My listing

[Jeanette37]

Hello  everyone.  I'm a new host (only been on the site about 2 1/2 months) and so am still finding my way with protocol, cleanliness standards, etc but overall it's been a great experience for me (love you Airbnb!)  But I admit....I STUFFED UP with my most recent guest.  I spend half my week away for work (where I am now which was a direct contributing factor to the above) and on my days off, go home and make sure cleaning is done for the next guest.  But I was due to have a guest last night (admit I did lose track of this) and when I went to work forgot to take my phone with me.  This was my undoing as my guest rang a million times and of course got no answer.  I tried to get back in touch much later that night on the number given but it appeared to be wrong as it didn't ring, go to a voicemail service or similar so she would have given up.  She cancelled and got her money back (as you would expect) - fair enough.  My fault BUT I have in my listing that self check-in is available via keys in a keylocker at the property, I checked this myself as I was sure I had mentioned this and sure enough, there it was.  I was sure also that I had listed the combination too and yes, again, it was mentioned.  I don't feel comfortable putting the combination on the locker so make sure that only those authorised people get it.  My question is, how much of the listing does the person when searching, see?  If the guest had thoroughly read my listing wouldn't she have seen that she could get the keys with this information and let herself in??  Can someone tell me if this is the case?  How many others have this (keys secured on the property) facility and what experience have they had with it?  It is not obvious when standing at my front door where the keylocker is but it's not a big place, it wouldn't take long to find it.  Jeanette.

[Tim-and-Holly0 · Accepted solution]

@Jeanette37:

I'm sorry you had trouble with your guest. Sometimes life gets busy and we forget a thing or two. However, in response to your questions, the general rule is to have no expectations that the guest has done more than looked at your pictures, read your listing title and checked the box about home rules whether they actually read them or not.

We usually message every guest two or three days prior to check-in with arrival instructions. First, that reminds us that they are coming and who it is, but it also provides the check-in information the guest would need if we are not present. Many hosts re-list the important home rules in the same email.

Learn from this episode and move on. Don't let it get you down but some little changes will help you going forward.

[Jeanette37]

Ok, Tim and Holly, thanks for this.  Something to keep in mind.

[Sora0]

You can add in step by step guide at the house manual. All confirmed guests should be able to read it upon confirmation.

Myself: I always contact (thru messages) my guests before their arrival so that they understand where to head to upon checking in.

[Kate157]

I use a key safe so that my guests can let themselves in. I post the instructions along with the combination To the key safe as soon as guests have a confirmed booking. I find this has worked very well for me. Also, it is convenient for the guests- if there are two guests who want to go separate ways during their stay, they can leave the key in the safe for each other.