Item missing from hosts' house after guests left: what to do?

[Deborah0]

This is a host dilemma I have heard about from time to time in the host community.  

There was a host, let's call her Anne, who lives in a 2 bedroom house in Florida.   Anne travels a lot, and rents out her home to guests when she is on business trips.  SInce the home is her primary residence, she has all her belongings there, and she doesn't let guests use her own bedroom but she lets them use the guest bedroom and a pull out sofa bed in the living room.  She keeps all her valuables locked in her own bedroom, but has art pieces and knick knacks throughout the house, including a small porcelain doll that is a family heirloom, which  she keeps on the bookshelf in the living room.  

Anne had a group of 4 guests staying at her home for 9 days in September.  She met them when they arrived, and they seemed to her like congenial, pleasant tourists -- two young couples in their early 30's coming to Florida for a vacation.  She felt that they were friendly, and they were diligent about removing their shoes when they entered her home.  She showed them around and showed them where to find things, explained the wifi and the use of the TV.  Then she said goodbye, and told them she would be back in 9 days and if they had any questions about check out,, her flight would arrive a couple hours before they were due to depart, so they could certainly reach her by text message.  

Anne didn't hear anything from her guests, during their stay, and when she got back home an hour after checkout time, the guests had departed.  They had not left the house  as clean as she would have liked, which disappointed her, but there was no damage either -- which Anne sometimes worried about, as she had read stories of guests causing damage to furniture or floors.    The trash had not been taken out and dirty dishes had been left in the sink, and a wet towel on the floor in the bathroom, but nothing more than that.   

THen, walking through the living room to take out the trash, Anne glanced over at the bookshelf, and suddenly her stomach dropped.  She looked at the spot where her grandmother's porcelain doll had been kept on the shelf, and it was gone!  Anne suddenly panicked.  Quickly,she looked back and forth and across the bookshelf, to see if it had been misplaced and moved.  She saw it nowhere.  Anne then set the trash on the floor and anxiously looked all over the living room. No doll to be found.  Then she looked in the dining room, kitchen, and room by room, all through the house.  She could not find her dolll anywhere.  She even looked in the bag of trash she was about to carry out -- as well as in the trash that had already been put in the trash can.   The doll was nowhere to be found!

Anne was beside herself, as this little porcelain doll had been a cherished gift from her grandmother and meant so much to her.  

What would be your advice to Anne about what to do?  

[Sel0]

Under the heading "an ounce of prevention" I would never keep anything out that sentimentally valuable to me as one never knows if one is not around to monitor their guests, what they will or won't do. Second, I wouldn't personally leave guests I had barely met alone in my primary residence w/o a friend or neighbor checking on the home daily and checking out the guests as well to make sure the process goes smoothly. Third, I would contact Airbnb and file a police report for the stolen property. Highly doubtful the object would be returned though, which is sad due to the fact that this was a preventable theft. Not to say it was necessarily all on the host, but she does bear part of the responsibility for leaving something out that was so important to her. 

I would recommend this host give thought to how they wish to proceed and stress that they need to look over their residence with a fine toothed comb before leaving strangers alone there for any period of time. I also would have told the guests, even if it weren't quite the truth, that a friend/neighbor would be checking in on the property. They would never know different and it would possibly keep them on their toes! Detailed house rules, diligence in screening are two standards for me when I book a guest. I did have a guest here in my home for a week but he had been with us almost a month by then and I knew he could be trusted. I also knew if something went missing it would be upsetting but there isn't much I could do about it and I was taking my chances leaving him here alone. 

[Deborah0]

Excellent advice, @Sel0  !!  

[Mala0]

yes mail them and ask for details.. inform them that sadly due to its dissapearance you will make police report.

Dont beat yourself up.. not all of us can be at home 24/7  i am single use my main and only home have to work long hour and have trusted totally!..

have a lovely home but not expensive things laying about either i suppose.  if they want to take my 70 inch tv off the wal and huge settees and white good.. good luck to them!..lol

i am insured, they will never use airbnb as pics are up and wll be reported!..

hope you get your doll back but sadly police wont follow this up especially if foreign residence.. yes put everything valuable away or have to be at home all the time and not give them keys ... sad..

Mx

[Deb0]

Before panicking or making assumptions contact the guests and ask them if they have any info on the doll's location. Maybe it was inadvertently moved to a random spot somewhere else in the house? Once the guest replies the host can make a more informed decision about how to proceed. 

[Judalon0]

This is a sad story. First, with anything that can not be replaced it should be locked away. I'm sure this host did not see it having value to anyone but herself, yet there is a huge doll collecting world and I would bet one of those guests is involved in it.

I would contact the guest by phone and ask them if they moved the doll. If they say no, then I'd inform them that I will be making a police report and since they were the only people in the house and there is no evidence of a break-in that most likely the police will be in touch with them. I'd explain the sentimental value and let them know that if the doll is promptly returned I would drop all charges. The police would be my next call.

Next I would contact Airbnb, but from the feedback I have gotten from other hosts Airbnb hasn't been much help when it comes to minor damages and theft especially if there is more than one guest... did you see them? How do you know it was them?

