Advice on my next steps.

[Jack50]

I have a guest that was suppose to check out at noon today. They were nice and asked if I wanted them to do anything extra since they were my last guests for the season. (I told them no, just enjoy.) I do not know when they checked out this morning but my house has burned down (11:50 am)  and appears as a total loss. I do not know if they had anything to do with the fire and perhaps, when they left everything was fine. I do know that it has been very dry with no rain for many weeks. The fire seems to have started outside of the house but that is just speculation at this point. firefighters are still on the ground. I have cancled my remaining reservation that was made for the spring and explained to that guest my reason.

My question, what do I do concerning my recent guests, They may be innocent or they may have accidently caused the fire.

I ask for your wisdom,

Thanks,

Jack

[Cam-And-Shannon0]

I don't think there is much you can do until the firedept determines the cause. I would politely message the guest and ask what time they left and start a dialogue in case you need to show Airbnb proof. Just take pics and document everything just in case it is their fault. Contact Airbnb and let them know exactly what is going on. Don't wait. 

[Jack50]

Thank You all. Exactly how do you contact Airbnb. I can not find a link anywhere or a phone number. 'Help' is most unhelpful.

My guests were friendly and polite, easy to communicate with. My gut reaction are they would be very surprised about the fire and scared about any blow back.

For now I am silent while more information becomes available. I have not contacted anyone yet, I want time to consider your advice.

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

United States and Canada +1-415-800-5959 or +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free)

You can also contact them through Twitter and their Website, but for this kind of situation you need some real time discussion!

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

So sorry for your loss. These are my first thougts:

I would discuss this with the fire investigator.

I would discuss this with your insurance agent.

I would contact Airbnb support and discuss this unusual situation with them.

At some point you will need to talk with the guests and ask them about their departure. Do not do this communication by text or email. But you can start by sending them a message on the Airbnb platform asking them what time them left, how was their stay, and was everything okay.

Later, you may need to call them. Follow-up documenting anything you discussed on the Airbnb message platform. You need to know the exact time they left and if they saw or heard anything unusual before their departure. Ask them about how they left the house and if they locked it. If you do call them, don't start out by telling them about the fire or any related information, ask your questions first. Follow the lead of the fire investigator.

All the best to you.

Our prayers are with you.

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

Jack, an additional thought... were the guests smokers? Perhaps someone had a smoke and threw the butt into the dry brush and it ignited. I've heard of that happening before.... in brush, barkdust and planters too. That could smolder quite awhile before developing into a flame. All the best to you as you sort this out.

[Tiffany-and-Doug0]

O man, that's horrible Jack, so sorry. We can't offer anothing else at the moment other than empathy and compassion. Of course, there's the practical stuff of insurance and housing, etc., which we are sure you must be dealing with at the immediate moment.

Depending on the relationship you had with your recent guests, you may want to contact them and inquire about anything 'unusual' they may have noticed upon their departure... odors, neighbors, passers-by, etc. A written statement from them may be a good idea while memories are fresh.

HOWEVER, if you suspect any kind of negligence or foul play (by anyone), contacting an attorney right away should be a priority.

Good luck to you,

Doug & Tiffany

[David126]

I have seen posts like this before, AirBnB is a booking service, contact them, well why, what do you expect somebody in a call center to do?

As far as is know there was not even a guest present when this happened.

Likewise might be interesting to find out when the guest left, but not sure what is otherwise expected, them to say they had caused a fire and left asap?

No mention of Insurer, which would be the next call after the fire brigade, so I assume there is not any Insurance.

Assuming you are remote I would want to go look see what happened and talk to the Fire Dept. Sometime they can tell or at least indicate how it happened. I am also under extreme fire danger, it is a tinder box out there, no rain for a very long time, sould have snow on the ground. We have not had any incidents locally, well not yet.

[David126]

I see you have taken down your listing, good, cancelled a guest, well that is something to have asked ABB to do rather than have it against you.