The Case of the Disappearing Towels

They came for rest, they left no trace, But something shifted in the space. Not all ghosts say “boo”… some just vanish with grace.

The house was ready.

Clean. Quiet. Prepared.

Eight pristine white towels stood folded like sentinels in the linen closet—fresh, untouched, still carrying the faint scent of lavender and factory sterility. Four face towels rested beside them, perfectly squared. Two soft beach towels lounged in the cabinet, waiting patiently for their moment in the sun.

But after the guests left, the house felt... different.

One towel remained.

Not a bath towel. Not a beach towel. A single hand towel—crumpled, stiff, lying alone on the floor like it had crawled there.

Abandoned. Afraid.

The rest were gone.

Not misplaced. Not tossed in the laundry.

Gone.

No damp pile. No evidence of use. No thank-you note. Just... absence.

And then came the kicker: the beach towels.

Returned like survivors of something unspeakable—stained, stretched, warped in color and shape. Tie-dyed, maybe. Or cursed. Their threads frayed, their edges unrecognizable.

We reached out, gently:

“Hope you had a wonderful stay! We noticed some towels missing—any chance they were packed by mistake?”

The reply came quickly. Too quickly.

“We had a great time, and we brought our own towels, so we didn’t use yours 😊.”

The Message That Haunts

The message sat there, smiling at us with a digital wink.

They brought their own towels. They didn’t use ours.

The lone hand towel begged to differ.So did the bleach-stained beach towels, now suffering from identity crises.

Maybe it was a misunderstanding.

Maybe eight thick bath towels had Houdini’d themselves into a dimensional rift. But the evidence kept stacking up.

We reviewed the pre-check-in photos—our usual ritual of crisp folds and symmetrical stacks.

The before.

Then compared them to the after—The echoing linen closet.

The beach towels, now resembling DIY acid-wash experiments.

That one sad hand towel, curled up like it had seen too much.

Steps Taken to Rectify

We followed up:

“Hi again! Just wanted to circle back—attached are the pre-check-in and post-checkout photos for reference. We always inventory linens before each guest, and the towels that were there at check-in are no longer on-site. Totally understand if they were packed by accident—happy to coordinate a return or send the cost for replacement. Let us know what works best!”

No response.

The kind of silence you can hear.

The kind that settles into a house and won’t leave.

We circled back once more—this time including photos of the damaged beach towels. We gently asked again if the missing linens might’ve made it into their luggage by mistake.

Still... nothing.

We considered letting it go. Pretending it never happened.

Letting the towels vanish into legend, like Atlantis—but fluffier.

But this wasn’t just about towels.

This was about trust.

About accountability.

About eight bright white bath towels, fresh and full of promise, stolen in the prime of their absorbent lives.

And maybe that’s what hurt the most.

Not the cost.

Not even the lie.

But the vanishing.

So we submitted a claim to Airbnb. We included everything: the photos, our inventory list, the increasingly haunted tone of our messages, and the replacement cost.

And yes—we left a 1-star review. Not out of spite. But as a protective charm for the next host. A warning flare for anyone with white towels.

Contact Us to for Security Deposit Set Up

That’s when it hit us: We should’ve had a security deposit in place.

Something simple. Automatic. A security measure to ensure towels don’t decide to vacate on their own. A buffer that could’ve spared us the time, the frustration, and the slow existential spiral over bath linens.

The Moral of the (Frayed) Story

✔️ Have your cleaners take timestamped photos of linens before and after every stay.

✔️ Require a security deposit—even for “short and sweet” bookings.

✔️ Don’t underestimate the power of a calm, well-worded follow-up (especially when paired with photo proof).

 And yes, we can help you set all that up. From managing your welcome book and PMS setup to curating guest rules and automating security deposit requests—we offer solutions that protect both your space and your sanity.