Some concerns over a guest, but not currently enough to cancel. What should i document?

[Mel101]

Hello guys,

I've been hosting for about 6 weeks, and have found the general hosting forum to be very helpful when I have newbie questions and concerns. Now I have an issue that I'd appreciate some help with, but it might be a little sensitive for the public forum.

I have a guest due in today. She booked about 3.5 weeks ago, and was actually one of my first few bookings. She is Korean, and has her name in hangul, so I actually don't know what her name is. She has only verified an email and phone number, and linked a FB account. There is no govt ID She's been a member since 2016, but has no reviews. Because she was one of my first guests, and I need to get seen in a city with a very crowded market, I accepted her booking.

At the time of booking, she asked a lot of questions about how close I am to the city, all of the answers to which I have in my house manual. I put this down to a language barrier. She has been messaging in English, but it is obvious this is not a language she's confident in. No judgement -  we all have to start somewhere, and she is certainly a lot more competent in English than I am in Korean! She has also not responded to a couple of questions that I put to her; asking if she and her friend are OK to share a double bed (I have had a native English speaker assume there was a twin bed option until I checked, so I usually ask if the messages make it clear that the guest is travelling with someone other than a romantic partner), and also not responding to the question about dietary requirements because we provide breakfast. Again, I put this down to a language barrier, but figured that since I have conducted all messages in the Airbnb platform, if it became an issue, I'd be covered for having asked the questions.

Apart from this initial flurry of questions, there has been no communication unless I initiated it. I try to contact all guests 2 days before arrival to double check arrival times, and tell them I look forward to meeting them, so I think I should be ok. This guest had not provided any arrival information, so I contacted her last Friday to ask more info. She said she'd be on a train and that she hadn't booked it yet, but she'd let me know when she did book. Also fine.

However, I still hadn't heard yesterday, so I contacted her again to check. She said the train she was catching was at 12.00, and she'd be in my city at 3.41. I assumed this meant that she'd be here in the afternoon, since the booking was made from today. However, at 3am I got a message telling me she'd missed the train, and now wouldn't be here until 7ish this evening.  I have the following concerns with this:

• She didn't ask for early check in (and had she asked, I’d have declined her coming this early in the morning, because to me that's an additional night’s accommodation, and I think it’s an unreasonable time to check in. We live on the property, and both have to work)
• She didn't message to say she’d missed the train until the time she said she was getting in. Why not message 2 mins after the train departed?
• The train she claims to have booked on takes longer to get to my city than she states.

I am now less certain that her communication issues are only down to a language barrier, but I’m still willing to give the benefit of the doubt, because cancelling this late in the day is potentially holiday-ruining.

After this massive text, I have two questions, thanks for bearing with me so far.

1. Should I try to give Airbnb a heads up about my concerns? I am coming at this from the perspective of flagging them could work in my favour if this escalates and we get into arbitration. If yes, what evidence should I document before and during arrival?
2. Are any of you seeing red flags that I’m not? I’d appreciate hearing from more experienced people here.

Many thanks,

Mel

[Steve143]

Hello @Mel101,

Of course it's not reasonable for a guest to assume that they can check in before your checkout time of 11am. I know it's a moot point in this case but guests who message me, giving a new arrival time, after they first said they'd arrive, get that mentioned in the review and are marked down on communication.

Provided that the messages between ye are on the Airbnb messaging system there's no further documenting that you need to do. Airbnb will be able to see her messages should the need arise.

Can I suggest that it might not be a bad idea to set a checkin time. That way you can point to it if a guest tries something like she did. The way it is now I could see Airbnb trying to hold you to 3am had she arrived and complained to them about access.

I have a set checkin time of 3pm but am flexible regarding earlier arrivals should circumstances allow.

Steve.

[Mel101]

Thanks Steve, 

You are very generous with your replies, and I appreciate it. 

I have a flexible policy, because we have a 24 hour "rest day" between bookings, which suits us well. I am happy for guests to arrive most times during the day, and do agree to late night check ins (of the midnight variety, not 4am), as long as I have clear communication asking if the guest can do so. Do you recommend saying something like "check in is 3pm, but I can be flexible, with clear prior notice, and depending on whether there are guests checking out the same day"?

