how to handle guests stealing?

[Hl0]

Had anyone had the unfortunate situation of finding out about a guest stealing and needing to confront them on the spot? Earlier this afternoon, I just realized that one of the guests staying with me was carrying my handbag while she was on the way out, and having realized the handbag, I *curiously asked her whether she bought the same handbag, and then realizes that it was my own. ( I have some scratches and a handwritten tag on the bag which was unique to the bag.) At first the guest claims that she purchased the bag at XXX market, that she has the receipt, blah blah blah, and with her bluffing me back saying that it is very serious to accuse her of stealing. However, I went through my stuff and on confirming that she took the handbag ( luckily I had took detailed pictures of the handbag before) and confirmed that she took my handbag. 

At first I was still very polite and was even scared when my guest bluffed me, yet later on the guest realized the seriousness of this situation and we both agreed that she will leave my place. ( I decided not to report this to the police given that she is still a young girl and don't want this to ruin her future.)

I later called airbnb to report this incident and to ask for their advice, which the only 'advice' that I got from them was to leave a negative feedback for the guest and then they will look into it. ( and meanwhile the guest is also open to leave feedback for me as well).

I have to say this is a really frustrating situation with dishonest guests, and moreover airbnb's response rendering me an immense feeling of helplessness. ( no support. not advice/ guidance whatsoever). I defeinitely feel very vulnerable as a host given that airbnb has always prompts us to put instant book on while they are not able to provide much help and support under times of need, when we the hosts are exposing our homes to build up their brand name. 

Wondering if anyone has ever had this situation, and how would you deal with it? What should I do in case the guest leaves bad reviews?

[Suzanne302]

@Hl0  That is a tough situation. From hearing other hosts, if you accuse the guest of stealing, ABB may take down the review. For your review, you might want to stick to:

"This guest is better suited for a hotel, I would not welcome her back into my home, and I would not recommend her to other hosts."

[Linda108]

@Hl0  I am not sure what Air BNB advice would have helped you in this case.  Kudos to you for sticking to your guns about the handbag.  You flag the guest profile with specific information and provide a thumbs down review that is more generic as you have posted.

Air BNB is really not equipped to take your word as the truth but if your flag matches other flags or starts a trail of flags, Air BNB can shut down the profile.

I have instant book and have the positive review requirement that has worked well for me.  I do accept newbies that cannot instant book, but only after a few message exchanges that give me a sense of security about the guest.  Did you have any "gut" reaction to this guest that was not positive?  So many hosts report that the gut reaction is often the most reliable.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Hl0

I think you should keep it short and direct - "I would not welcome this guest back anywhere near my home or belongings. Based on my experience, I would not recommend her to other hosts." 1 stars all around and flag/report her.

And to be honest, who cares what you agreed to do.......I would have called the police to report her - not sure if the police would take it seriously since there was no actual theft but still. Letting her leave like that means she will just try to do the same thing to the next host she stays with.

[Lynette57]

I agree with @Jessica-and-Henry0  She should have been reported to police, You have just given her a way out to repeat the process with some one else. I would also be honest with my review, and put that she is better suited to hotel, Almost all hosts understand what that review means.

[Fred13]

"Guest is better suited to a hotel, prefferably one where everything of value is nailed down!" Or is that too subjective? LoL

Seriously, there was a failed attempt to steal something, not much to be done except flag her and leave a cunning 'review' that will survive Airbnb's 'standards' for the benefit of other hosts.

[Letti0]

@Hl0  I had guests that stole a bunch of items and trashed others. They ignored my request to return the items and my request for payment. AirBnB must have convinced them I was dead serious about filing a police report for the theft of the items as they did pay for the items in question $339. I only got $50 of the money requested for cleanup and late check out though. 

Hopefully you watched her carefully when she was packing and leaving. I would thumbs down 1* and Guest is better suited to a hotel environment. The flag her profile and report it to AirBnB.

[David126]

I would call the Police, I do seem to recollect seeing that in London now has to be over GBP50 for them to be interested.

ABB is a booking service.

[Katrina206]

They may only be a "booking service" but hosts should be supported. They make a s--t ton of money off of our hard work. 

