Our guests forgot their keys inside the apartment and are asking for a partial refund

[Albert94]

Hi everyone,

A week ago we just had our first experience as a hosts, and a problem occurred:

Our guests booked our apartment for 2 nights in Helsinki while we were our of town. On Friday, they pick up the key from a friend to get into our apartment (they knew we wouldn't be in Helsinki). The first night went without a problem, but on Saturday afternoon, they texted us that they forgot the key inside the apartment and that they were locked out.

After speaking with them for a long while, we tried to help with all we could from the distance (we call the housing company from the building to try to open the door, we spoke with a locksmith, etc...), but because Finnish laws are really strict, they would only open the door to us (the tenants) presenting our ID's.

We said how sorry we were, gave them some information about hotels in town where to stay, and ask to wait for us until Monday evening to return and pick up their things. Because they live approximately 400km from Helsinki, and they came by car, they decided not to wait, go home, and come back on Tuesday to pick up their things.

One week after, they came to pick up their things, we received an email where they ask "because there was no copy, we had to spend extra money to get back for our things and the weekend was a bit spoiled" to get a one night refund. We believe that forgetting the keys was their mistake while knowing that we will be out of town, and the decision to leave and come back was as well theirs.

Did someone had the same situation? Should we do some kind of refund? Is our first hosting experience and we are not so sure how to proceed.

Thank you, and looking forward to hear from more experienced hosts.

Albert

[Marzena4]

Hello @Albert94. Don't let the guest take the advantage of the situation. It was THEIR fault. Full stop.

Make sure to properly word your review for them because theirs is not going to be nice anyway. 

As for a similar incident, some young guests, having once lost their key, stole another set from another girl staying at my place. What makes the situation funny, they called the police - it was the question of my rejection to return their deposit for the key which had clearly been lost (not airbnb guests). There were more coincidents to the story (someone I know actually happened to see them in a pub district looking for the key), but the police kindly supported me, not them. Be prepared, you never know what the future may bring.

[Albert94]

Dear @Marzena4,

thanks for your answer.

BR,

Albert

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Albert94

Those guests have a lot of nerve~!!!!! They are the ones who leave the key inside and lock themselves out...and they want the host to pay?!?!?! What next??? Guests fart and blame the host for a smelly home???

I would tell them straight out they are the ones that locked themselves out and they were inconvienced due to no one's fault but their own and like you said, it was their decision to leave and come back for their things so "NO, the host will not provide a refund because the host is not responsible for any of what happened."

[Fred13]

True, it is the guest's fault if they lock themselves out, BUT IF they do and you are not around - what will happen? You saw it.

So why not have a spare with someone or hidden or whatever. Or give them two keys, or have a lock that requires a key to lock. Remember their belongings are inside. Loosing keys WILL happen, and does all the time.

The refund is another matter, just my take on having a backup plan when it comes to keys.

[Linda108 · Accepted solution]

@Albert94  I am going to voice another perspective from the good hosts, @Jessica-and-Henry0, @Marit-Anne0, @Marzena4 that have responded.  It is a common practice for host to make their personal home available for a guest while the host is personally unavailable to handle emergencies.  Whether the issue comes from guest error or not, I am of the opinion that it is the host's responsibility to have a local back up while the host is not there. 

I understand that the host forum tends to see the experience from the host perspective, but I am a traveler guest as well as a host and I think it is good to see this from the guest perspective.  This guest experience was less than optimal because of a combination of the unit being able to be locked without the key and the unavailability of a local host.  Usually you cannot lock a front door without the key from the outside.  Not sure how this happened for your guest.  Can you lock yourself out?  If so, what would you do?  I guess you could contact the housing company and you would be let in.  Did you not know if you could not prove you were the legal tenant you also could not get in? 

My point is, hosting to the general public is a responsibility that requires a host to think ahead.  Believe me, guests will ultimately  "teach" you through their mistakes.  I had a guest lock themselves out of their bedroom and I didn't even know they could do that :P!  So I learned how to get the door open.  Now I know.  

Unlike the other hosts, I would offer a partial refund, not because you are a bad host or you are responsible for their mistake, but because you really wanted them to enjoy themselves and they didn't.  

Food for thought...

