Found Cash in an Airbnb Washer? Here's What to Do
A traveler found $100 in a communal Airbnb washer. The right move isn't as obvious as you'd think.
You're doing laundry at your Airbnb, and there it is — a crisp $100 bill sitting in the communal washer. Nobody's around. The landlord hasn't showed up in months. Easy money? Not so fast.
The first question you need to answer is who realistically lost it. If the property has a rotating door of short-term guests, that cash almost certainly belonged to a previous renter — not the host. That changes your moral math, because returning it to the host doesn't guarantee it gets back to the right person.
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Legally, found money is a gray zone that varies by state. In many jurisdictions, if you make a reasonable attempt to locate the owner and can't, the finder has a legitimate claim. Pocketing it without any effort, though, can technically cross into theft-of-lost-property territory depending on where you are. A quick note to the Airbnb host documenting what you found — and when — protects you either way.
From a purely practical standpoint, contact the host through the Airbnb platform so there's a paper trail. If no one claims it within a reasonable window, you've done your due diligence. The platform itself has no formal policy for handling lost physical property between guests, so the paper trail you create is your only real protection.
Bottom line: Don't just pocket it and don't just ignore it. A two-minute message to the host costs you nothing and keeps you clean. Then let the process play out. Continue reading at MarketWatch.com
