 500 dollar in cash stolen from a well hidden place in my cooker, how they found out this hidden place I do not know, a gold chain of 5.000 was also nearby, but likely missed, as a result I will stop airbnb altogether too risky in these days.