Guests leaving things behind!

[Dan-And-Melissa0]

Hello,

how do you hosts handle different guests seemingly repetitively leaving behind items? I have shipped things ranging from a pair of stiletto heels, to a cell phone charger with cord.  I don't ask the guest for shipping, but the last two back-to-back guests have left behind items and I have had to ship them back.  Is this typical? We are new hosts.

granted it is only $10-$20 for Shipping charges so far for each time, but it seems to be pretty constant for us now. We don't have a high level of profit, so the trips to the UPS and the additional shipping charges, although not the end of the world, are eating into our small profit.

what are your guys/gals thoughts?

thanks!

[Tatjana6]

you ARE a superhost :)!

[Pete69]

I keep a sign on the exit door. Along with a reminder about the 12 noon check-out time I tell people to remember to leave the key(s) and to check to see if they didn't leave something behind (in/under the bed, in bathroom drawer, in refrigerator).

[Cormac0]

@Dan-And-Melissa0 

Just tell the reckless fools, that you have but their possessions in a safe place ready for them to collect or alternatively if they send you the cost of postage, packaging and insurance you will quite happily post the items to them, that should soften their cough!

[Alexandra238]

"Reckless fools?"  Pretty harsh and mean-spirited I think.  Have you never forgotten something and left it somewhere?  When people leave things at my place, first, I let them know and ask if they want me to send it.  Most of the time, they don't want me to bother.  When they do want the item, most offer to pay postage but I usually just send it to them.  I feel that I'm benefitting very nicely with my Airbnb, I can pay some postage for people who just forgot something.  It makes both of us feel good.  Some items that people left, have been quite useful to me!

[Cormac0]

@Alexandra238 

When you've been on the community as long as I have, you'll come to realise no good deed goes unpunished.

[Cynthia222]

Ask the guests for a FedEx account number, then (when convenient) either deliver it to FEDEX for both packing and shipping or have the guests call FEDEX to arrange to pick up it up, pack and ship.  This is especially relevant for large/heavy items (like a picnic basket with blankets, for example) that need large boxes, etc. and are too big to ship via USPS.   If they don't have a FEDEX account, tell them to open one.  Also, I believe some guests purposely leave large items behind because they don't want to take them back and assume the host will go through the hassle of packing and shipping them.  

[Luke284]

I just had this happen for my first guest. I’ve been looking at options for how to best respect their privacy while also not incurring costs that I’ll have to pass onto future guests.  UPS has an option to have the shipping paid for on arrival so that’s an option and it’s great because they can make a decision on weather it’s worth it to them. If you offer to ship things to them for free you are removing the responsibility from them since it costs them nothing and costs you time money. You still have to communicate with them and drop off the item, in my view that is my extent of responsibility as a host while also being accommodating. I’ll post more about my experience once completed as I am in the process. 

[Michael4766]

Hi,

Unfortunately I am currently in a situation where I left a belt behind at an AirBnb in Thailand. The host is slow to respond by email, and finally after days of waiting the host offers to ship it for 3x what the actual shipping cost is. I know this because I verified with the same shipping company.

When I raise this issue with AirBnb staff I get a generic response "I know this is difficult for you". What does that mean? Is AirBnb breaking up with me. Lesson learned is to be very careful about leaving items behind at AirBnbs, and whenever possible choose a more loyal hosting provider than AirBnb. I'm really displeased with AirBnb support in this manner.

The host wins either way in my situation. AirBnb's policy on this matter is not clear to me. The host either gets to keep my $600 CAD belt, or gets to make an extra $100 CAD by shipping it to me (on top of the shipping cost). Not fair, and definitely not cool.

[Sarah977]

@Michael4766  I should think that you'd have been more careful about not leaving a $600 belt behind. Was it made of gold and diamonds?

Adults shouldn't expect others to be responsible for the things they misplace or neglect to pack. I've left plenty of things behind on planes, buses, or wherever, that I never got back. But I'd certainly never be so inattentive as to leave such a high-ticket item behind.

[Ange2]

@Michael4766   To put it into perspective I had a guest leave some things here. I had to go to the Post Office wait for an hour in line, buy a box and packaging to protect the items and have the package weighed so I would know the cost.  Then log into Airbnb and request the funds, explain to the guests how to click a button to send the amount, wait to receive the funds (a week), go back to the Post Office and wait in line for another hour, fill in customs forms and send. Then the guest requested I scan the receipt and  send it to them so they could track the package (the number alone did not suffice) and still  they didn't stop badgering me until they had it in hand!  I did not charge for my time - at the least two hours - in retrospect I think I should have.

[Sarah977]

@Ange2  Yes, I've noticed on these threads where guests complain about the host not mailing them back something they leave behind, they never indicate that they offered the host anything for their time to do so. As if the host spending time and probably gas money is just something that should be expected.

[Jodie118]

I'm getting alot of people leaving pillows and wanting them returned. I think its a good idea to let them know its not our responsibility to return they're belongs to the via delivery, if they leave belongings behind they will have to pick them up in X amount of time and that could lighten our load a bit as hosts. Just a thought.

[Tori2]

My guests claim they left a wallet. My cleaner didn't find it and I didn't either.  Now they're taking me to small claims court - claiming it's on my property!

The best part? They lost MY key and I asked them to re-key the door handle lock - they said they didn't mind leaving it unlocked. I didn't! I told them it was unsafe. I refunded their cost to replace the lock...

Wait for it... in their claim, they wrote that there was a KEY in the wallet! And they're asking for their loss of key...

I don't have it. So now I have to go to court.. omg they probably lost the wallet when they lost my key... ugh. Any idea what I should do??

[Sarah977]

@Tori2  How exactly can they take you to small claims court for something entirely unprovable? You aren't legally responsible for items the guest left behind when they checked out  Have you been served with some papers, or are they only threatening to do this? 

Sounds like BS to me.

[Tori2]

They had a cop come out an serve me. They checked the other box 

The claim is "a stolen wallet"

Which I don't have.