Chicago Airbnb Guest Says Host Robbed Them — Then the Landlord Told Them to File a Police Report

A Chicago Airbnb guest said a short-term rental stay turned into a serious legal problem after they claimed the host robbed them, leaving them unsure whether to pursue the host, the landlord, Airbnb, or police first.

The guest shared the situation in a post on r/legaladvice, explaining that they believed the person hosting the Airbnb had taken their belongings. That immediately moved the issue beyond a normal rental complaint. This was not about a bad mattress, misleading photos, noisy neighbors, or a refund dispute. The guest was describing missing property and suspected theft by the person connected to the rental.

That made the situation especially unsettling. Guests using Airbnb already trust a host with a lot. They are sleeping in a place owned or controlled by someone else. They rely on the listing, the platform, the locks, the check-in process, and the assumption that the host will respect the boundaries of the stay. If the host is the person suspected of taking property, the usual trust breaks completely.

According to the post, the guest also contacted the landlord connected to the property. The landlord reportedly told them to file a police report. That response may have been practical, but it also made the guest’s next steps feel more complicated. If the host was renting the property and using it for Airbnb, was the landlord responsible? Did the landlord know about the Airbnb? Could the landlord help recover property? Or was this now entirely a police and Airbnb issue?

The guest was left sorting through multiple layers: the person they believed stole from them, the platform that handled the booking, the landlord who owned the property, and law enforcement.

That is where short-term rental problems can become messy fast. The person staying there may not know who legally controls the property. The host may be the owner, a tenant, a co-host, a property manager, or someone else entirely. If something goes wrong, the guest may have to figure out who had keys, who had access, who was authorized to rent the unit, and who can be held accountable.

The guest’s concern was not only about getting money back. They needed to know how to document the theft and who to involve. If they only complained to Airbnb, they might get a refund but not recover property. If they only called police, they might still have to deal with Airbnb’s claims process. If they focused on the landlord, the landlord might say the crime was between the guest and host.

The post did not describe a clean resolution where belongings were returned or charges were filed. It captured the moment after a guest realized the issue was bigger than a bad stay. They believed the host had taken property, and now they needed a record strong enough to move the situation beyond platform support.

Commenters generally told the guest that if belongings were stolen, the first step should be a police report. Airbnb support and landlord complaints might matter later, but the missing property itself needed to be documented as a possible theft.

Several people said the guest should make a detailed list of what was missing. That meant item descriptions, values, receipts, photos, serial numbers, and any proof that the items were with them during the stay. A vague claim that “things were stolen” would be harder to pursue than a clear inventory.

Others said all Airbnb communication needed to be preserved. That included booking confirmation, listing screenshots, host messages, check-in instructions, refund requests, support tickets, and anything the host said after the missing property was discovered. If the host made excuses or gave conflicting answers, those messages could matter.

Commenters also suggested keeping the landlord communication in writing. If the landlord said to file a police report, that was useful context, but it did not necessarily mean the landlord accepted responsibility. Written messages would help show what each party was told and when.

Some commenters said the guest should contact Airbnb through official support channels and provide the police report number. A platform complaint without a police report might be treated like a customer-service issue. A complaint paired with a report could be taken more seriously.

There was also discussion about whether the landlord might care if the rental was not authorized. If the host was a tenant running an Airbnb without permission, the landlord may have a separate issue with the host. But commenters warned that the guest should not rely on the landlord to recover stolen property. That was still a police matter.

The post did not end with the host admitting anything or Airbnb resolving the claim. It ended with the guest trying to figure out how to pursue a theft allegation inside the confusing structure of a short-term rental.

That is what made the situation so frustrating. In a normal hotel, there is a front desk, management chain, and corporate structure. In an Airbnb, the guest may be dealing with a host, a property owner, a platform, and police all at once.

Commenters did not tell the guest to handle it with angry messages or wait for the landlord to fix it. They told them to file a police report, document the missing property, preserve all messages, and involve Airbnb with the report number attached.

Because when an Airbnb guest believes the host stole from them, the issue is no longer only a bad rental experience. It is a theft allegation that needs a police record before the platform dispute can go anywhere meaningful.