Host Entered Property during the night while we slept

[Kate2307]

We recently returned from a stay on an island in Pittwater where we had the most unsettling situation where the host took it upon himself to enter the property during the night while we slept to collect a pair of shoes.

He had asked me to leave them outside but the message came after we had gone to bed (it was Christmas night) and in the moring they were gone.

I felt completely shocked and really violated. We had our 3 teenage daughters with us and can't help thinking what if they had come across him in the dark in the hallway. Or even if I had woken up and seen him I would have been terrified!

He has admitted to doing it and his partner (who also came by for personal belongings during our 3 day stay!) said sorry but explained how important it was that he got his boots!!  Um, excuse me I don't care! If he had been more organised I would have happily have left them OUTSIDE to collect earlier.

I haven't left a review yet but feel this needs to be reported but not sure where or how I do this ..

Thanks,

Kate

[Jenny]

Hi @Kate2307 

Sorry to hear about this.

There's an article on protecting your privacy here which I thought you might find useful.  To summarise, it says that a host should only access a listing in case of emergency, or with prior consent.

Hopefully one of our members will be along soon, and they might have more advice, or their own experience to share.

Jenny

[Frances3408]

@Kate2307.

I am so sorry to hear this happened to you and your family. If it was me I would have contacted the Trust and Safety Team at Airbnb straight away. That host violated not only Airbnb rules imo but also NSW renting laws as there was clearly no emergency and he did not have your permission to enter, especially late at night. I suspect that this is not the first time this has happened so you also need to review him to warn future guests (assuming Airbnb doesnt ban him first). I would also seek a part refund for the lack of privacy and "quiet enjoyment". Good luck with the future travel plans.

@JennyI think this case is important enough for you to report to the Safety team directly yourself imo. Its peak season here so does this host have more bookings lined up? Otherwise it just allows bad host behaviour to continue and gives good hosts a bad rap.

[Julia3055]

That is so creepy. Do report him and do leave a review. 

[Huma0]

@Kate2307 

I imagine because the host sent you a message and asked you to put the boots outside that he thought it was okay to come in and get them.

Of course, it is not okay. He should have waited for your response, even if that meant some inconvenience to him. I host guests in my own home, but those listings are advertised as 'private rooms' and the name's on the tin. I would never think of entering one of the rooms without permission from the guest unless it really was an emergency, which luckily hasn't happened yet.

For sure, you should mention it in the review and rate the host accordingly. I don't know how it works from the guest side as I have never reported a host, but I assume it's the same process. Go to the message thread with the host and next to each message, you should see a little flag. Click on one of these flags (ideally one on a message related to this incident) and you should hopefully see an option to report. If it is not the same process, then I guess you would need to contact Airbnb CS to report him.

However, while I absolutely do not agree with what the host did, nor his attitude that his boots were more important than respecting your privacy, do please be aware that reporting a host can potentially result in a very bad situation for them, e.g. suspension of all their listings, cancellation of future bookings (which can be a nightmare for incoming guests) etc. etc. If you feel this warrants that, go ahead and report, but perhaps outlining the issue clearly in your review will be enough to make the host realise his behaviour was not okay and prevent him from doing it again. Having not met nor spoken to this person, the rest of us are not in a position to know.

[Jenny]

Hi @Kate2307 

I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing - did you manage to get this sorted out with Airbnb or directly with the Host?

I hope that the information and advice that you got here was helpful.

Be great to know what the resolution to this was.

Jenny