Guests pilfering supply closet

Corinne629
Level 2
Wentzville, MO

Guests pilfering supply closet

Our Airbnb property is eight hours away from where we live. We let guests use the whole house except for a supply room and the garage. Both spaces are locked, and our listing indicates that they are our personal spaces. We have a cleaning crew who comes in and cleans between guests and they frequently leave the supply closet unlocked. The guests routinely take our supplies like toilet paper, paper towels, extra towels, extra sheets (and we leave plenty of extras out for them), the extra cleaning supplies, etc. Then the cleaning crew comes in and says we’re out of TP, they have to wash every linen in the house, things are missing. It’s super annoying. I have a camera in there to monitor the boiler (which is disclosed, even though the room is locked), so I can see them taking things. Would you address it? I feel like a spy when the camera sends me clips of people taking the extra supplies. 

7 Replies 7
Elena87
Level 10
СПБ, Russia

@Corinne629 

 

Get a new cleaning crew who won't forget to the lock the cupboard door.

 

Or first, ask the current crew to send you a photo of the door as being locked as part of the duties every time at handover.

 

Mike-And-Jane0
Top Contributor
England, United Kingdom

@Corinne629 I can't believe you haven't dealt with this via the cleaning crew rather than the guests.

We lost the key to our store cupboard recently and the culprit was soundly berated by my wife. The key was later found in a jar in the rental apartment and luckily no one had entered the cupboard so I was eventually let off the hook.

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Corinne629 

Replace the lock with a system that allways a key or code is needed to open it, as soon the door is closed.

 

Lenore22
Level 10
California, United States

Yeah- you can confront the guests, but the bigger issue here is the lock and the cleaners. I would address those first with the suggestions offered so far.

 

It's a nuisance, but it's it worth risking the bad Graces with guests to chase them over... Some toilet paper?!? (I know it's covid-19, but...) Or some dirty towels? You & I know it's not about a few dollars to replace or wash these: it's about nuisance and time and the cost of paying cleaners to do it or not having what you need. But they won't see that; they will feel like you're whining and it's not their problem. 

 

Fix the lock. Train the cleaners to take a photo of the locked cupboard.

Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

We had a cleaner that would constantly forget the code to our shed and would leave it unlocked. There are a lot of stray and feral animals in our area and a cat had kittens in the shed. It was a few weeks before we could move them and so we had to leave the shed open with a big sign and tape across it not to venture into the shed. Supplies got wet, and you guessed it, guests were curious about the kittens and went in. The mama cat got fed up and moved them but it did foil our plans to have her fixed and catch and socialize the babies. 

 

The moral of this story is that we no longer use that cleaner. I would suggest you search for a new one as well. 

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

@Corinne629 My first reaction was to look at the realities of your place. $499 a night usually doesn't draw the type of people who would help themselves to such things, even if unlocked. Ok, the cleaning lady needs to get on board. You have a $250 cleaning deposit, so that should cover some of this pilfering anyway. Something doesn't fit...

 

You allow ~14~ people ($35 per person) to stay in your place, hard to depend on the individual behavior of all the members of such a group. And you live 8 hours away. If the only thing you have to be annoyed with thus far is the leaving of the cleaning-supply closet open, you been very lucky. 

Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

@Corinne629 Is there a sign on the closet that makes it clear that it's a private area? If it's open and accessible and there's no indication it's off limits, guests may just feel it's fair game. They make some nice tin and cast iron signs that simply say Private. 

 

I would consider changing your cleaning team, as others have suggested, as well as back charging the current ones for the extra costs incurred or get them to replenish the stock.