Shared Space listings. Are locks on individual rooms required?

[Kelly149]

Anybody have info about what is the expectation for safety/privacy for shared space listings??

Friend just arrived to a listing that is supposed to be 3 private bedrooms within a shared home. None of the bedrooms have locks.

Is this a deal-breaker? What should CS do, if Guest calls and is uncomfortable with sleeping in a shared home without the ability to lock a bedroom door?

Thanks!

[Bes175]

I do not give guest a flat key nor can the room be locked from outside, however to place a simple slide locker behind any door takes less than 5 min & <£10. That is what I did.

1. As per bare minimum - guests are entitled to basic safety & some privacy in a shared accommodation.

2. If at all possible a compromise can be found - suggesting to the host to do it this way.

 

[Kelly149]

@Bes175 yes, a guest should definitely be able to feel like they can sleep knowing that others don't have access to them. But additionally, I'd say that in a house shared by strangers, each of those guests should be able to lock their individual room while they are away. Otherwise, you're very much relying on the honor system for leaving behind your personal belongings. This seems like an unnecessary risk for host and guest.

[Bes175]

That's a very valid point @Kelly1,  I was speaking what I do myself, then a compromise / fast solution in an on-going situation. However, in shared accommodations we are a bit beyond 'honour system with rgds to personal belongings' if we see it from (some) hosts point of view: (a) bringing strangers to their homes 'giving access to property/ kin/ livelihood etc. (b) Even if the Host isn't living there, still, the value of a Home, generally is higher than what we can carry.

And here - we left realm of 'common sense'  [1.] Privacy/door issue, I tell Guests, is in my House rules - it has to be disclosed. [2.] Guests, fully aware accommodation is shared -  in order to avoid surprises should ask: Is room closed both ways, locked inside and when I go out? If Host wont reply or is not candid - they shouldn't book.

[Kelly149]

@Bes175 yes, true, the house is worth more, but the house can't be picked up and carried away, but a guest's suitcase, computer, jewelry, etc could quite easily go walking.

There is indeed a level of trust; for example, even though I don't share space with my guests, they are in my home and I could open/enter at any time. But that's me, the host, with a history and known to them via communication etc. Making guests vulnerable to other guests, coming in and out, IB from one day to the next, does to me seem very very dicey.

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 

So, for that situation, I have lockable desks in the rooms. I tell guests that if they have any valuables they would like to lock away, they can put them in there. However, to my knowledge, hardly anyone does this. Most just reply, "Oh, no. I don't need to do that."

There have only been a couple of times where guests said they were uncomfortable about not having a lock on the bedroom door and that was when I was still hosting short term guests, so that makes sense. Both times it was couples though, and the issue was not being able to lock the door from the inside, so I am guessing it was more of a privacy than security issue.

[Kelly149]

@Huma0  That was one of my thoughts… can you really say you have a private room if you don’t have a way to prevent entry by others?

In other words, if you had a shared bathroom, with a door, but no lock then I think most people would expect that needs to be disclosed. 

@Helen3 says do your due diligence, but I’m not sure many people would be thinking: “I need to find out if the bedroom door locks”

but is that my American-ness coming out? 

[Helen3]

I think it is 🙂 If an amenity is essential to you as a guest be it door locks on shared space, shared use of kitchen facilities, a BBQ etc then you check the listing to see if it's included. @Kelly149 

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 

I did not think to mention it at first, and then I had the two sets of guests who commented on it. After that, I made sure to both include a mention on the listing and also remind guests when I checked them in.

I found it useful to say, "As I mentioned on the listing, the bedroom door doesn't lock, but if you want to lock away any valuables, you can lock them in the desk here... Also, here is a door stop in case you don't want the cats to come in." Most guests seem to react well to this.

Although one should not assume, and ask if unsure, I think most people WILL assume that the bedroom door locks and certainly expect shared bathrooms to have a lock, so if there isn't one, I believe we should make that clear.

I do, by the way, have bolts on the insides of all bathroom doors. I just haven't put them in the bedrooms as I am scared of someone being clueless and trapping themselves in there.

Yep, they could also trap themselves in the bathrooms, but it's far more likely that someone else would accidentally try to enter a shared space when someone is in there than try to access someone else's bedroom. I don't have a lock or bolt on my bedroom door and have never had a guest enter or try to when I was in there. 

Plus, no one needs someone else walking in while they are in the shower or on the toilet.

Incidentally, I did once walk in on a guest butt naked in the shower because he left the bathroom door wide open. I assumed someone had left the light on by mistake and in I went. He didn't care though and his girlfriend, who was also staying, seemed pretty relaxed about it too! Each to their own I guess...

[Kelly149]

And @Huma0  I really like your new profile photo

[Huma0]

Thanks @Kelly149 

I suddenly realised that it was maybe time to change it seeing as the previous photo was from 2016, when I joined the CC, so I might have aged a bit since then!

Also, the new photo shows me in my listing, rather than drinking champers on a roof top in Paris, so I thought it might be more appropriate 🙂

[Kelly149]

@Huma0 who else hosts multiple private room/shared house guests?? Does ABB have any rules about this?

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 

Well, I probably have a slightly unusual take on this and I am sure a lot of people are going to disagree with me, but here goes...

I have a shared home with different guests staying in private rooms. I do give all guests a key to the front door but I do not have any locks on the bedroom doors, including my own. That's not to say there aren't locks, but they are Victorian, who knows who last had the keys (probably lost generations ago) and according to the builders, can't just be switched out for modern locks because the Victorian ones are larger.

This is something I do mention on the listing though, because obviously it is important. I also remind guests when I do the check in tour, and show them the door stops I put in each room, in case that makes them feel a bit easier.

After hundreds of guests, I have to say that only a very tiny minority are bothered by this. I would say that is largely due to the fact that I try to create a safe and comfortable environment and also I vet my guests a bit rather than take anyone who requests. So, there is generally not an atmosphere of suspicion at all. I am not saying it could never happen, but since I started hosting the rooms in 2016, I have NEVER had a guest steal something from me or from other guests, nor harass/intrude on anyone else.

Yes, I could put a bolt on the inside of the doors, so that guests could at least lock them from inside. This wouldn't be too complicated to do. The reason that I haven't done this is because, although I have found that guests do not steal/intrude on others' space, what they do frequently is to break stuff, including door handles and the like, and also often get confused by the most simple of locks. I have a fear of someone accidentally shutting themselves in a room and having to break down a door. And what happens if there is a fire or other emergency?

I know that might sound paranoid, but I have bolts on some of the external doors and it's amazing how the majority of guests cannot comprehend how a simple door bolt works. I am not joking!

[Kelly149]

@Huma0  so, you can't change the door knobs, but you do provide a manual method of keeping the door closed while they're inside?

I do feel that your space is different than the one my friend is dealing with bc 1) you are there on-site with guests and 2) often your guests are there for longer.

of course any listing can be just about whatever it wants to be, but I do think this is something that would need to be disclosed so that guests could make an educated choice

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 

Yes, I agree it's important to disclose these things as I suspect that most people would assume the doors lock. Also, whilst most of my guests have been fine about it, there have been one or two who weren't.

You are right that because I host long term stays in my own home, the guests usually feel quite relaxed and safe here. The idea is to make them feel like they are at home. There aren't strangers constantly coming and going and I do tell guests in advance when someone new is checking in and some detail about them.

Some guests are so relaxed they leave their doors open, even at night. They are usually hoping the cats will come in for a cuddle!