Plus a third when I did
I ran a bed and breakfast business for a number of years. During that time I saw a fair amount of suspicious guest behaviours. Here are two that made me almost call the police, plus a third when I did.
The over-friendly guests
A pleasant, wealthy looking couple driving the latest Mercedes Benz checked in for a night’s stay. They were so chatty I barely got a word in.
The next morning they asked if they could stay one more night. I agreed. One night eventually turned into seven. They were good guests except for one thing. They kept bragging about how close they were to each other. “We’ve been together for two years and have never been apart longer than a few minutes.”
All kinds of thoughts ran through my mind, including suspecting that the woman was being abused.
On the check-out day they had a request. They were supposed to be moving to their new house but it wasn’t ready. They would pay in cash, in full, there and then if I let them stay for six months.
I said no. Criminals who are trying to avoid being tracked usually pay in cash.
On the check-out day the couple took out at least a dozen bags of rubbish from their room. It could have been takeaway boxes. I never checked but was so relieved when they left.
The nervous trio
Three middle-aged checked in for one night. They said they were in town for a meeting raising awareness about the plight of war veterans.
They asked if they could book an additional night as they’d been invited to a second meeting the following day. I said fine. They never got to stay.
The day of the second meeting they returned earlier than expected. I noticed they had parked their car a few doors down and not in the driveway. They also seemed agitated.
My experience had taught me that if a guest seemed nervous, or evasive, they were probably trying to hide something. so I asked if everything was okay.
One of them said their colleague had just received news that he was about to become a first time dad. He needed to rush to be by his wife’s side. They threw their belongings into bags and dashed out like the devil himself was chasing them.
A few days later I saw the three men’s faces plastered on the front page of a newspaper. They were fraudsters targeting war veterans and had been arrested.
The night revellers
One weekend a friend asked if she could host her birthday party at my place. We’d had a long day of fun and were worn out when we crashed into bed later that night.
Fortunately we weren’t expecting any guests so could sleep easy. Except that we didn’t. At around 1am someone rang the doorbell followed by banging plus shouting — demanding to be let in — which woke everyone up.
Looking through the glass door I could see that the couple outside were unsteady on their feet. They were completely drunk.
They claimed they had a booking. I checked and saw it was for the following day. When they hurled abuses and refused to leave I called the police who took them off my hands.
My tips for staying safe as a bed and breakfast business owner
- Trust your gut. If you feel uncomfortable with a guest, don’t hesitate to ask them to leave.
- Install security cameras in your property.
- Keep your doors and windows locked at all times.
- Keep a record of all guest check-ins and check-outs.
- Get to know your guests. Ask them for their name, address, and phone number, and make a copy of their driver’s license or other identification.
- If a guest has not made a booking through your authorized channel don’t let them into your home.
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