I leave my lock box empty on blocked off nights for safety concerns

[Roberta150]

Thought I would post how I handled an unpleasant situation that just happened in case it helps other hosts handle something similar. A self-described student booked my place with three others for two nights, June 1-2. Today is May 30th, a night I blocked off to take a break and recover from a cold and May 31st is booked by another three guests. The June 1-2 guests just arrived at my doorstep at 12 noon (check-in time is 4 pm) and opened the key lock box attempting to enter my home - luckily when I block off nights I remove the keys for my safety.

I was in my bedroom due to being sick and looked out the window into the backyard to see one of the guys walking around my home looking for and trying doors and windows to enter. Scary. So I got dressed, opened another window by the front door and spoke to them (NOT opening the door.) They told me they booked for tonight - I checked my listing on my computer and suddenly it's "Oh, we made a mistake and booked the wrong days!" while trying to get me to open the door.

I told them to cancel their June 1-2 booking since it is wrong and wished them luck finding a place to stay, and told them I am booked for tonight and tomorrow. They did cancel. In my opinion, they did not make a mistake but booked to get the key access information and planned on entering my home and not paying. I am so thankful that I removed the keys from the lockbox for the blocked days.

And a few days ago I had a booking from someone in California saying they were moving across country and was there space for a moving trailer in my driveway? They then canceled without a word one hour later after having gained access to the key lock box code. I sent them an email via Airbnb telling them "Oh, I am sorry you had to cancel. I have blocked off that night and there will not be keys in the lock box. I hope you have a great trip." It was my way of letting them know they would not be able to get into my home after not paying. It may not have been a case of booking to get the key code information then canceling with plans on getting in and cleaning out all my furniture and valuables into their trailer, but I do think it was the case. 

My point is to be sure never to let anyone in who A) arrives before check-in (if they are even the correct guests who actually booked), and B) "Booked the wrong days " or whatever excuse but are NOT booked for the night. I have decided from now on to also only put the keys in the lock box just before 4 pm to prevent early entry or unbooked people entering. Luckily my training as a former police officer for LAPD came in handy in dealing with these people. I will also soon be changing my profile photo to one with a man standing next to me since some may mistakingly think I as a woman alone would be an easy target or push-over. I will also be changing the code to the key lock box in a few days just to be safe, after the few guests already emailed with it have checked out, and will update it on the listing. It is a good idea if you have a similar self-entry system to change the code periodically.

Overall, hosting is wonderful and I love the freedom it is giving me to pursue my dreams while more than meeting my expenses. Most guests are great, and I believe most people are honest and have good intentions. Otherwise, Airbnb and other sites like it would never work. Good luck to all hosts!

[Anthony608]

I've had two experiences where guests arrived a full day early and they were clearing trying to get through the door so they could entrench themselves in the room for an extra day free of charge.  In both cases, I was able to stop them from entering and since then have done whatever I can to either not issue a door keycode, or lock and outer storm door, to prevent someone from arriving early, especially late at night.

[Russell49]

Good job of handling the situation and certainly more civilized than what I would have done.

If a guest did this to me, I would cancel their booking altogether.