[Fred13]

^^^  I was adding the 'need key to lock' prevention; as you were posting. I am in total agreement. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong is the rule of thumb with guests.

[Momi0]

@Linda108  Everything you wrote from your perspective, was written by me as the very first response to Albert by a good host.  Yes, I am a good host too. (even though you excluded me from the group you mentioned....lol). 

Perhaps you didn't see it, but the positive side to this is, Albert learned a valuable lesson as a new hosts, as we all have in one form or another, as well as some great tips on how to avoid this happening again. I believe he actually has implemented one of my helpful ideas as mentioned by him in his following response back.  

Hopefully other hosts will see this and make arrangements for a back up plan regarding their similar key situations. 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Linda108

This is my response in the previous thread:

I think you should take part responsibility for this kind of issue.  When leaving the guests on their own while you go out of town, you would need some sort of back-up, someone with a spare key.  

I had some sort of the same issue on a home exchange in Paris - the locks were changed from traditional lock to fob while I was out sightseeing.  In the end I got hold of the owner who could speak to the consierge of the building, they followed me in and I had to show my ID and my contract. 

All well that ends well, but it was a quite nerve wracking experience.

[Ben205]

@Albert94

It's not your fault but I would say that, as the host, it is your responsibility. When I'm not around, I leave two sets of keys and give my friend clear instructions - the guests only get one set!

Even more important when you have to have ID to get entry to a locked building (not an issue here in the UK!).

Like @Linda108, I would refund. I want my guests to have a good time, and if there's something wrong that is in my control to put right, I'd want to make it up to them somehow.

Would be interesting to hear what you decide to do and how it works out.

[Kimberly54]

Hello @Albert94@Ben205@Fred13@Marit-Anne0@Linda108 (and anyone else who doesn't show up on the screen),

Me?  I would grant the partial refund.  It was an unfortunate situation, but this happens, and as a host, we really want the good experience, right?  @Albert94, you got a lot of great advice. 

Some years ago, I rented a lovely little flat in Paris.  It was a work-trip, so I had all of my equipment shipped over.  During the crazy unpacking, 9:30 pm, pulling boxes in, I heard the heavy front door close behind me as I was in the corridor.  I will never forget that sound.

The key was inside.  The door can only be opened with a key.  And this is NOT the kind of lock that can be picked or even re-keyed.

I did not know this.

OK, there is a super-long, very colorful story (not writing it here) that involved a LOT of people into the wee hours of the night/morning, the rental agent saying "I don't know what to tell you" and something just shy of $2,000 later (Oh my, this was an amazing lock/key--and yes, this kind of lock/key system are very real and very costly), I got back into the apartment.  I paid.  And I am NOT making this up.  Oh, and at the time, I did NOT yet speak even a word of French!)

I am smiling as I am writing this... I know your feeling of difficulty, but this seems like a pretty small issue.  Definitely time to think of a back-up/back-up plan, right? 

Best!

[Paul154]

As a host, I stress in the middle of the night thinking about locked out guests.

"What if the battery dies?"

"What if I gave them the wrong code?"

"What if they couldn't retrieve the entry code?"

"What if ...?"

When I go to bed at 10, I don't hear my phone or incoming messages.

I now have a backup system. A lock box with the key in it.

As for a refund, I would rely on Airbnb as the arbitrater. The guests are probably going to escalate this to Airbnb and Airbnb will probably refund them all their money, but maybe not.

[Fred13]

Personally, I would have refunded them, for at least one night, since that is all they asked for initially. Their position was more than fair, considering they had to drive 400km to retrieve their belongings.

[Momi0]

@Albert94

Yikes, what an awful situation for you to have to deal with while you were out of town.  And equally as awful for your guests.  As a seasoned host, of 2 years and 2 months, I can tell you that I do not give out keys for this very reason.  EVER!!!  The keys are kept in a secure place at our property where they must be kept at all time as we do have our guests stay in our home with us.  That being said, I want to offer up a couple of suggestions.

1.  THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT. 

2.  Make sure a neighbor you trust or friend always has a copy of your key in case this happens again.

3.  To avoid this happening again, perhaps install a key pad code to enter your unit and get rid of keys. 

4. Don't know if this is an option, but may I ask what would you have done had the guest left the stove on and a fire started and you were called by neighbors  OR CALLED THE GUESTS to try and get it to put it out? or turn off stove?  What is your PLAN B?

