Since I live in the house and have indoor-only cats, there is only one option, and that is for me to be there when the guest arrives. However, check-in TIME is more of an issue for me. I asked my last guest about 5 days before his arrival to specify his arrival time. I knew that he was coming from out of state, but I wanted him to know that I was actually out of state as well, working on getting my house ready to list, and didn't want to come back earlier than absolutely necessary because I wanted to complete that project if possible, to avoid having to go back again.
When I packed my car to make the drive to come meet him, and got on the road, I got a text from him saying he and his friend decided to visit another city that was on their route, and would stay there overnight. He changed his arrival time for the next morning. SO, I turned around and went back to do more work for another 8 hours, then drove all night to make sure I was there at least 2 hours before him so I could clean and would be there if he arrived early.
His arrival time came and went, and then another hour and a half went by, so I sent him a text. He said they'd gotten up late, and would arrive 3 hours later than he'd told me. (he later changed that to say he'd gotten a flat tire, but when he arrived, I didn't see a spare tire on the car, or any signs that they'd stopped to change a tire).
I had only a half hour left to get to the bank, and had multiple errands to run while out, so I told him I'd return at 3pm, which is the official check-in time listed here if no other agreed-upon time is set. He started texting me like crazy, ""3:00??" and "how will I get in before 3?" and calling me and asking me to leave a key, which I won't do when I have all my belongings and animals in the house.
I could understand uncertainty if he were catching a plane or driving from six states away, but the city they'd visited the night before was only 2.5 hours away, so there wasn't really a good reason for him not knowing when he'd arrive, and even less reason for him not to contact me when he realized he would arrive hours later than promised.
It makes me wonder if a lot of guests see us as a business that is no different than a hotel, and I'm the staff person who's job it is to be at the house 24/7 to meet their needs.....which would make sense if it weren't for the fact that there are no hotels that charge $20/night and are all-inclusive.