Guests taking towels home

DiAnna14
Level 2
Minneapolis, MN

Guests taking towels home

My recent guest took a bath towel home, along with two full spare rolls of toilet paper.  Don't care about the toilet paper obviously, 🙂 but I am curious if I should ask her about what happened to the towel.   It was a single person staying in my studio, so it's very obvious that one towel is missing.  Normally I would dismiss the issue, but it has happened twice now (with different guests) where towels are gone missing.  Should I deduct the towel cost from the damage deposit, or just let it go?  

22 Replies 22
Inga31
Level 2
Portland, OR

Hi DiAnna,

 

I'm thinking those must be some nice towels, to have that happen twice!  I would say buy nice but UGLY towels. Hehehe. Mine are grey from JC Penney and no one is complaining. 

 

 

 

 

Marzena4
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

Yes, you may request the money from the guest, @DiAnna14. Use the option in your message tab on top.

// "The only person you can trust is yourself"
Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@DiAnna14 There is no such thing as “deductions from the deposit”. You may start a resolution center claim (read up about it in the help center first cause it’s a particular process). CS will decide if you get reimbursed for the missing towel but you will need to prove to them that it is missing and that the guest is the cause. Some hosts enter the claim hoping that their guest is shamed into confessing and paying up but some don’t bc they figure a towel stealer has no scruples, CS won’t override the guest & then they will have an angry guest writing a review. 

Good point, thanks Kelly!  

Allison116
Level 10
Walnut Creek, CA

I think you can make a direct request to the guest via Airbnb for the charge. Hopefully they will fess up and pay up. If not, then you do have to file the claim to try and get it through your security deposit. Watch the deadlines though. I think there is a limited window in which to file a damage claim. 

 

I have some very nice towels in my guest bathroom so it would bother me if some went missing. Plus I wouldn’t be able to buy the same pattern again And would end up with part of the set.

 

I have never had that happen, but you have twice so maybe it’s something in your area.or maybe it’s just bad luck. I don’t do it now, but if I had your issue  I probably would start putting a list of prices in the guest room or guest bathroom that shows what the charges are for missing and damaged items. You may even want to have your guest initial it so you can keep a copy that they read it.

. Right now, I just list that there is a $5 charge for a lost bedroom  key and a $25 charge for lost parking pass.

 

 

 

Paul-and-Zoe-Anderson0
Level 2
Sellicks Beach, Australia

Hi DiAnna,

 

If you make a claim against the guest, you should have already tried to contact them first to resolve the matter. They may have simply taken the towel without thinking.

 

Whatever you decide to do, make sure that both you and your guest have written your reviews first. Initiating a claim before reviews are submitted could be an invitation for a nasty and unwarranted review of your home. Most people change when you make accusations against them.

 

Good luck hosting!

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

Unlikely that reviews will be written prior to the expiration of the claim period.

David

unless you write yours and they write theirs and then you file the claim but that is alot of ifs. and if you wait too long for that review to post, you could run out the clock from being able to enter the claim.

 

I usually employ the opposite tack and wait to write a review until I know how the guest responds or doesn't to the claim. I feel like that is fairly important info for a review.

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

I don't think its worth getting into it over a towel, might be coincidence, honest mistakes or something else. Perhaps work on eliminating the 'problem', if it continous. I can't think of a 'solution' if it does, but there must be one.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@DiAnna14

We sometimes have missing bath and kitchen towels too. We also often have stained towels and sometimes those stains won't go out not even with a bleach. 

Yes, you can go to the resolution center and ask for compensation but if guest deny he took it, how can you proove it? 

For this reason I would never invest in thick and expensive towels for guests. We have HÄREN bath towels from Ikea, they are good quality but not expensive.  They are also look very plain and are easy to replace them bc Ikea have them all the time, it is not a limited collection. 

 

 

Susie5
Level 10
Boston, MA

@DiAnna14, I'd contact her and ask whether she inadvertently took a towel, since it's part of a set etc etc.  She might return it, you never know.  I use white towels (you can buy a pack of them fairly cheaply at Costco for example) so I don't have to worry about losing part of a matched set.  Good luck! Susie

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

There are a couple of different issues here, @DiAnna14 and you must determine what has priority for you.  When someone steals from you, there is a sense of invasion and a fundamental belief in "thou shalt not steal".  You abide by these rules and are upset that not everyone has this ethic.

 

Then you have to put these beliefs into the real world of hospitality.  I would focus on what is important to your business, i.e., your listing.  You want good, honest reviews and provide good honest reviews.  Anything else is private.  Your review about the guest, if you are convinced they are thieves, is thumbs down...no explanation necessary.  If you are so certain that these guests stole from you, your thumbs down review will essentially bar them from using Air BNB.

 

Difficult process.  Good luck and keep us posted as to what you decide to do.

I, too, am having a problem with guests taking/destroying towels.  Immediately after putting 10 new washcloths in the unit, 4 are missing.  It was the first guest after I bought the towels (& only a 2 night stay).  2 others were completely stained, so I am guessing there was a spill and they threw them out.  That's $12 in towels after a 2-night stay.  I have also lost a lot of washcloths and towels in the past, 4 spoons, and a lot of pillow cases from people who use pimple cream, which bleaches the sheets.  At what point do I charge the guest?  

You have a choice: take it up individually with the occasional 'careless' guest OR charge $5 per day (or $10) more per day to cover such selfish behavior and skip the potential 'battle' with them. Unfortunately, the 'givers' do pay for the 'takers' in any society.