Early check in

Early check in

Hello Everyone,

 

We are fairly new to Airbnb and would like to get some advice and opinions.

 

Our home has a digital keycode lock.  We send the house rules, towns code of conduct and the passcode for the locks the day before check in.

This past week I had a check out at 11am and a check in at 4pm.  My renter was very clean and even washed some of the towels so that my housekeeper was able to finish early.

 

I however had some restocking of toiletries and found myself heading back to the house about 1.5 hours before they were due to check in.  To my surprise, they had already helped themselves to the house and they looked quite settled in.  It was a very uncomfortable meeting to say the least.   In addition to the early check in, it was evident that our request for shoes not to be worn through the house was being ignored as well.  I looked down at the ladies shoes on her feet as she was walking around my house and asked her politely to remove them.

 

At that point, I said, I think we need to revisit the rules you received.  I told them to have a nice time but I certainly left feeling very taken advantage of and disrespected.

 

What would you do at this point, if anything?  They check out tomorrow.

 

Marie

6 Replies 6
Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@William-and-Marie0 in your shoes 🙂 at this point I would address these issues in your review of the guest. You could consider investing in a lock that allows access only between check-in and check-out, but of course that will not prevent inherently disrespectful guests from booking. If you think there is any possibility of confusion about your check-in time and house rules you could consider how to clarify them for future guests... FWIW I am always bemused by "no shoes" or other unverifiable and atypical rules in unshared spaces; it seems likely that many guests will not honor them. My own philosophy is to try to make the space suitable for likely guest behavior rather than the other way around.

I know this is getting off track from the original post (we had one of those too, once- walked in 3 hours early, started making pasta, and then had the gall to complain about a variety of features, including the way we had our cupboards arranged!) but I was bemused to read of the bemusement about someone else's rules.

 

In many countries, removing your shoes is the norm when entering a home. It was the way I was raised (British parents), and, with irreplaceable old growth forest floors, it's the request we make of our guests too. I don't see why I should make my home "suitable" for people who feel entitled to disregard one of only 2 serious rules we have. This is where the original intent of Airbnb (sharing ones home) clashes with the trend to Airbnb-purposed spaces, where yes, you might want to optimise things for what other people might, on average, want. In fact, it's mainly Americans who wear their shoes inside, and scientifically speaking, it's very unhygenic. Fecal matter in particular, transfers very effectively from shoes to indoor spaces.

@Catherine232 sure, I know all that and have had the no shoes custom in my own house (until we got dogs). My point wasn't about the value of removing shoes. It was that it's an unenforceable rule that many americans will disregard in an unshared space, so it's impractical and a setup for disappointment.

Ava30
Level 10
Eureka, CA

Greetings @William-and-Marie0 I suspect that your “problem children” didn’t read the House Rules nor did they pay attention to Check In time. Maybe in the future, when you send the information, reiterate your no shoes in the house rule and remind them that Check In is at 4 pm. I don’t send Check In code until the day they are due to arrive and if I have a guest the same day I don’t send it until after the first guest checks out. Since you use a keypad you might place a smallish label just above it “Please Remove Shoes Upon Entry” 

I don’t send the lock box code until check in time if I am not home to bring around the key.

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@William-and-Marie0

I don’t think it is a good idea to give guests the access code as early as you do. When they have the code they think the house is theirs. What if the guest arrived 4 hours early and barged in on the guests that are checking out. What if your cleaner couldn’t get in to clean because they were already there? I set the code on my smart lock to each individual guests last 4 digits of their cell phone #. I tell them this 5 days before they arrive but I do not actually activate the code until I’ve cleaned the apartment and it’s all ready. Guests have tried to get in early but they cannot because the code will not work until 3pm. If the apartment is ready early I message them to let them know.

 

As for the shoes, I would put up a nice little sign when they walk in the front door. You many discover that many of your guests are wearing their shoes in the house. You just happened to catch these guests.