Realized item was stolen, not sure which guests!

[Laura6]

I just noticed my brand new headphones are missing from where I had tucked them away.  I bought them about 2 months ago and put them in a drawer in my office.  This room stays open and unlocked when guests come visit, but it is not a shared space.  I just noticed that the headphones are not there!!  We haven't had a guest in 19 days and before that we had several back to back.  I'm not sure who took them, but I unfortunately know they have been stolen.

I'm not sure what to do!  I would not want to go pointing fingers at my guests and I don't want to file a police report over $60 headphones, but it feels awful to just... move on?  

What would you do?  Has this happened to you?  I'm very upset!

[Deborah0]

See this post I posted a while back, on a similar issue:

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Item-missing-from-hosts-house-after-guests-left-what-to-...

The difficulty you have is that you aren't sure which guests it was who took the headphones.  You can't really do anything if you don't know who it was -- and even then if you did know , it is a difficult situation to address since it is a "he said/she said" situation.    

Because guests who are accused of something are likely to respond far more defensively than those who are simply asked about a missing item, in cases where the host believes or knows for certain that something has been stolen, it's my advice that host contact the guest or guests who most recently stayed there or who are most likely to have taken the item, and simply ask them a question.  State that you noticed your headphones are missing, and ask the guests if they might have accidentally packed them up and taken them when they left.  Being confronted about the loss might cause a pang of guilt to arise in the guilty party, who is much more likely to be able to return the item to you if they are given the opportunity to claim, and have you believe, that it was taken "accidentally" as opposed to have been taken intentionally.  This is not guaranteed, and many who are capable of stealing something from a person who is generous to allow them to stay in their own home, are fully capable of lying about that.  So we have to accept this, and realize that something missing is most likely lost for good. However, I will also mention that I have had a couple things go missing, and contacted the guests who stayed there, and asked if they might have taken something by accident, and I did get the items back.  One guest did admit she had accidentally packed up the item.  Another guest said, "I thought that item was left by a previous guest."  (I suppose she thought that if something in my house was left by someone else, it was hers to take, as opposed to being mine to either keep or contact the previous guest about !) 

I very strongly recommend that all hosts lock up ALL valuables, and put a lock on your bedroom door.  Having an unlocked bedroom door and some valuable items inside is just too strong a temptation for some guests with low moral development.  Hosts have previously told stories of items stolen, including an expensive camera, camera lenses, and other things, and I also recall a story of one host who found a guest inside his private bedroom, just "looking around".  Hosts must not be naive, and do not believe you can simply "trust" everyone to be honorable in your home.  Be kind and generous to guests, but have a good set of house rules and keep a lock on your door.  

[David15]

Deduct it as a Business Expense (Loss), lock your stuff up, and move on.

[Nancy2]

I was missing kitchen shears which cost about $30.  Not a big deal but it bugged me.  I was trying to figure out why a guest would take them.  Decided it was probably one of the three sets of campers on their way to Yosemite.  But didn't know who and really a $30 loss wasn't a big deal.  But it did bother me that anyone would steal something because I just couldn't see any of my guests doing that and didn't want to think they would.

I looked and looked for them and finally after several weeks bought new ones.  That was several months ago.  Just this week I was searching for some double sided tape in my junk drawer and low and behold there they were!  I have no idea why I would have put them there.

So, I would not accuse anyone unless you know for sure you were missing something after their particular stay.

I hope you are pleasantly surprised when they turn up and know you had great guests that would never go into your personal space to take something.

[Marcus0]

Not much you can do after the fact and without knowing who took them.  Even if you did know, the guest could deny it (it could have been one of their visitors during the stay and they had no idea for example) and the airbnb bond claim would be cancelled.  Take this as the "cost" of running a hospitality business, no point getting upset but i guess it just makes you more prepared for next time.  Maybe buy a lock up wardrobe and when you rent the place out, throw anything valuable in it. 

[Ian11]

Hi all, I had two guests over 10 days. The first guest, "J", committed the theft, but did so in a way that wasn't immediately obvious. The 2nd guests checked in the day after "J", so I wasn't able to file a complaint with AirBnb before the 2nd guests checked in. As such, AirBnb initially told me that I wasn't eligible for Host Guarantee payments.

Please see my full response to AirBnb below. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to A) Make sure "J" is permanently removed from Airbnb and B) try to recoup some of the value of stolen items. Thanks!

TL;DR - 1) Guest stole $500+ worth of items such as suitcase, clothes, towels, etc (also stole from other Airbnb host) 2) Airbnb didn't respond to claim because I initially gave guest benefit of the doubt 3) Offending guest remains on Airbnb with zero consequences! 

"I did not initially express the extent of the damage inflicted by "J" because I am learning the AirBnB process and was waiting for the correct time/outlet. Apparently now is the time and this is the outlet.

I am discovering more by the day about how awful Juan was. Compensation for theft aside, THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. I am not alone, he has victimized at least one other host!

