Guest stole keys

[Yulissa1]

How do I protect myself when a guest takes my keys back to another part of the united states? He says he would mail them but it's been two months and he does not respond to my messages or texts. 

[Danielle476]

Change your locks?  To be fair, any one of your guests can easily copy your key without your knowledge. If someone takes your keys, charge them for the cost of a replacement. You should have done that the moment you realized they were missing, as it’s too late now. It happened to me once, so I always keep a spare key and spare FOB in a lockbox nearby, just in case. Good luck!

[Lisa723]

@Yulissa1 @Danielle476 you can request payment in the resolution center up to 60 days after checkout, and involve Airbnb if the guest doesn't respond.

However, given the time passed and the guest's unresponsiveness, I wouldn't be holding my breath.

[Danielle476]

You can only request compensation for damaged or missing items 14 days after the guest has checked out, or before the next guest has checked in - whatever comes first.  I recently had a guest steal my key and key FOB that grants access to my parking space, the gym, etc.  I had 45 minutes to file the claim before the next guest checked in...on new year's eve.  It was stressful but in the end, AirBNB reimbursed me after I escalated matters to them.  

[Lisa723]

@Danielle476 that's not correct. Those rules apply to claiming against a security deposit or host guarantee, but you can still request money from the guest for up to sixty days after check-out, for any reason.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/767/what-is-the-resolution-center

[Danielle476]

Apologies - yes, they can request it from the guest but we all know how that tends to go.  I meant they wouldn't have any recourse beyond that time frame if the guest chose not to respond, which they usually don't.