Airbnb host refusing to send AirPods without me paying?

[moryn]

Recently got back from a short break in Paris.

I left my AirPods on the bed, the host refuses to send them back unless I pay £50 plus postage.

AIBU to think this is ridiculous?

They aren’t really responsible for posting anything back to you.

What would you expect them to do instead?

Yabu. Tbh you lucky they offering to do this. The £50 will be time, petrol, staff wages and packaging.

I’d expect them to post them
back for the cost of the postage.

I can understand the postage but not the extra £50 on top

I imagine OP would ask they charge the postage costs involved. No chance it’s £50!

Well how much of their time would be involved in doing this? Would they have to spend time travelling to the AirBnB and then time to the shop for postage supplies then time to the post office, parking maybe, plus home again. Is the post office even open outside their working hours. Honestly the whole thing is a pain in the arse. It's always the people wanting the favour that play down how much work is involved.

So would I, but we seem to be a minority!!

I’d expect to pay postage and maybe a small fee for the inconvenience but £50 seems a bit mean.

Charge a nominal amount and postage cost?

Were you not good guests, and this is a little pay back?
£50 does seem steep but it is reasonable to pay her for her time involved in finding then, packaging them up, getting them to the post office etc

As an airbnb host we post forgotten items for the cost of postage because I have an amazing co host who is happy to do this and the PO is a few steps from the property. However, it is their personal time they are giving up and I would be ok of she wanted to charge her usual hourly rate to cover time and postage materials. Paris is an expensive place so hosts and cleaners are probably.on a high hourly rate.

That’s insane. A decent host should suck up the cost of packaging and just put it in an envelope and charge you for recorded postage.

They're taking the piss.

Imagine how many customers leave their belongings behind by accident? Are they just supposed to spend all their time posting belongings all over the world for free? They're trying to run a business.
I presume they're charging for their time.

I left something at a hotel recently and they charged me £25 plus postage to send it back. Seemed fair TBH - it was my fault and took them time and hassle.

Well how much of their time would be involved in doing this? Would they have to spend time travelling to the AirBnB and then time to the shop for postage supplies then time to the post office, parking maybe, plus home again.

This. I manage some Airbnb apartments in the summer. It's a pain when guests leave stuff behind. It happens a lot. I always message guests immediately when I find their things, and post them back if required, because it is the decent thing to do. However it is a total ball ache sometimes, especially if it's a passport or something that needs to be sent registered. Plus, international postage to the UK is insanely expensive since brexit.

Be grateful you’re getting them back at all.
It’s a complete ball ache to be sending you back stuff YOU left behind. He’s not your personal butler.
Pay the money or buy new air pods and claim for them on your travel insurance.

Why though? It’s an additional service they haven’t agreed to, they’re under no obligation to make the charge nominal.

Imagine every guest does this...how many extra hours will they spend packaging and posting every lost item...

Depends how long it’s going to take them to arrange collection, or get to a post office, etc.

If someone left something at my house and wanted me to post it back I’d have to find it, package it up, go to the nearest post office and home again. It’d be at least 40 mins out of my working day.

My hourly rate when I’m working is £70 an hour.

As someone who used to have a holiday let, just about every person who stayed left something behind, if we had to pay postage on every single thing we would have been hugely out of pocket. I’d say double check next time that you’ve not left anything behind, it’s your responsibility not theirs.

That’s poor. I run an Airbnb and I’ve returned several items and not charged the guest. It’s reasonable to ask you to pay the postage but the other charge is obscene. Complain to Airbnb. If you get no luck leave a crappy review.

Because I think it’s the decent thing to do.

That’s why.

A guest left something behind in my AirB&B and as I don’t live locally it was a job I had to have my managing agent sort out, which they passed their costs on for. Once tracked and insured postage was added on to their fee, it was £35. Had I lived down the road and been able to pop in and just post it myself, I’d have just asked for the postage and insurance costs - but I don’t.