Tonight I contacted a host named "G'' who recently left Juan a positive review and discovered to my dismay that she also was a victim of theft. She made the mistake of leaving the review before thoroughly inspecting the entire house, as did I. She wrote me:
"He stole lots of stuff from me as well! Weird stuff too! Like my rope my mattress cover, 2 sheets, towels my hair curler. He changed the light bulbs in red light bulbs!covered the smoking alarm"

I will detail the facts of my case here: "J" initially contacted me on Christmas Eve through instabook, which I thought was a bit odd. He was in a hurry to check in and claimed AirBnB was crediting his account:

"J": Hello Ian, thank you for hosting me. I am hoping I can check in as soon as possible. I am just about ready to check out and unfortunately the place I had previously booked had to be cancelled. Air b&b has been terrific in crediting my account. I look forward to hearing from you"

He had positive reviews and was verified by Airbnb so I provided key access and I tried my best to accommodate him quickly. He was a good communicator and seemed friendly over email.

When he was checking out, my cleaner "P" was at the house and saw him. "P" is a Superhost and a strong AirBnb supporter and has given public testimony in Albany. In addition, she has cleaned for my friend (who is also an Airbnb host) for years and she is trustworthy. She saw he dangerously left a candle burning unattended and she found used cigarette butts, so he was smoking in my apt. This is not allowed, indicating a willingness to disobey Airbnb policy. She also saw him holding a small plastic bag with golden skulls habitually used for carrying for drugs and a razor, which was suspicious. She saw this briefly so could not confirm 100%.

She saw him take my large purple bag with items inside. She did not say anything because he said he was taking laundry. He did not return the large purple bag.

She noticed him packing things that didn't seem like his. Such as my grey shoes and a Brazilian flag that was in my closet. She did not accuse him because she did not know my house well at the time (only 3rd time cleaning).

He told "P" that his assistant took most of his stuff and he was taking the remainder out. He made the bed and left the apt in decent shape."P" did note that he left the toilet area a bit messy and it smelled a bit like vomit. He returned my keys to keycafe and said he would leave me a positive review.

When I returned, the apartment appeared to be in decent shape. Upon closer inspection, it was not. It was evident he rifled through EVERY drawer and closet in my apartment. I am not exaggerating; this includes elevated storage areas, under my bed and under the bathroom sink. Many things were missing, from expensive to not expensive. I can leave you an exhaustive list upon request. This includes but is not limited to: camera lens, smartphone, shoes, suit pants, ski gloves, beard trimmer, shaving cream etc…. even my bedside lamp. To indicate how sneaky he was, he switched my nice black suitcase for his old, broken black one. The suitcase was in an elevated storage location that requires a stool to reach, so I don't check often and without looking closely I probably wouldn't have noticed since both suitcases were black. He also stole one of my two stools.

Tonight I discovered something even more disconcerting: I was cleaning under my couch and I found a plastic bag with golden skulls along with a razor blade, the same that "P" noticed. It contained what looks like cocaine residue. I also found an empty cigarette box and a mask, which looks like it was used to filter out fumes. I suspect he was doing drugs or even making drugs. I can provide pictures upon request.

AirBnB, first and foremost, I urge you to TAKE ACTION NOW against Juan in order to prevent even more hosts from being victimized by him. Please advocate for the SAFETY OF YOUR HOSTS. Second, I request that you continue my case claim under the Host Guarantee. Please tell me what further information you require from me.

Follow up email:

PLEASE RESPOND, THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE! "J" SHOULD NOT BE ON AIRBNB

On top of that, one of Juan's previous hosts, "W", asserts that Juan did NOT stay with him, yet "J" had a positive review from him. I am concerned that this was a FAKE REVIEW. I would not have accepted "J"'s request if he did not have 3 positive reviews, and now I feel I was misled by AirBnb. Please see "W"'s statement below, sent via Airbnb messaging:

1) "W", allegedly hosted "J" Sept 2015 - "Omg I'm so sorry to hear about that.. He actually did not stay at my place. I'm not sure why I was reviewed for him, that sounds awful. I wonder if you could get the police involved. Since you know who it is. That's so strange and bizarre and I'm sorry to hear about that happening. :(("

[Lizzie]

Hello @Ian11,

I am sorry to hear about this experience. How long ago did you host this guest and I know you mention it at the beginning, but just to confirm you did speak with the Support Team about this? 

[Ian11]

Yes, I contacted Lilly with the Airbnb Trust and Safety Department. Aside from my request for Host Guarantee compensation, she did not follow up on my safety concerns at all.  Also, the other victimized host has NOT received a response from Airbnb.

Here is an exceprt of Lilly's reponse (typos are hers)

"However, we are unable to grant your request because as per our Terms of Service, compensation cannot be provided under the Host Guarantee unless the host is able to identify the responsible Guest. You can read more about our Terms and Conditions, and what is covered by the Host Guarantee, here:https://www.airbnb.com/terms. As you stated on January 4th, 2015 you are unsure wether is was Juan or Julia that was responsible for this incident.

For future reservations, we recommend that you conduct face-to-face check-outs at the conclusion of each reservation to ensure that any damages are promptly identified. If you are unable to be present at check out, we recommend that you arrange for a trusted friend, if possible, to assist with check out."

