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?

Did your AirPods not tell you they had brt left behind? Mine are needy buggers and go off if they are left behind sending notifications. I left them at work to go to the shop and they pinged me..

That 'popping' is really minimising the effort needed and the time it actually takes.

Also, they have to get in touch with them and give their bank details anyway - unless they're expected to pay for the postage as well as doing everything else.

It takes fuck all time to stick something in the post. Charging above postage is a cunt move.

Of course I make mistakes in life, but checking you've got all your stuff when you vacate a holiday cottage is as routine as putting your shoes on before you leave, surely?

Unless you've rented the whole of Chatsworth House, it's literally 2 minutes just before you leave. Presumably you double check your own home before leaving to go on holiday, to make sure you haven't forgotten anything important - even though anything you leave is all there safely waiting for you in your own home for when you return?

Seems a lot and a little cheeky but equally if everyone left someone the owners would be spending time money and effort on sending

guessing £50 is cheaper then a flight back there

It's a bit steep but they're under no obligation to post your belongings on at all.

£50 seems a steep admin fee. I’d leave negative feedback.

I once left some jewellery at a holiday home in France. It was of no great value but I really wanted it back as it was sentimental. Could have kicked myself. It is quite a big favour to ask someone to send something and I’d expect to pay for more than the postage cost, especially if they have to travel some distance to retrieve the items if it’s not their residence and then more time to post them. £50 plus postage is steep but it depends how much of their time it takes and what it costs them in terms of petrol etc.

Have you seen the opening hours of a French post office… 😂😂

I think an English speaker, communicating presumably in English, expecting good service remotely from a Parisian is being hopelessly optimistic at the best of times!

I left my laptop in an air bnb In ltaly (also in Sydney airport but not in th same decade), and was on the train south when we realised. Host happy to send but asked that I sort courier to do it so that it was secure and not their liability. Cost me well more than £50!

I can’t say I blame them. France is expensive, Paris more so. They probably have other things to do and returning your lost property must be a right pain in the neck.

You do realise that 'sticking it in the post' is only the very last stage of the process? How often do you send restricted items abroad?

Yes. We always had one of the adults responsible for doing the last minute double-checking before leaving, though.

Oh really? I thought you just chuck them in a postbox and they would magically find their way back.

Colour me embarrased.

I'm glad we agree that it isn't a very quick process to 'stick something in the post', then.

Even if it were only a case of writing an address on a ready-packaged item and putting it in a postbox, why would you expect a random person who is in the business of providing holiday accommodation to cheerfully spend their time posting it to you? They aren't your friend; and you are probably just one of many people who leave their possessions in their property and thus happily add it to their to-do list.

Changing a lightbulb is a simple process - much quicker than doing what it takes to prepare and post a restricted item to an address in another country - but I still wouldn't expect some random businessperson to come out to my house and do it for me for no more than the cost of the bulb that I expected them to stop off on their way and buy. Even if you got an actual electrician in to do it, they would still have a standard call-out charge - mainly because their time is valuable and, if they're doing anything for you, however menial a task, they can't be earing money elsewhere.

Not every guest does do it though, do they.

Ask them if it's worth a bad review?

You could go and pick them up…. It’s just a quick Eurostar trip.

It takes a good hour. Longer if you’re having to travel by public transport or fuck about finding a parking space and a post office that’s open for longer than eight minutes on a Thursday morning. So on top of taking that time out of your day, paying for parking/bus fare, packaging etc, it’s not a cunt move. It’s a Why should I be inconvenienced and out of pocket because you didn’t check you had all your stuff with you move.

You sound mean spirited.

We run an Airbnb. I’ve sent things back to people in the UK and not charged them. If it was overseas and expensive I’d probs may just charge you the postage. It probably only happens about once a year so it’s not a big issue for us. Bearing in mind we sleep 10 so lots of people pass through every year.

I think they are BU.

Were you good guests?

To the OP, while this may be an isolated incident, it is possible the business is frustrated with the frequency of returns.

Me too - I reckon once a year and we probably about 500 people staying a year.

It takes me an hour to get to the post office and back on public transport. It's out of my way. I don't blame them for charging you. It might be a faff for them, too.