Being nosy - Holiday home owners - do people steal stuff?

[Polkadotpjs]

On the back of the other thread about what people want to see in holiday homes I wondered if half of it is practical or workable. I was thinking about y work where we have a dishwasher that can't be used because if dishwasher tablets are left for it, people steal them ! Ditto spare loo rolls in the cubicles or nice hand soap! I'm not a journalist so don't think that. Just wondered if there's a balance between nice stuff and risking it going walkabout.
We went away last weekend and was pleased to see dishwasher tablets and laundry liquid but then disappointed there was no foil ! I'd have taken some and left it if there if I'd thought

@DeliciouslyDecadent it isnt a cost saving reason. it was more of a hygiene reason. manky tatty packets of cling wrap which have been peeled by multiple people etc.

maybe I'll add them in and see how they look. always happy to improve my offering.

I've never come across a manky packet of cling film. If people use it properly they don't need to take it out of the box- just pull the cut edge along the cutting edge.

I understand your hygiene concerns but if it's that, how much is a roll of cling film at 'caterers' prices? You could replace at least fortnightly.

In theory yes. In practice, it's a lot harder.

With back to back changeovers it is often a mad rush to get things ready for the incoming guests especially if the outgoing guests have left a mess. There is rarely time to check that all the things that should be there still are. And if you do notice something missing it's hard to be 100% sure that it was actually present at the previous changeover. You can't accuse someone of theft unless you are completely certain.

Inventories are a good idea in theory but in practice my cleaners don't have time to check off the number of spare mugs, the pottery cannister, fire irons etc etc. They do have specific instructions to check that certain things like the Sonos speaker is still there but a £5 ornament from Asda could well go missing for a while before anyone notices it's gone.

Obviously all holiday cottage have insurance, including public liability. Claiming for a mug wouldn't work as the excess is usually £200.

Indeed, towels and sheets, pillow cases and protectors. It never ends!

There’s some scummy people about isn’t there. If they can afford to stay in a holiday home, they can bloody well buy their own loo roll, glasses, cushions etc, why are they stealing it? Honestly, I don’t understand that mindset.

I live next door to the house I let out as an AirBnB. The house was completely trashed by one set of guests who decided to hold a massive party which was absolutely heartbreaking as I’d spent so much time, money and work trying to make the place as nice as possible. Other than that and the odd multipack of big roll/ washing tablets the only interesting one was the time my ds came in from the garden to say that the people staying were digging up some flowers. I went out to find them digging up a whole agapanthus! I asked them what they were doing and they said the owner had told them they were allowed to take it. They’d only dealt with the holiday let company and didn’t know I actually owned the house so I very quickly set them straight!

I run an Airbnb. It's high end and lovely (in my opinion) and a fair price. I don't fill it with all the tat i don't want in my own home and it's very well equipped. I don't think that anything has ever been stolen, but then i make it clear that the lovely and expensive Egpetian towels will be charged at £25 (the cost) if they have to be replaced.
We've had fake tan stains - and i request payment for them. I'm amazed that people would use a lovely towel for something like that and just leave it (and hope it's not noticed).

We've had red nail polish all over a duvet.
We've got notches on one of the bed posts!!!

We leave out 4 loo rolls (2 in each bathroom) and people only stay for a weekend generally, so that's enough and i don't count out dishwasher tabs - life is too short.

On the whole, people are respectful.

We used to run holiday cottages before the days of Airbnb and social media really.

we made sure that it was a home from home. Rarely had anything taken or damaged. Folks normally mentioned if they’d dropped a glass etc.

If anything folks used to leave bits of food (packets of ham, bags of salad, fresh coffee beans etc), nice treats etc that they hadn’t eaten or used in the hopes that someone else could use them.

we did have a reasonable deposit system that was only returned when we checked the property. Can only think of it not being returned once due to a cigarette burn on a carpet (property’s were all strictly non smoking inside).

I think it depends on the audience you have, your communication and engagement with them and doing some homework on who’s renting and why.

My lovely dualit kettle, 24 roll of toilet roll, a hoover, a mop/bucket, brand new bales of bath sheets all went within 6 months! And cutlery, it’s always fecking cutlery that disappears. I started off kitting my place with good quality items but it’s ikea only these days. Guests will steal anything that isn’t glued down!

AirBnB doesn't work like that at all - hosts can't see guest reviews and vice versa until you've left your own review - then the other side's one is 'released'.

I'd have thought the book thing was fine but it's normally clear. I wouldn't take someone's Penguin Classics but an airport thriller or chick lit you're swapping for similar would be ok.

One time when we were staying at a National Trust cottage, my 4 year old stole all the keys from the wardrobes, drawers and doors. I didn't realise until about 3 weeks after we got home when I found them in her Shopkins box. I did post them all back with an apologetic message!

Stayed in a lodge recently. Saw a family across the way from us packing up on the Friday. And they loaded a 24 inch tv into their car. Dh commented on how strange to bring yourself a tv on holiday when there's one already here 😂.