5.  I know what you are asking is for help on advice.  So I am going to try and see if I can help as I have helped many with strange situations all over the world including the host who had guests book a private room and then left with their house keys back to another country.  Never to see that key again and had to pay $100 to replace it because it wasn't in their house rules.  They had to pay their condo building for that key, not the guests.

6.  Perhaps change the type of lock on the door that would require the guests to use the key to lock the door.  OR leave a hook near the door with a colorful sign saying....DO NOT FORGET TO TAKE THE KEYS WITH YOU. 

7.  And this IS definitely the fault of the guest.  However, were your guests informed that if the door shuts, it would be automatically locked behind them if they walked out without the keys?   I only ask because I didnt' get all the details from this story to fully understand what and why this happened to them.  They couldn't lock the door with the key, so how does this work?

8.  This is entirely up to you if you want to refund.  But you do not have to. ( I am curious, did they even apologize for interrupting your time away?)  Shame on them if they didn't.  

9.  If the guest writes about this refund issue in their review, its an immediate violation of the ABB terms and policy for reviews and will be removed by ABB once you flag  the review.  That being said, the guests is suppose to only review the stay, NOT YOUR CHOICE TO REFUND OR NOT. make sense?

10.  If I have helped you in anyway, be sure to mark my answer helpful or give it Thumbs Up at the bottom of my post.  Hope to hear back from you on my questions so I can be more help you to you if possible and to keep all of us updated on the situation.  

Its unfortunate the guests had to come back, but sometimes in life, we all have to learn valuable tough lessons on how to be more responsible adults.  To me, this should be a lesson to them to pay more attention.   At one time or another, we have all had to learn tough lessons.....me included. 

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[Momi0]

@Albert94  I reviewed your listing and nowhere does it say anything about the guest needing to make sure they take the keys with them or they will be locked out.  That's very important.  Does it say this in your House Manual? We can't see your House Manual.  It should state that if it doesn't.  Make sure you make this abundantly clear that they must have the keys with them prior to shutting the door.  Put up the note on your door, that's the best idea for now. 

I did see if they lose the key they will be charged but that's not the same thing.

FYI - as a Superhost, I want to remind you NOT to tell guests to contact you OUTSIDE the realm of Airbnb messaging account like you are doing in your listing.   Big No No. This will not serve you well in your future bookings as its the policy of Airbnb to not accept any communication between guests and hosts if they are making agreements or requests using anything other then AIRBNB messages within their site. It even says this on your account as well as theirs. 

I want to encourage you to go to the Airbnb website. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the site, and click on the link marked RESPONSIBLE HOSTING.  This will help you to understand especially in situations such as this.  There is no reason whatsoever to be communicating anything away from Airbnb message center...make sense?  

I tell all of my guests, unless its an emergency, do not send me a text to my phone number nor should they call.  Before, and during and after their stay, all communication must stay on the Airbnb site.  IF a guests calls me, I will talk to them but I also tell them I will be documenting my entire conversation with them on their message account to avoid any misunderstandings of what was discussed.  Both parties agree and I continue the call.  This causes the biggest issues between guests and hosts when they decide to use What's App, phone to phone texting, Facetime, Skype, emails etc.  There are many horror stories on the CC about this, he said , she said, guests said, guests didnt' say...etc.......Stay on the Airbnb site 24/7.

Now if a guests ask me for a restaurant recommedation and they inadvertently text my phone while on vacation in Hawaii, I will reply back to them to their phone with that recommendation but I also copy and paste EXACTLY what I wrote onto their ABB account.  This is what I write.  "Dear Guests, I received a question directly to my phone number asking me for a restaurant recommendatio, and I have suggested the following places based on your budget and food cravings."

I am doing this to protect the guest and ME! So many problems happen because host and guests communicate away from ABB.  Nothing can be proven unless its been written through ABB.  So many hosts had to learn the hard way about this mistake.  And some learned by losing money.

Please think about removing that from your listing.   I am ONLY sharing this with you to help you.  ok?

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