Vegas: breaking and entering

Zacharias0
Level 10
Las Vegas, NV

Vegas: breaking and entering

Arriving home today later than usual to find a bedroom light on that wasnt on when i left the house this morning. Thought nothing of it since i tend to forget to turn bedroom lights off. Outter door lock was still engage and sliding door lock was still engaged. Walk into my house to find all cabinets open and fridge open as well. Random doors and drawers in kitchen open. Nothing is of value in the house and i make sure of that. All tvs are mounted and no pawn shop will take them due to age. Not sure what the perp was looking for considering i live in the ghettos of Vegas

 

 

I ended up calling the police before going further into my house. They took close to an hour to arrive. 

 

I have no doubt the person who broke in was a previous airbnb guest.  They knew the door lock code and since my sliding door is the only key you really need they more than likely made a copy of it at some point. 

 

Be careful fellow airbnb hosts. You may say you don't allow locals but these guests can put anything on their profile. Unless you have a rfid system on all doors and give guests key cards that expire theres a good chance the guest can breal in to your house again. 

 

Most of my past guests have been nice and ive met them all. Who knows how long ago this guest was staying here.  I need a new key locking system. As of yesterday.  

8 Replies 8

That's terrible!

I am sorry this happened to your place.

 

What do you think could be done to try to find who did this?

 

This is why it is good if the keyless door locks have the thing where a guest can only use their virtual key or code for a certain time span.

But sometimes that is hard to set up, so hosts don't use it!

The lock makers need to make it easy for hosts so than can keep themselves safe.

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

And CCTV

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@Zacharias0 Bummer. Sorry about that, did police take prints or do anything helpful?

 

Suggestions:

1: get actual ID from all guests

2: use a code lock. set code as close to checkin as possible. disable code at checkout

3: don't pass out a physical key that may be copied

4: get a door camera (ring or arlo or both. These are fairly easy DIY switch outs)

 

Local or not, a nefarious guest could return or send someone else back for an unsavory visit at any point later.

Best wishes for tightening up your security protocols.

Thanks for the response.  The cops came to a different conclusion and figured the perps came in through my second floor balcony. Its pretty high so i never thought a crook would use it to gain entry. Well they managed to pry open the sliding door and ransacked the house. Ive since put down door blockers on all sliding doors nd rekeyed the home. Some items arent able to be installed like cctv as im moving out in 2 months and i dont own the home. In my new home ill definitely secure it a lot better than my current place. 

 

Everything happens for a reason i suppose. 

@Zacharias0 better to hear that it is regular criminals vs ABB criminals, I guess...

 

Just to mention that a ring doorbell can easily swap out with a regular doorbell (and then you could just undo that when you leave)

Yes, RING is a good idea, but i honestly have no place for a doorbell.  The exterior of my house is set up uniquely but cctv cameras would work. 

Hey @Zacharias0 off topic but your rules about early checkin look like they’ve jumbled an A.M./PM designation. Maybe just make it say noon to avoid any confusion?

Look at your past guest profile review history. Notice any past guests that constantly book in las vegas? Or any suspicious looking profiles. PM that guest former hosts to ask if they had a break in too. IDK. But good luck! Use August Smart lock. Don't give guest keys. Also, a former guest would know if there were any valuables, which is why I don't understand why they would want to break in your place if they know they wouldn't find anything valuable. Get a security camera. Check out Blink XT or Ring Doorbell.