Guests wish to keep their luggages until night tomorrow but next guests are staying tomorrow

[Erica24]

Hello everyone,

I am a host in Tokyo, Japan. Current guests stay my apartment 2 days and they are going to check out next morning. I got a message from them some minutes ago. They want to leave their lugguages in the apartment until 8 pm tomorrow after they checked out. The check out time is 11 am. I'll accept it sometimes if there is not next guests coming, but tomorrow, next guests arrive in the afternoon, so I told them it's difficult because the next guests are coming tomorrow and told them to use coin lockers in Shibuya station. There are some large coin lockers. I told them to check the map that I sent them soon after they booked my apartment. Then, they started to complain as they didn't get any map, they are surprized because I am not flexible by paid too expensive fee and for tiny place. My apartment is surely tiny compared to other cities in Japan or compared to other cities in foreign countries, but it's in Shibuya, central Tokyo, quite common size as a single's studio apartment in Shibuya. It's not expensive and rather quite reasonable price compared to ecomony hotels around here. But I didn't want to get a bad review. My listing is 5 stars now. If I decline their wish, they will probably write a bad review. I got a bad review few month ago when I rejected a refund claim from selfish guests. Then, listing fell down and people also stop to apply making reservations. So my apartment has been vacant. It's big effect.  So, I told current guests if they wants to ask me to keep their lugguage in the apartment until night to the next guests? They said YES. I had thought they will probably abandon it. If I were a guest, I don't want to bother next guests by putting my lugguages after checked out the accomodation. But they said YES. Next guests are going to stay there 6 days from tomorrow so their lugguages are probably large. Since my apartment is tiny, it's must become tight if the previous guests left their lugguages. Also, next guests may be not comfortable to leave their lugguages in the apartment if previous guests get in the apartment while they are out. So I am thinking how to abandon current guests to leave their lugguges in my aparment after they checked out. Is there any idea? or am I too much thinking? Usually, don't you feel uncomfortable if there was someone who are not familier with you's lugguage in the apartment and those someone can get in your room when you go out?  

[Tulio0]

@Erica24 I wouldn't recommend having them leaving the baggage there while other guests check-in, this will be potentially detrimental for both the guests leaving and the ones arriving.

What is your check-out policy, do you establish a strict "no longer than" time? If so, or if you had previously asked them when they would leave, tell them, politely, that you used the information you had, about their check-out time, to book another guest confortably and that leaving the baggage there is beyond what was agreed upon. Having a negative review due to this is a possibility, but it is much more due to their misunderstanding than to you doing a "wrong" thing.

[Erica24]

Thank you so much Tulio for great advice! After that in the last night, I sent a message to the guests to use coin lockers or a lugguage counter where the person keeps large lugguages behind the counter at the station. They didn't reply me but they seemed to do check-out right time this morning. I officially set up check-out time and check-in time on airbnb, "no longer than" time and didn't write allowing late-check-out or early check-in but if there is vacant after the guest or before the guest, I sometimes allow them to late check-out & early check-in without additional fee. This is not official, but some guests seem to be impress it and wrote "She allowed us to late check-out" or  "early check-in" on my reviews, so future guests often expect it too. Anyway, your advice was great. It made me realized right way. Thank you so much!

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Erica24 - You are in a tough situation since you've already said "yes" to letting them leave their bags behind.  You are running the risk, too, of not just one bad review, but 2 - from the guests checking in  who will have to navigate around a second set of bags in, as you admit, is a small apartment while trying to settle in after a long day of travel.

It is a tactic of guests to threaten to review you badly unless you allow them to do something outside the rules of your listing.  This is extortion and against Airbnb policies.  Make sure you are using the Airbnb messaging service to record all your activity with the guests.  You may need to get Airbnb involved and this is the only way to accurately do that.  

Based on your message, I am assuming you said they could leave their bags there in the apartment UNTIL the next guests arrive which is some time in the afternoon.  If this is the case, my suggestion would be to let them know if the bags are not gone by XXX time, they will be charged a late check out fee. Send them the map again, if you can, and let them know the other option is to take their bags to the station.  

Good luck!

Alice 

[Erica24]

Thanks so much for great advice, Alice! I sent them a message after that last night. I recommend them again to use coin lockers or a lugguage counter where person keeps large lugguages behind the counter, and pasted the URL of Shibuya station map. They didn't reply for it but they seemed to do check-out right time. Today's guests setteled in with no problem. I am relived. Yes. Some guests are threaten me to get the refund. I met this kind of guests a few month ago. I was so shocked and sad what she wrote was not true, somepoint was true but exaggerated. I couldn't return the bad review on their review in that time. To write someone's bad thing is not nice feeling. It's hard, but hosts should write even bad things to make their next host safe condition. I'll try to do it next time.

Anyway, thank you so much for your advice, Alice! Things goes well now thanks to your great advice. Thanks!