Difference between bag drop off and check-in

[Patricia1766]

My official check-in is 5pm, but I am flexible of course  - e.g. at weekends / if I am working from home; if I am not home, but didn't have any guests the previous night, I leave a key in the safety box for guests who want to check in before I get home from work. 

Today's guest had asked me ahead of time if they could drop their luggage at mine before check-in time. It was not inconvenient to me, so I agreed. 

This guest turned up at 11.30am, had a shower, and spread his stuff all over the room. For me, that's a check in, not a bag drop! 

I should probably have said something, but the guy flew in from Ireland for the Cheltenham racing festival, walked from the station in the rain and he was soaked, so I felt sorry for him. 

However, for future reference, what should I do in this kind of situation?

[Linda108]

@Patricia1766  Probably too late for you to do anything for this guest since you essentially gave access to the listing.  Hotels that allow luggage drop off have a separate place for the luggage to be held.  Is that a possibility for you?  Otherwise, you are allowing early check in.   You could allow early check in for a fee if you are able to accommodate the request.  I can allow early check in, especially if there is a special event the guest is attending.  Usually that accommodation is perceived favorably and reflected in a positive review.

[Huma0]

@Patricia1766 

This is one of the reasons I don't normally allow guests to drop off their bags before check in. While some were no problem at all, others took advantage of the situation and demanded the keys, to be checked in there and then, use the bedroom to change, use the bathrooms etc. while I was still in the middle of cleaning them (and then marked me down for cleanliness!!!).

Others totally mucked me around timing wise, showing up a couple of hours late to drop off their bags, so I lost half a day waiting around for them to do that and waiting again for them to come back to check in.

See the thread I created here, which also mentions this subject: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/How-can-I-stop-guests-ignoring-the-check-in-time/m-p/304...

I tried including a fee for bag drops on the listing, but guests seem to totally ignore this and still expect it for free. So, now I am very clear in my house rules/if guests enquire that this is not a possibility and I provide them instead with links to some very cheap left luggage facilities. I don't know if you have them in Cheltenham, but they include bagbnb, stasher, luggagehero and nannybag, to name a few. 

Most guests are okay with this (some even appreciate the links) but there will always be some who don't read the listing, simply expect to drop off their bags early because that's what they get at a hotel, and then become disgruntled about it. Mostly, those kinds of guests tell you its fine, but then complain about it in their review. However, I have learnt that if you let guests push your boundaries out of fear of a bad review, you will end up being a very unhappy host!

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Patricia1766 

our situation is different... check out is until 11 h then we are cleaning until  15 h when our check-in time begins. So guests can drop their bags from 11 h and go into town for lunch, walk.. whatever. When we are finished we call them to come for check-in.

We don't let them in the apartment and don't give them the keys,  we store their bags in separate storage and then move it inside when cleaning is over.

[Patricia1766]

Thank you all for your responses, it's very helpful to read how others approach the situation! I guess I was way too nice this morning but in future I will set much clearer boundaries!

@Linda108 @Branka-and-Silvia0 I like the idea of allowing a bag drop but being clear that they will not get access to the listing yet.

@Huma0 thanks for the advice about luggage drop off places, I'll look them up! I can totally understand not allowing bag drop off at all, it might well wel to that for me too, I'll try being clearer first! 

I'll also check the thread, thank you !