Cleaner comes and yep they'd stolen the provided tv.

Surely the holiday company have all their details lol. Some people are bonkers

One set of guests demanded an electric juicer. We had a very good manual one. I bought a new electric juicer thinking it would be useful for future guests. It was not to be, as they took it with them when they left, along with two front door keys (so I had four hours to get the lock changed), a bathrobe, a double quilt, two blow up garden pouffes.

I do understand hotels using your creditcard data for letting you pay for stolen items! Oh no, not talking about those cute tiny bottles! Those you can have! But I know a hotel owner who had to buy more of these items : a bathroom mirror, bare lamps and lamps with shades, an elegant bathroom chair, hairdryers, pillows, bathrobes and towels, the cover they put over the end of the bed, a television, a small fridge, umbrellas, remote controls, telephone sets, bottle openers, glasses, cups, kettles, Nespresso coffee makers, rugs...... Name it and it will be stolen! Some people have no shame.

I actually hate people who nick things from hotels/rentals!!!

I rented my house out once fully furnished as a short term fixed rental and had loads stolen - including a lovely brand new expensive Brabantia sectioned recycling bin.

My ex used to regularly steal things from hotel rooms - towels, pillows, dressing gowns etc. If it wasn’t bolted down he would take it. Embarrassing!!!!

I regularly use my friends cottage for short breaks and through the years it’s actually become quite lovely to see the house become a slight amalgamation of things we’ve both added to it - glasses, lamps, soft furnishing, plates etc. And when we do go, anything we take such as foil, loo rolls, toiletries, we leave there and if we’ve forgotten bits when we arrive we will use theirs. Forever leaving leaflets of places we’ve been as well as takeaway menus!!!

Never taken anything from a holiday let or a hotel apart from hotel toiletries, those little bottles only though.
I had an bad tummy once and stained the bathrobe in a hotel, I messaged the owner to tell her about it and to take the cost out of the deposit, she was lovely and thanked me for letting her know. She told me to take it home with me.
Stayed at Centre Parks a few times and every time we’ve been they leave a little pack in the kitchen with half a dozen dishwasher tabs, a couple of dish cloths and a scourer.
Nothing surprises me now. I live in a seaside town popular with camper van visitors, they park up on the road facing the sea, for free, it’s a public road with no parking restrictions, ther are so many they often block the road, some set up shower tents on the wide pavement, BBQ’s in the little enclosed picnic/play area smoking everyone out, there are no chemical toilet emptying facilities so some are not averse to emptying their on board toilets down the embankments in the dead of night.

I know people who are regulars at one property and whonhave mentioned keaving kitchen stuff behind if they've felt the need to buy something thst was not provided. They've even done small repairs if something has gone wrong rather than bother the owners- owners who live next door so not as if they are have to trek miles to mend a cupboard door!

I am just loving reading this thread! Slightly gobsmacked at what goes on!! We stay in lots of very nice holiday cottages and lodges and if we break something like a glass or dish we replace it and leave a note. If something stops working (a kettle on once occasion just died) we let the owner know right away so it can be dealt with for the next guests. Generally we take some dishwash tabs etc from home just in case there aren’t enough supplied. I can’t imagine breaking something and not letting the owner know….and as for pinching stuff?? What is with that??

We’ve just come back from some time in France and at one of the gites that we stayed at DH was in the shower room on the first morning and I heard him shout “oh my god”. Scurry in and find him clutching half of the marble surround that had come off the front of the sink unit when he leaned on it while brushing his teeth. On closer inspection it turned out that it had already been broken and stuck back together with white silicone. We let the owner know when he arrived to clean the pool and he told us that he had noticed the bodged repair when he had cleaned the gite prior to our arrival. The folks before us had broken it….how beggars belief….a touch of the Fatal Attractions perhaps….and just stuck it back on and not told him when they left. He’d assumed that we would likely use the upstairs shower room and not warned us!

Do you take it out of their deposit?

If you email the owner and offer to pay postage you might well get them back?

I find regulars a bit of a mixed blessing at times.

After a number of visits they start to see the place as "their" holiday home and will start to re-arrange the furniture as they think it looks better that way (it never does). They then complain the next visit that the furniture or kitchen cupboards have been put back to how I want them to be!

God, I'd never dream of stealing anything from somewhere I stayed. Often stuff gets left, like foil, washing up sponges, etc.
One time the window was open, and the wind caught the curtain, which knocked over an ornament. I was so worried about it, that I messaged the host pretty much immediately, with photos. They were like 'Ah, no worries - it happens. Thanks for telling us.' We didn't get charged. They said loads of folk break things and don't tell them, so they're not prepared at handover.
I think it's about being brought up as being honest.....

Crockery and the odd ornament.

I forgot towels. Most common thing to go missing (from our old guesthouse) after bits of crockery.