Tip of the Week 12: Tips for a smooth checkout experience

[Paula]

Hi everyone 😊

In our 12th tip of the week, I came across an 👉insightful conversation where our wonderful Host, @Joan2709, offered some advice to fellow Hosts on tailoring the checkout instructions for properties allowing 1-night stays. Her tips included:

• Try an 11:00 a.m. checkout (instead of 10:00 a.m.) to prevent late checkouts.
• Display the checkout time and instructions in a prominent place inside the listing.
• Add new checkout guidelines as outlined in this article. This ensures that guests receive an automatic push notification from Airbnb (if they have notifications enabled).

Do you have unique strategies for checkout instructions? We're eager to learn about it, whether you use Airbnb's tools for sharing the checkout guidelines or have alternative ways to ensure your guests receive the necessary details. 👈 📣

Let's gather the best tips on communicating checkout instructions to guests, and don’t forget to give a thumbs up👍 to the best tips shared. 😊

👉 TOTW series

[John7474]

Good morning -

I too have a 10AM check out time.  

But as part of my house rules, I instruct the guests to inform me 24 hours in advance of their check out details.  If I don't hear from them, I inquire. 

I am willing be be flexible, but I want guests to know I am monitoring their check out plans so I can plan accordingly to clean and reset the house for the next guest. 

Best, 

John 

[Lesa78]

My check out time is 10am, because I have a duplex and I do my own cleaning, so the possibility of having to clean 2 places at once, is pretty significant. If one or, Heaven forbid, both places were a real mess, I'd still have time to get them ready by 3pm for my next guests. This was the time recommended to me by my help host, that Airbnb first hooked me up with and it's worked great so far.

Other than that, I make it as simple as possible for the guest. Close and lock doors and windows, take the garbage out, pick up any dog poop, and sign out of any TV apps you may have signed into. I message the day before checkout, post by the front door, and have a page in the guest book.

[Thembi9]

The 11 am checkout sounds great. But, it’s not so great when you also have a checkin on that day as that’ll mean less time to prepare for the next guest.

[Torrei0]

Not all guess use the same information to learn about checkin/checkout instructions.  Therefore I use ALL channels of communication.

1. ABnB listing checkout section

2.  Scheduled quick reply to send greeting along with the link to the checkout by 8p the day before checkout.

3. Plexiglass sign on the TV stand in the unit.

4. A page within my home guide.

[Yashmina0]

I use A whatsapp group for a better communication, with our host, the guest and me. Our check out time is usually 11:00am but we are flexible. We let them stay until they need if we don’t have another check in. Our host meet the guest at the check out to do it more personal. 

[Stavroula13]

My check out time is 11am.  I message them an hour before check out saying the cleaning person will be there between 11:15 and 11:30. Only my guests with babies needed extra time.  Directly and firmly communicating works for me. 

[Αγγελική5]

Hello Paula and  everyone!

I've set the checkout at 11a.m. but if I don't have a check-in at the same day, I'm totally flexible.

I'm sending them a message the night before asking them about the aprox time of their departure, saying that I want to say goodbye, farewell and wish them a safe trip back home!

Upon check-out I give them a little present as a souvenir and gratitude for choosing my place for their holidays. 🦊😊

(Communication via WhatsApp or Viber)

[Paula]

This is a lovely strategy, @Αγγελική5. Thanks so much for sharing this. Would you like to share some examples of the souvenirs you give to your guests? They can inspire some of our Hosts 🤗

[Cynthia1237]

We have a 11 Am checkout.  We usually rent for 5 days and have one day between rentals.  So we can be flexible if guests request a later checkout time.  We sent a reminder the day before.  

[Paula]

Hello @Cynthia1237, Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Have you tried using the Airbnb tool to automatically share the checkout instructions? 👉Here is an article with all the information.

[Sushma14]

This sounds the best .  No rush for anybody including the host.  Everybody gets plenty of time to do whatever they want to do.

[Stuart-G0]

Hi Paula,

We have an 11:00 check-out.  The night before, we sent a thank-you message and check-out instructions.

On the day of departure, we wish our guests a safe travel and an invite to rebook.

[Michael8120]

We follow an 11:00 checkout. We use check-out tools but also communicate the same over WhatsApp .Check in is from 15:00 giving us ample time to get the property ready for the next guest.