In this case, if this guest had managed to catch the train she said she was on, we'd both have had a rude shock at 4am today, since I clean on departure day, but only ever put fresh sheets out on arrival day, to keep them fresh. I'm certain my partner would be most indignant at dressing a bed at that time in the morning 🙂

Do you advise taking a lot of photos and things to cover my behind, since my suspicions are already aroused a bit? 

Cheers, 

Mel

[Lyndsey2]

Setting a check-in window is good advice. I used to leave it much more open but now have it set to a narrow 2-hour window and my listing asks them to give me an estimate of arrival time! I realized that's as long as I ever want to wait for a guest who can't communicate, it gives me a heads up when someone hasn't read the listing, and the others just politely ask if I can accommodate a different check-in time. 

[Kyi1]

Agree with setting up a check-in time. Recently, a couple, who don't have any review,  requested a same day check-in. We don't really mind that, and we can accommodate short notice most of the time without any problem. However, they just went dead silence after we accepted their request. They didn't say anything about their arrival time nor did they mention anything about their mode of travel (arriving by plane/train/car). They just ignored all of our messages until they arrived at the front door which was around 12:30AM. They called our number several times and sent several messages on Airbnb. But we were in deep sleep by then and couldn't hear vibration from our phones. Eventually, they cancelled the reservation. At first, we didn't get paid. We were so mad and called Airbnb arguing that we made several attempt at reaching the guests and it was well beyond the stated check-in time. We insisted we deserved some payment for our trouble. In the end, Airbnb conceded and made full payment. I don't know if our case would be strong enough without check-in time frame. But it probably helped. 

Another suggestion I'd like to add is, if similar thing happens again, call Airbnb and ask them to try reaching the guest. By doing so, Airbnb would know you tried the best you could to reach the guest and you'll be in better position to claim some payment if the guest cancels the reservation because you couldn't accommodate their check-in time. That's also what we did for the above guest.

[Mel101]

Oh wow, I'm sorry that happened. It sucks that you had to go to that trouble, but I'm glad it worked out in the end. Thanks for the tips, too. I've added a check in window now, it makes a lot of sense based on your experience.

I will be sure to contact Airbnb to help me contact reticent guests in the future.

[Elena87]

@Mel101

Try and sharpen your questions for guests when you write and ask about arrival time.

Ask for their flight numbers or train/bus numbers.

You can see exactly when they are arriving , much better judge when they will be at your place than they  ever could  and even check in real time for delays on the day. It's much better than assuming.

Also you can foresee problems when guests plan to be arriving in your city before daybreak or you can establish guests who appear a bit dizzy and spontaneous - here it's more to do with how you manage people and solve anticipated problems in advance.

[Mel101]

Thank you Elena. These are certainly tips I can implement going forward. 

[Lyndsey2]

It sounds like this guest mostly has communication issues, so I would make sure to reiterate the most important house rules when you meet her. As a general rule, the best thing you can do to protect yourself is to take pictures of everything shortly before she arrives. Those are invaluable if you ever need to deal with damages. And you are doing the right thing by keeping your communications on the Airbnb platform. Good luck! In my experience, the guests who stress you out before they arrive are rarely so painful in person.

[Mel101]

Thanks Lindsey, 

Your reassurance is welcome. I didn't think this was worth cancelling on her, but I am happy to hear your experience of them being better in person. 

I have already decided that photos will be my friend here, so I will be taking this suggestion to heart.

[Miki5]

I've found that certain guests aren't great at communicating beforehand, but that doesn’t mean they won't be terrific guests once they arrive. I've adjusted my "Thanks for booking" email to ask for specific check in times, and I give any pertinent info in one message, to limit the back and forth as much as possible. I also sign off all correspondence with, "if I can help you with anything not addressed in the listing..." and politely refer them back to the site if the answer to their question can be found there. This sets up boundaries, and also gets them in the habit of actually reading the listing info, which a lot of people don't do right off. Personally, I wouldn’t ask if guests were comfortable sharing a queen bed just because one person had a problem, as this could be viewed as kind of intrusive. I know I wouldn’t have answered that question. All this to say, I'm sure your guest will be fine, and I wouldn't anticipate her stay as a troublesome one. 