[Sam397]

Best way to not have stuff stolen from you is not having anything you dont want to lose available to steal. There is no way to tell if someone is a thief by communicating with them by emails, and if a thief see's something they want, they are going to steal it.  It sucks that you cant have nice things in your house,  or not worry about people going through your things but it is what it is and there isnt nothing you can do about it.

If your sharing a house with guest, lock your valuable in a closet or something, if your hosting the entire home decorate it with stuff that wont break the bank if its stolen. Whether they are being nosy or looking for something to steal people are going to go through your stuff. When I first started hosting I had some personal things in some of the drawers, I figured if the guest  opened the drawer and seen stuff was in there they would close the drawer and move onto the next one.. But I constantly had guest comment about how I kept personal belongings in the drawers. Some even went into detail saying how there were love letters postmarked from the 50's.  These were grandparents, school teachers, outstanding citizens. They didnt steal anything they were just being nosy.  Also you need to remember that there isnt much deterant for people not to steal from a host in fact they are probably preferred . First off you have to prove they did it, and unless its worth a lot of money the police wont put any effort into getting things back even if you could prove it. Then with it being such a hassle getting the police and BnB involved it wont be worth the time and energy so it wont even get reported . Not much for them to fear is there.

[Fred13]

Btw @Hl0 I meant to ask before,  your icon -  Is that a picture of this guest taking off off with your bag by any chance? 😄

[Hl0]

Haha @Fred13 no that is myself with my own bag.

Thank you so much all for your sharing and insights - totally understand that as hosts, we shouldn't keep too much of our belongings around. To be honest, I've had guests who took towels, shower gel, etc, and even a pair of shoes which I kept in the common area - all those I normally let it go given that I blame myself for not putting it safely away. However, this handbag is being kept deep in my private closet all the way in my private room, which obviously the guest had not to also invade my privacy in my personal room to get to. 

One thing that got me disappointed with airbnb in this incident is the mismatch in their guarantee for hosts when initially encouraging them to open up their homes, and the support they provide in reality. Unlike hotels, we as hosts do not have the same insurance and resources as hotels -  a lot of us are willing to open our homes based on airbnb's million dollar guarantee, and the thought that they could at least provide some further support and solid advice for us to handle these kinds of situations. Our much cheaper and friendlier environment is what got airbnb as a multi-million dollar business, and their business nature of targeting normal homes ad hosts essentially requires them to provide more support for their hosts as compared to booking.com or expedia who targets commercial hotel businesses. (Although I know a lot of hosts are essentially part of a chain business nowadays and is completely different from airbnb's initial philosophy of offering authentic local experiences in homes, but at least the support from airbnb and the 'million dollar guarantee' was advertised as a motivation ( just saw an ad on time out yesterday encouraging people to host with the exact same guarantee -at least they can provide bit more solid advice and help in this situation other than to wait and write a review?!)

This experience of being left in the cold by airbnb really got me quite upset about the vulnerability of my home in providing airbnb services.

Regardless, hopefully the guest learned her lesson and will not continue her ways ( think about her consequences if this happened in a shop?) Really hope airbnb can perhaps in the future provide more support for us under these situations, or at least provide hosts a hotline with better professional local support other than a call center at the other side of the world ( in my case, manilla)??

[Fred13]

  Touche for learning so much from just one happening, oftentimes the smallest events speak volumes; i.e. the guest finding your purse after combing your place so thoroughly, who would have thought.

   Fortunate of you also to come away with a most realistic view of the Airbnb's infamous 'Host Guarantee', which in many ways is a 'set up'. 

[Tess67]

Same thing happened to us yesterday. A very large sum of money was stolen from my bedroom while we were out.. Police were called who after questioning the guests told us they are certain it was them yet the money was gone. Yes I should have locked my things up better. Airbnb told me because it’s cash and not items they won’t cover it. Will deactivate my listing today.

[Robin30]

Perhaps you may want to consider investing in locks for the doors and cupboards that you do not want your guests to have access to.  You were fortunate enough to have caught her, but personal items can be taken out in luggage etc, there is nothing more frustrating than looking for an item and realizing it was most likely taken & quite impossible to track when you have multiple guests. 

Lock it up...out of sight, out of mind.

Keeps everyone honest.