[Ian11]

Any response to this Lizzie?

[Renae4]

Please tell me that Juan has been removed from Airbnb.

[Coral-and-Mike0]

I had a guest take the bathmat b/c they did something that stained it and they "didn't know what to do", so they stole it.  You can contact the suspects and just say "I can't find the headphones from the office, did you happen to put them somewhere else?"  Less is more, just ask a gentle question and watch the responses roll in.

Not knowing for sure is difficult too, I would say let that one go, and take good inventory between guests.

[Michelle53]

Hi Laura

I just had a really weird experience with a guest.

The guest came in from a foreign country, very little English. We did not communicate much, except for them to let me know via Airbnb that they arrived, and let themselves in ok. I live in the house year-round, but the guest area has a separate entry.

I could not determine from them their check-out plans, although I did see the people from time to time.

Just by chance, I happened to be at home when they were leaving, with a local friend/family member.  The family member was wandering about my property with two full shopping bags.  When confronted, she said she was "looking for the trash", which, as every Chicago resident knows, is in the alley.

Anyway, I happily waved them goodbye, with that "spidey sense" about not all being quite right, and went into the space to assess.

They had emptied the refrigerator, taken every spare toilet roll, paper towel, soap, even a part-full roll of trash bags, and an almost full box of tea bags  !    I was a bit taken aback, but thought it wasn't overall worth worrying about.

Then I noticed a brand-new sheet set in original packaging was missing. That is definitely not ok. I emailed the guest, no response. Then I filed a claim through the Airbnb Resolution Center, and went on to change linens. At this point, one could still say "possibly packed by mistake".

On stripping one of the beds, I found the good blanket had been removed, replaced by a cheaper of my blankets, and the theft concealed by making up the bed. No "mistake" there !

So I added that item to the claim, and said that it was no mistake, but theft.

Next day, the guest called me, and it was really hard to understand what she was saying, but I was in communication with a neighbor who said they were outside my house. I came home and found them on my front porch, with the missing items in a backpack.   "So sorry, mistake".

Well, everything is in good order, and I closed the case. My feeling is that it was not the guest, in this case, but rather, the local family member who was stocking her apartment at my expense.

In any event, I added some language to my house rules about whoever books the reservation being responsible for missing or broken items outside of general supplies, which are for guest use.

Luckily, it is a self-contained area, and they did not have access to the whole house !    Access codes for the gate have been changed also.  But I make sure now only to stock enough supplies for each reservation plus a bit extra, and remove anything I don't wish to lose permanently !

It was also within the window of being able to edit the guest review,  so I put the whole story there, plus the outcome.  Other prospective hosts can make their own judgements if these guests want to book elsewhere.

It is a bit of a concern, though, knowing someone local could be casing the property.

[Carol0]

I have hosted multiple guests this week and I think one of them stole a few bottles of olive oil. Luckily it's not a big deal for me but it is creepy when guests start poking through the house and opening and closing pantry closets.

[Susan-and-Carl0]

Is this conversation still open?

I discovered an art theft several weeks after V, the suspected guest, left. 

 My CA art studio is adjacent to the Airbnb Suite. The guest has their own entrance off the driveway.  We live upstairs year-round. 

The reason why we suspect V of Long Island, is because he talked about stealing art from my art studio with me. He wondered about if anybody had stolen any art yet and if I was concerned about it. The day he was to check out, he was going to have a late check-out as his flight wasn't until the evening and he had no one to see in town. Yet he had already left by 8 a.m. and didn't leave us a review even though we had a very nice time visiting with him over the 2 weeks that he stayed with us.

When pulling inventory last week I noticed a set of enhanced Gicleés were missing. They are worth several thousand dollars to me as an art seller. I can't imagine what anyone outside of the art world would do with a set of unstretched canvases! 

I'm going to submit a loss to my insurance company, but my question here is what do I do in the Airbnb world? Submit a claim to Airbnb Trust and Safety Department? Write to V?

It's all circumstantial but all together.

My question to the Airbnb Community is what should I do? Do I submit a complaint and name my suspect to theAirbnb Trust and Safety Department?

Sad & Disappointed host, Susan

[Rachel477]

I'm a new host and this concern has been on my mind from the beginning.  I have taken a photo inventory of my home (which is the listing - with all my personal belongings).  I do remove the cash, meds and lock the office (whimpy push button lock).  I was hoping that verification and reviews would weed out those who would do such a thing. Handing over the keys to my house was difficult.  Just the thought of someone making a copy and returning to steal something would be horrible.  So, perhaps I am naive.  But tell me that the Airbnb claim/resolution process is so frought with obstacles that filing a claim is this difficult.  I had my last piece of mind hinging on the idea they would support hosts if a theft occurred.  In reading these posts, I would have probably not claimed something small - but if the guest violated basic rules like not smoking or took almost everything, why hasn't Airbnb provided swift and full resolution?  Why aren't guests permanently removed or at least frozen from making another reservation until the claim is resolved? It would be nice if Airbnb would weigh in these important topics and, at least, provide a link that explains their policy and why these instances failed to fully satisfy the hosts.