How should I handle Guests leaving house unlocked?

Answered!
Mike43
Level 3
United States

How should I handle Guests leaving house unlocked?

I'm concerned about a current guest who continually leaves the house unlocked when they leave. I've reminded them a number of times, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. 

 

I assume Airbnb wouldn't cover damage / theft as a result of this, and I'm pretty sure my insurance won't cover anything that's a result of a renter. I'm a little nervous to even ask them, as I've heard of them dropping people as soon as they find out the property is used for rental. 

 

Any advice, given that asking the renter, putting up reminder Post-it notes, etc, isn't helping? Mainly I'm concerned about theft as a result of their behaviour, and obviously it wouldn't be forced entry if the home is left unlocked, which could make a claim more difficult. 

 

 

1 Best Answer
Judalon0
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

@Mike you can install a door knob that stays locked; you can open from the inside without a key, but from the outside it requires a key. Go to your local Home depot or Lowes and they should be able to direct you to a new knob that will solve the problem. I only know this because when I bought my home I had these knobs and kept locking myself out! 

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21 Replies 21
Judalon0
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

@Mike you can install a door knob that stays locked; you can open from the inside without a key, but from the outside it requires a key. Go to your local Home depot or Lowes and they should be able to direct you to a new knob that will solve the problem. I only know this because when I bought my home I had these knobs and kept locking myself out! 

Thanks... in this case, they like to leave the back sliding glass door open, so there is no way to do that 😞 

 

 

Another option would be just to mention it in house rules and also disclose that you will look to recoup funds from guests who don't lock the property up.

 

 

This is pointless. Airbnb years ago neutered the idea of any damage deposit from guests. All a guest has to do is to say, "no thank you, I refuse to pay" in the resolution center, and the host can't do anything further about it. 

 

Thank you Judalon for this tip. I just now had a guest who left the Airbnb with doors left wide open. As you can imagine this can have serious consequences for property and the other guest who is still there. Thank god for awesome guests most of the time, but once in a blue moon, there is always the one guest who is rather inconsiderate.

Amaris0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Hi Mike,

 

If this is as serious a concern as it sounds and there is potential of unauthorised person (s) entering your property as a result of the guest not respecting your requirments which is also for their safety as much as yours, then ultimately you have to decide if you are willing to take the risk or not; I suppose this would also depend on how much longer your guest are booked to stay with you. 

 

 You migh need to take the hard stance and inform your gues that you will have to terminate the remainder of their booking as a result of your concers for your safety, their safety and your personal property brough about by their actions or lack thereof.

 

Insurers will use an excuse not to payout where there is a claim and if you have intentionally left you property accessable by not securing it with all locks, you can be sure you will be left having to replace everything from your own pocket. No host wants a negative relationship with a guest let along asking them to leave but some situations require you to put your foot down. You can inform airbnb of the situation and that if it continues you will have no choice but to ask them to leave, this would cover you and airbnb would also contact the guest re your concerns.

 

I wich you all the best in addressing this matter.

 

Ama

Gus2
Level 1
Seattle, WA

Make it a house rule to not open that door and that if you see them opening or leaving it unlocked you will:

- Fine them 

- Terminate the remainder of their stay

 

Let's say you have the following situation:

- You have a cat

- You have a house rule to not let the cat out

- You see them leaving the door wide open

 

I would tell sternly warn them and tell them I would kick them out if I saw that again.

I think your situation is similar. So treat it the same way.

Thanks to everyone for the replies! I decided to update my house rules as the "easy" way, so if this guest renews for another month, they will need to agree to it. 90% of the people I have had don't require this sort of thing, it's the 10% that make me wonder if Airbnb is worth the risk/hassle...

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@Mike43

If it was the house I lived in with my possessions I wouldn't take the easy way, I'd tell them they have to lock all the doors.

Tell them that not locking the doors will ultimately also impact THEM in having their own possessions rifled through and possibly stolen.

Be sure to tell them that forgetting is unaceptable and irresponsible behavior.

Additionally put up a larger sign (even if you take it down after this particular guest leaves). And I would also re-cap the 'conversation' about repeat reminders on the Airbnb message inbox. That way you have a papertrail as proof Airbnb can access in case of problems of any sort.

 

And really - it's your house and your rules.

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

I would assume the ABB Insurance would not cover this.

David

I know of no home contents insurance that covers theft if you leave your door open. There has to be forced entry. Speak to them and just make it clear that you Cabot afford to be burgled so if they leave your door unlocked again they will have to fine alternative accommodation and you will refund them the remaining nights.

If you get an alarm system with internet monitoring, you won't be able to tell if the door is locked, but will be able to tell if the alarm is set and running.  This way if the door opens and the alarm is set, it will go off.  You will be covered for insurance purposes.  You can write off the alarm system as a part of your Airbnb income taxes and an alarm system will reduce your homeowners insurance.  We use the online monitoring system often to determine if the guests are at home, when they've come and gone, and if they've set the alarm.  We can also set it remotely if they've forgotten. Provides a great piece of mind.  

 

As an interesting side note to this issue, both hosts we've stayed with on our own travels did not lock their front doors or provide keys to us.  They just left their front doors unlocked and we came and went without any security.  We found this to be incredibly irresponsible.  The first host was in a secured building that required codes to enter, but the second was in a residential neighborhood, has been hosting for 4 years, and, we can assume, every guest that ever stayed there knows the front door is always unlocked.  Really unnerving.  

I recently stayed in an airbnb in Montreal Canada.  It was a an old warehouse that had some converted airbnb units.  It was about two blocks from a trendy area but was pretty deserted.  The building was unlocked and our unit was on a pretty much desserted third floor where we couldn't see if someone was lurking around the corner.  We spoke with host about the situation when we left because we couldn't understand why we were complaining.  Doesn't this seem unacceptable.  She said she had good reviews she said we didn't understand that Canada is safe.  My sister and I were the guests and we are in our 50's so we were ok because we had each other.  We were in Montreal with my daughters bachelorette party.  I would never have let young guests stay at this location.