Late Check out fee?

[Nathan94]

I have a 11am Check out time. And today's guest didn't leave until 4pm. I feel she should have to pay a penalty for being 5 hours over . Why is there no automatic feature, I should not have to waste my time calling Airbnb for this.

[Zoe34]

Can you charge her via the "request money" button?  I had a guest on time TELL ME that they planned to check out around 5pm the day of checkout, and my checkout time is also 11am.  I was out of town, so couldn't really do much about it, but it really showed me that people do NOT read the listing details or pay attention to any of that.  Very strange... 

[Andrea1300]

Hi Zoe!

Thanks so much for your  reply and taking the time to go through my post.

It is not about how to charge them but I am just trying to share a suggestion to 'Airbnb" since they are always inviting us to come with ideas on how they can improve our experience as hosts, that I am suggesting that it would be a good tool to incorporate as an 'extra' when guests would like to check-in/out  way earlier or later than our set times. That extre fee for early check in or late check out would be set at our discretion and added automatically to the total price they have to pay. That would avoid lot of "chit chat" 

I was just throwing an idea.

Cheers 🙂

Andrea

[Victoria567]

Hi@Andrea

That feature button idea for late check out is a great way to deal with the entitled guest, who still had ALL 5 or so devices fully plugged in,still charging away well after check out time.

I tend to knock on their bedroom door maximum 30 mins after check out , and TELL them firmly, it is well after check out and that they must leave within the next 5 minutes,as I have an important appointment to attend.

Really you were too generous allowing these entitled guests to stay well after check out.

Hopefully you will have a better strategy in place to deal with such inconsiderate guests in future.

[Fred13]

@Nathan94When they stayed after the check out time of 11am what did you say/do? I think that is the first question Airbnb will ask you.

@Zoe34When the guest TOLD YOU the day before when they are going to check out, what did you say/do?

It is your places folks, not the guests.

[Andrea1300]

It would be great to have a feature that allows guests, as long as we agree on seeting it in our site, to apply/pay for a late check out.  I am so used of guests, specially those ones from nearby cities, that love to pay for 2 nights (Friday and Saturday) and take a looong weekend and check out late on Sundays.  This limits me the opportunity of hosting a guest that would like to rent the house on Sunday (check in on Sunday, my check in time is 2 pm).

I know that we have the final decision; but it feels pretty unconfortable to decline the guest request to stay longer that day and check out 4 or 6 hours later (they usually abuse). And the fact that guests later usually rate you that adds an extra pressure.

But if there is an option set by Airbnb that guests "mark" their check out time in advance and automatically charges them an extra fee for late check out when checking out after our set times I think that the problem would be solved.

I apologyze for my English and spelling mistakes and grammar as English is not my L1 language.

[Fred13]

You did quite well considering English is not your native language really.

You raise a very good point - it is more than awkward for hosts to have to be the 'heavy' and especially when the guest holds the 'dreaded' bad review threat in hand. While I may not have this 'problem' for if they do not get on the 10am 'Check-out boat ride', they will have to walk on water, I can appreciate your point.

[Andrea1300]

Hi Fred,

Thank you for taking your time to go through my post. And definitely you draw a smile in my face with your comment about the boat riding time 🙂

Cheers, Andrea

[Fred13]

'Que te va bien Andrea, tu tienes una manera que es muy agradable'

[Donovan7]

We have recently had two guests who requested early check-in and late check-out. Depending upon the the time they wanted to arrive or leave, we charged them additional funds. Usually 2-3 hours early or late isn't a problem. However, in one case the person was arriving at 6 am which meant that we lost the potential for a renter for the previous night. Another guest inquired about a late check-out resulting in about 5-6 hours additional stay. Again, we couldn't host a new guest in this situation In both cases, we charge 50% of the daily rate. This was explained to the guest and we used the Request Money feature to settle the transaction BEFORE check-in. We also had them agree to the charges in our communications so that they couldn't come back later and dispute the matter with Airbnb Customer Service. We haven't had any issues with reviews since this is discussed and agreed upon upfront. Hope this helps. P.D. ¡Y también te expresaste muy bien en tu segundo idioma!

[Andrea1300]

Thank you Donovan in taking your time to go through my post and for your detailed explanation.

I think that you perfectly found a solution to that particular situation; at least you managed to get some money. I always say "50%" is definitely way better than "zero", 🙂

And as you mentioned, when you discuss things in advance with the guests you avoid later surprises and, besides all other things, that should also be a reason why guests do not 'punish' you when reviewing their experience.

I use the special offer button, instead, and adjust the price; but I think your method is much better.

But what I am trying to do is taking the advantage that Airbnb is offering us of 'suggesting' things that they can do to improve their service and/or our experience as a host, and I think that it would be great if they just add a button where we can set a discretional fee for early check-in or late check out. So guests they would not even have to ask. If they are planning to check-in/out at a different time that the one we just set, they press the button and automatically that extra fee is added to the total price 🙂

Cheers,

Andrea

[Rebecca181]

@Nathan94 I share the following in case it will help you in future situations: I include my policy on early check-in / late check-out in my 'Additional Rules' section under the 'House Rules' in Booking Policies. I make it clear that we usually have guests checking in the same day that guests are checking out, and it is unlikely we can offer late check-out or early check-in for this reason. I also make it clear that guests will be charged by the hour for every hour they stay over, and they will be charged even more if the incoming guests cannot check in on time. Yes, I realize Airbnb holds our somewhat fictional 'deposits'; but because this is all clearly stated in my House Rules, Airbnb will have a tough time declining me because the guest agreed to it all when booking. Specifically, I confirm with the guest that they have read and agreed to my House Rules during or after the booking process (including Instant Book guests) so there is a clear record of this in the Airbnb Message thread. 

With all of that said, I often do allow guests to check-in an hour or two early, if the Cottage is ready and if it is not inconvenient to me, and I do not charge them for it. But I never promise it, and they need to message me by a certain time to find out if they can arrive early or not. I also tell them nearby things to do, places that they can enjoy or hang out in, until the Cottage is ready. I also have offered late check-out to guests without them even asking if nobody is coming the day they check-out. Most don't take me up on the offer, but they love that I asked; and the few guests that do take me up on it are really grateful and appreciative, and it builds even more good will. I don't charge for this either. 

So that's how I handle the early check-in / late check-out conundrum, for what it's worth!

[Andrea1300]

Hi Rebecca!

I loved your answer. Very detailed, you took your time and was very generous to share your experience and the way you handle this matter.

I will follow your advise and explain about the extras for early/late check-in/out in the house rules section, as well as in my further communication with the guests.

Cheers, Andrea

[Colette130]

I am currently having the same experience. 

After much praising of my accommodation and how lovely the location was.  My guest yesterday asked me if I had anyone booked in for the following day which was their check out day.  I thought he was wanting to book another night - so said that it was available.  He then asked (as his wife was working nearby) if they could check out when she returned from work!!  Last night she did not return until 8pm!! 

I think they had every intention of doing a late check out which I am quite annoyed about.

This really caught me out so I am now in the process of updating my terms so that this cannot happen again.  I think I will charge per hour of early / late check in /out - to the same ratio as my weekend rates.   

[Robt0]

I always say no to late check out.  It’s 11:00am no matter what.  Room needs to be cleaned and ready for 2:00

i learned right away you give them a half hour. They take the whole afternoon. 

Then gave me a 3 on my review because I had to ask them to leave.