Freak accident occurred outside my house - what would you do ?

[Michelle53]

Hi all,

As if 2020 couldn't get any crazier, we had a freak accident occur on our block, last night, while I have guests staying. 

A car, driving too fast, or course, sideswiped two other cars, the driver over-corrected, and her car ended up passenger-door-up, driver-door on the road. Perpendicular.   The driver managed to get out ok, but I didn't see how it happened, I was just awakened by the thud, and the car alarms. 

I looked out of my window to see police cars and a fire truck, and a street full of concerned neighbors.  This occurred around 10.15pm last night, and the street was finally cleared around midnight, by a towtruck. 

I'm not sure if my guests were here or not, but I did check in with them to see if they were ok.  Haven't heard back yet. Their car, thank heavens, wasn't hit, but two other cars on the street were damaged. 

What could I do, as a host, if anything, about this, except to make sure they are ok, and reassure them this is definitely not the norm ??

I feel like 2020 has dealt out some pretty crazy stuff, but this episode is too much for my nerves. Really. 

[Michelle53]

I posted this under the following link, too, since it's relevant to the "safety" question. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/the-very-first-question-asked-of-the-guest-in-the-review...

[Fred13]

Considering your guests are not involved and the 'issue' has been cleared up, why say anything at all? We are simple hosts, our guests are not our dependents, besides we are not psychologists. You are right - 2020 - what a year.

   P.S. We just had a hurricane Cat 1 (Nana) got through our corner of the world - a week's work to add to this crazy year.

[Michelle53]

@Fred13     I considered saying nothing, since they may have been out and totally missed it. But then I thought better to get ahead of it, in case they were here, since I was worried about them.

I had a situation, one time, where a guest messaged me at 2am to say someone was knocking on her window - my space has street-level windows.  I called 911 for her. They didn't find anyone, but it reassured her that some action was being taken. 

Four weeks ago, we had massive storms roll through, and power was out for 2 days, with a lot of trees down. I had a guest coming that weekend, but that worked out, since power was restored by that time. 

2020. What a year. 

[Fred13]

True, it couldn't hurt.

And 2020 is not done with us yet. To many of us it will be like 'Life Before/After 2020'.

BC will have a whole new meaning now. LoL

[Pat271]

It’s nice of you to be concerned about how your guests reacted to this.  This was obviously out of your control.  I had a similar incident - a BLM protest right at my balcony, complete with rioting, tear gas, etc.  My guest texted me as it was going on. I expressed my dismay and asked her to get inside and stay safe.  Got a 5-star review from her.  For the most part, people are reasonable and aware of things in/out of a host’s control.

I’m sure this was a vacation my guest (and your guest) will never forget!

[Michelle53]

@Pat3   Oh my!   Yeah, one more story to tell when they get home !   Sadly, the issue of the review did cross my mind, as all this was going on. We are so conditioned !

[Gregory87]

We had a similar unexpected incident, @Michelle53 , while a guest was staying in the listing a few weeks ago.  Shortly after midnight, a man was ringing the doorbell.  We have a video doorbell and upon viewing the feed, saw that he was hiding to one side of the entrance (our house is a side-by-side duplex and there is a single open-air entrance which widens to the separate doors of each residence).  At first we thought he might be a visitor or delivery person for our guest.  When we spoke to him through the speaker, he gave a wrong address.  After explaining he was in the wrong location, he didn't leave.  He kept sticking his head out to see if any vehicles or persons were coming down the street and if so, he'd duck back into our entryway on one side or the other.  Occasionally, he'd ring the bell (or knock) and ask for help.  This continued for a bit.  We finally called the police and notified the man, but it didn't faze him.  Of course, it was a Saturday night, so they were busy.

Since we didn't know if he was also ringing the guest's bell, we sent a message to her appraising her of the situation..,.basically saying to ignore the person and let us know if she had any concerns.  Otherwise, we were dealing with the matter.

After about 45 min., the police arrived; the man went out to them and they chatted.  The police explained that he could either go on his way because he was causing a disturbance or they could give him a ride someplace.  He opted to walk away.

We sent a follow up message to the guest when the matter was resolved and apologized for the inconvenience.  In the morning, the guest replied that she appreciated the information, but she was half-asleep and pretty much wasn't cognizant of the matter at the time.  She dismissed the situation and went about her stay with no further problems.  We received a 5 star rating!