I would definitely make a statement in my review of them that the doll went missing on their stay.

I don't have this issue to deal with as much because my Carriage House is only used for Airbnb, and yes, I've had guests steal or break appliances, but I chalk it up to doing business and after the Cuisanart blends was stolen I now buy the cheapest appliances. Now my Guesthouse is my home office and where I store off-season clothes and I do my best to remove sensitive documents or lock cabinet drawers, but I allow them use of the closet which is a large walk-in and I have had a few things go missing; I removed my furs and keep them in the summer house which I do not rent out, but its closet is too small for everything. I am thinking of just not giving closet access, but then where will they hang clothes?

Unfortunately, I think missing items goes with the territory, so best to be as pro-active as possible and give them the least temptation as possible.

[Alexina0]

Prevention first and foremost. I will echo what other hosts have said about not leaving irreplaceable, sentimental objects out when hosting. I have learned this the hard way, when items that perhaps had a small monetary value but a huge personal meaning to me, went mysteriously missing. What saddened and amazed me was that those were guests I really trusted, and never would have suspected of having sticky fingers: the ones who tell you how great their stay was, and hug and kiss you as they make their protracted departure with promises to return in the future.

As a hands-on host who offers shared stays, it's easier for me to keep an eye on things day-to-day. However, I do travel for several months of the year, during which I have a retired family member (my ex-husband, actually, so he knows what goes where, and what might be missing) stay in my bedroom. The story I offer to guests is that I've arranged to have him there to answer all their travel-related questions, and to keep the common areas clean. I make a joke that I should never have divorced a man who's still willing to come over and clean toilets and stove tops! But the real reason is to make sure that everything that was in my home before I left, is still there to greet me when I return. And if something is not, I would have no hesitation in contacting Airbnb by phone to talk it over with them before contacting the guest.

[Helga0]

We rented the whole apartments for years, travelling between two or three apartments, I'm now hosting as an onsite host. Luckily, nobody ever took a thing with sentimental value. We started without locking anything away, as we had no cupboards at the time, only a huge storage space under a huge work table which served as high double bed if guests needed beds in different rooms. We stuffed everything in there which could hurt a  guest, like artist's chemicals, sharp knifes (cooking and sculpture), everything which could be damaged (art work in progress or material way to expensive to serve a toddler for painting). Whatever else fit in like an antique teddy bear or expensive alcohols and foods). Screwed the boards shut and hoped the best for our clothes, even leather jackets,  just put into tissue clothes protections. Over the years we got cupboards, doors with locks and a good routine to put everything away for the season within a few hours, but you always forget a thing or two. Going away with my parrot and leaving a tiny apartment guest proof and cleaned takes me a day and a half. I leave a life work of art work back, undefended, and still foget things.

So I would tell Anne that I'm sorry for her, that she should not reproach herself to be too trusting or what she should have done, hidden everything etc. I'd mail the guest first, that I don't find the doll, did they place it somewhere else? Did they pack it by error? It's really important for me, and if you find it, please call me immediately. After leaving them some time to think about it, I'd call and beg them to search for it, make clear that it has so much sentimental value for me etc.

If they deny, I'd make a claim through airbnb for refund of the value and I'd find a nice high auction of a similiar object. After that choc, I'd try again to bring them to "find" it in their suitcase.

And if nothing helps, I'd let it go for the souvenir value and pursue the refund.

I'd make a police report only if there really is a high commercial value and I get the impression that it was a deliberate theft because of that.

[Vicky0]

I agree with what's been said. I'm also on site so it's easier although I rented my spare room out to a girl who checked in and out while I was away and had not met. I would definetely message the guest. I appreciate this is not necessarily a real situation but some people find dolls creepy and it's possible they moved it somewhere out of sight!

[John6335]

At least I know I'm not alone.  When guests take home towels, I just let it go.  Maybe they blood stained them?  Anyways, some guests took my son's gaming device, and because of back-to-back bookings, we have no idea who took it.

My simple idea, which honestly, I haven't done as much as I should, is to do a quick video recording of the entire space on my phone just after setting up the place for guests.

That way I have proof of what is in the space and evidence of which guest took it.

I have yet to leave a bad review or accuse a guest.

It is impractical for me to lock up everything of value - for example, a guest needs a coffee maker, maybe a tv, etc., and even these can go missing.

[Patricia4316]

I am sad for this Host!  I would do as others have suggested & inquire with the guests before making a police report.  

My primary residence is the unit rented.  I have nothing of value in the home.  I store my personal items on the 3rd floor which is locked.  I use half of my closet & have cleared the other half for guests.  If anything were to go missing in an unlocked area of my home, I would not experience sadness over it, unless it  were the painting on my living room wall.  It is a treasure to me, but not worth value to anyone else.  I have minimal concerns over offering my own home as a rental unit.  I visit my husband out of state very often & do not want to leave my home unattended.  I want guests to enjoy the home, neighborhood & city when I am away.  They tell me that they do & it makes me very happy!  I screen them well & do no accept all bookings.  My sense of safety, protection & peace over offering my home is important to me.