My host was not able to wait for me

[Andrea4239]

Last Monday I was supposed to stay for 1 night at my host’s place. My arrival time was supposed to be at 10pm. I asked the host before I booked the room if I could check in between 11pm and midnight. She agreed and confirmed my booking. When I arrived at the airport, I got informed that my flight will be delayed. I immediately informed the host about that and told her that I can’t promise to be in time for the check in. She told me it’s not possible to check in after midnight as she has to get up early the next day but we should just hope that I will arrive in time. I was really confused about that message. What would have happened if I arrived later? Luckily, I immediately informed Airbnb and they tried to negotiate with the host. Until my departure I got messages from her saying: she’s really stressed about that situation and she’s trying to find a solution to help me, I should be flexible when I travel and be open to change my travel plans if the flight is delayed, I also should not book a flight so late......

 I honestly didn’t know what to answer because this delay was out of my control and obviously unforeseen.

My flight was 1 hour late and I would have arrived at her place 45 min late.

 I had to find another room which took me another 2hours. I finally arrived at my new place at 1:30am. I was really stressed but luckily Airbnb refunded my money and gave me a £20 voucher.

 I’m a host myself for four years and I never cancelled a reservation when I knew it was not my guest’s fault. I know it’s annoying to wait but we knew it’s really stressful to find a new place last minute and especially during the night. Would you write a bad review about that? 

[Anonymous]

@Andrea4239  The host was presumably extending her check-in time window to fulfill your original request, and you had an agreement that you could check in up until midnight. This agreement did not entitle you to a later check-in time. You'd really have to be some kind of monster to punish her in a review for not doing something she didn't agree to in the first place. Especially considering that she's already been deprived of income despite preparing the room for you and staying up late to deal with your airline stress, which was not her fault.

Sorry that you had to spend all that time finding a last-minute room, but I think the lesson here is that when you know you're arriving late in the evening for a one-night stay, you should choose either a property with self-check-in or a hotel with 24-hour desk service. Flight delays and cancellations are extremely common, and so is travel insurance.

[Marie82]

@Andrea4239 i think ur example shows how guests/host can be more nightmare to fellow host than usual guests. How do u expect someone to wait till 2 am for a 1-night stay just to be nice? 

 I really think @Anonymous said it very well and your host was really accommodating to wait till midnight already.

and to see Airbnb giving you 20 money extra for no mistake of Host or Airbnb i found that over the top. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

I agree with @Anonymous 100%

Airbnb is not like a hotel. We don't have 24/7 concierge service. Many of us don't live on the property we rent so we have to go there at noon after check-out to clean and then again to check-in the next guest if he arrives at the evening. If the guest is late we have to wait for him in a cafe, sometimes even eat out and spend our time and money while waiting. We also may have other plans that day which must be canceled if the guest is late.

There is no way I would drive to the city to check-in someone past 9 PM, especially not a one-nighter.  Not even for a double nightly rate.

Same as Andrew, my advice is to :

- read the listing's house rules about check-in window and respect it

or....

- book an earlier flight

- book a hotel

- book Airbnb with self-check-in option (business collection)

[Gordon0]

As usual, @Anonymous is bang to rights, @Andrea4239. I've been burnt by a guest who wanted a little flexibility to check in later than I normally allow and I'm not going to be bitten by the same dog twice.