[Mel101]

Thanks Miki. I guess by asking about the bed, I'm trying to stave off any problems when guests arrive and decide the listing isn't what they thought it would be.

I do ask the questions you mention in my initial e-mail. In this case the guest didn't respond. There's not a lot I can do about that, I think.

[Anonymous]

 @Mel101, I'm also an in-home host in a European capital, so the variety of guests you get over time will be very similar to what I've had over the years. The one you have in this case seems to fit a particular category: the city-hopping Euro traveler. Most of the time these are easy and decent people to host, but there are a few details that make them different from the single-destination City Break tourists:

1. They have made several different accommodation bookings for the many legs of their journey, and are therefore easily confused or forgetful about the details of each.

2. Their sole internet access tends to be via their smartphones, and their foreign mobile plans often don't cover the EU affordably; therefore, they might only be reachable when they have free WiFi and a charged battery.

3. Since they're visiting several places, they're unlikely to have done much research about any particular one, so they'll arrive with less of an idea what they're doing in your city.

4. Traveling overland, their arrival times are subject to any number of changes and delays.

5. Their journey is often already in progress when you contact them, making their response time more erratic, and they may already be experiencing stress or fatigue from the trip.

These are all things you can easily manage as a host, provided that you set a few parameters to lessen the impact of erratic communication. Firstly, make a check-in window default on your listing. Next, just as you ask for 2 days notice when requesting dinner, also ask for minimum 2 days notice about approximate arrival time. You can still state in your rules, as I do, that it's sometimes possible to make exceptions if guests request them before their booking is confirmed. But once a booking is confirmed, you can consider the check-in/out time window to be locked in as a part of the contractual agreement with the guest. When guests need more flexibility than you can offer, advise them where to find left-luggage facilities and perhaps a nearby cafe where they can relax until check-in. You're under no obligation to admit guests to the property if their arrival is outside of the time you've agreed to, but under no circumstances should you cancel a booking yourself (Airbnb penalizes hosts for this).

I don't find that it's worthwhile to ask each individual guest about their dietary requirements when you're only offering breakfast. Unless you're running a luxury catered resort, it's more comfortable to guests to just make a few things available that they can enjoy whatever time they wake up, or leave behind if they choose to. If something in the mix is suitable for a gluten-intolerant vegan, you've got your bases covered. Those with very unusual needs might volunteer them when they book, but such people are also likelier to self-cater anyway.

No need to ask guests whether they're OK with something that is clearly shown in your listing text and photos. Only exception is if something in their communication suggests that they misunderstood what you're offering.

In short -  minimize the number of questions you have to ask guests in order to prepare for them, so that you have your bases covered for the 10% or so that don't respond in time.

[Mel101]

Thank you for your very helpful reply, Andrew. You were right, they're Euro-railing. It's also easy for me to forget what incredible internet privilege we enjoy here in the Netherlands. We get free WiFi almost everywhere here, to the point where I've felt most indignant that I was asked to pay for WiFi in a hotel in Berlin, the last time I visited. So it's very useful to be reminded that it's a bit harder to get access elsewhere.

In the end they were actually very sweet, though both could be described as a little ditzy, which didn't help the initial miscommunication. 

I've now added a check in window to the booking, as most people have advised in this thread. I'm happy to be flexible, but now people will need to be clear about what time they want if it will be outside this window.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Mel101

Other hosts have made good suggestions and observations. One thing to add is please make your messages/questions as short, concise, and to the point (maybe even a bit blunt and direct) especially if the guest does not seem fluent in English. Don't worry about niceties too much. 

Most Koreans I know who are not fluent English speakers will not have the ability or patience to read long rambling messages, despite your best intentions. 

Asking what train/flight they are on is also best. If they say they would like to check in directly upon arrival, it would help to give them suggestions on how they can get from the airport/station to your home. 

Hope this helps~