So, much like @Pat271 's guest, she took it in stride and all went well.  It sounds like you've maintained contact with your guest, so take the lead from them.  Most likely, they won't be concerned, but appreciate your efforts to safeguard them during the visit.

[Michelle53]

@Gregory87     Good to hear your guest took it in stride. 

Although my neighborhood is generally pretty quiet, I do try to let people know this is still a big city, and to take care, and be aware of their surroundings.

I am really thankful,though, that nothing happened to their car !    I would have felt pretty awful about that. 

I visited Paris in 2015, and stayed at a small hotel. During the night, the glass lobby door got broken - whether by an accident, or a person trying to break in, I've no idea. But the idea that it impacted my personal safety didn't really cross my mind.   I don't know if other folks might feel different. 

[Linda108]

@Michelle53   I agree that things happen outside your control, but expressing your concern about the guest's well-being is probably a good idea.  That you handled a situation, even if the guest was not affected, is usually appreciated and should contribute to a positive review.  Basically, I can't see a downside to your communicating with the guest via the message system.  Also, if I put my cynical hat on, your messaging the guest with a summary of the incident and your actions even if the guest never responds, could be seen by CS in case the guest decided to complain. 

[Michelle53]

@Linda108    That ended up being my conclusion.  It's sad that we have to keep a cynical hat on, in case of a complaint later, or be concerned that something totally out of our control might impact a review -  aka "The Guest Experience". 

I had construction going on next door, earlier in the year. One Saturday, they had roofers starting at 7am. Yelling, shouting, dropping heavy materials off from trucks.   I had to do some yelling over the fence, myself, to get them to keep it down.

I apologised to that guest, who, it turns out, got up really early that morning anyway, and so wasn't disturbed at all.  But you never know.  

[Robin4]

@Michelle53  @Pat271 @Gregory87 

I wouldn't classify this as a freak accident.....it was probably always going to happen to me sooner or later,  and @Linda108  and @Fred13  will remember this story from past years. But I include it to show that guests can be good sports and do respect that some happenings are just a part of that rich tapestry of life.

I have a couple of resident possums on the property, and try as I might, I can't get rid of them. I have a possum trap and as fast as I catch one and relocate it, another one will move in and claim the territory!

They are nocturnal, seem inoffensive enough, and by and large keep to themselves but, they have a really annoying habit!

They are not happy to just live in a knot hole in a tree, they require accommodation and will take over any human habitable space they can possibly find.

One guest said they had an unsettling experience. They were awoken by scratching noises in the middle of the night! Turning on a bedside lamp they were confronted with a possum at the fruit bowl on the kitchenette bench getting stuck into the various fruits I supply. How the bloody hell it ever got in there I will never know but, wife guest not wishing to put a foot on the floor remained firmly wrapped up in the island of the bed while husband guest opened a door and with a towel herded it out into the garden and it waddled its way up to the rear of the block again! 

I felt like comedy hotelier Basil Fawlty when they explained what had happened, but they were pretty good about it and still gave me a 5 star review.

I was pleased they didn't ping me for inaccurate description saying they did not expect their rental to be a 'shared space'!

Cheers......Rob

[Michelle53]

@Robin4  We get 'possums too, but they are very shy, and aren't known to come inside.  I've never had a guest comment that they saw one.

We get the occasional raccoon and skunk, too. But, again, no guest interactions as far as I know. 

[Fred13]

Talking about being good sports @Robin4. Three years ago I brought a little iguana to the island, barely 8 inches long, he was so cute. Well, now he is almost 3ft long and looks like a mini T-Rex, but all the guests get a big kick out of him, if they see him since thankfully he is very shy. 

[Sarah977]

@Michelle53  I think a traffic accident is a lot different than someone lurking outside the house or knocking on the door or there being something scratching on the window (my daughter got totally freaked out thinking someone was at the window at a new place she'd moved to- turned out it was just a branch scraping at it in the wind).

So if this had happened by my place, I would have just said to the guests "Were you home when that car lost control?  Jeez, was that ever freaky. People usually drive quite slowly here. I'm just glad the driver didn't get killed and your car didn't get hit."