Giving directions to the guests/getting lost/道案内

[Reiko9]

Hi, I'm new at Airbnb and would like to hear your experiences about guests GETTING LOST finding your place.

What would be the main reasons why it would be difficult to find the location?

Maybe no access to the internet & unable to see the map provided earlier?

Or maybe the map was not clear enough?　Were you able to call and reach the host for help?

I live in a residential area where no such landmark exist near by.  So I'm concerned if guests would be able to find my place...I even got lost when I first moved here!

Please give me your idea how I could improve the direction to my place in such situation.

As I live in Japan, many notices are written in Japanese only & I assume it would make it more difficult for my future guests.

Or just your experiences having difficulty finding the location would be much appreciated!

Airbnb初めて利用するものです。

まだホスト経験もないのですが、ゲストが道に迷うことが多いと聞きました。

住宅地で特に目印になる建物なども近くになく、本当に来てもらえるのか心配です。

アドバイスやご経験談をお聞かせください！

[Marzena4]

Hello @Reiko9 In your case, I would include a screenshot of your location in the form of a picture in your listing or a manually drawn map (image).

Can you imagine that before the era of the Internet many people (including myself) travelled wide and still could find their destination? It is the guest who should make sure to save the instructions before they come to you. Just emphasize it in your listing.

My location is in the city centre, once booked the guests get/have access to my detailed instructions with a step-by-step list of streets from the central station, they get my full address, and guess what? They still get lost because they failed to read them, and then even sometimes blame me. So you must get used to such stuations. Fewer and fewer people read nowadays. Hence I suggest providing images.

[Reiko9]

Hi Marzena, thanks for your insight!

That's a good idea to visualise direction, as it seems true that less people pay fewer attention to written things.

And yeah, we used to get to places without online guidance!

[Marit-Anne0]

@Reiko9

I send them a document with google maps walking directions from the various drop-off points and in addition write directions below the map and also leave a link to that map so that they can use street view to visualise before arrival.  If your street names are in Japanese only, add a photo of the street name(s) they need to follow.  

If no landmarks, there may be shops or offices that stand out ?

I also imagined that in this day and age, people would use google maps on their phone to find their way.  I was totally wrong - not even the young ones do. But the document works magic 🙂

[Reiko9]

Marit,

That's surprising that not much people, even young ones, use documents to get their way!

Thank you very much for your thought.

I'll make sure guests not to forget to print-out;)

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Reiko9 There are just some people in the world who cannot read maps - my mom being one of them 🙂 

I have found that having a simplified map with some explanations using landmarks - which can be ANYTHING that stands out helps. Since it's your neighborhood, walk the route and take pictures of what guests will see to guide them to your home. Or if possible, offer to meet them at the station.

I also let my guests know certain locations that will have free wifi access depending on their transportation method, so if they need to contact me on their way, they know when to look for and get a signal to send me a quick message. 

Another thing I do is include my address and directions in Korean AND English, so that if my guest is not sure, they can show it to any local passing by who can point them in the right direction. I also include my cell# at the bottom of the map and tell my guests to show my cell# to any local and get them to call me in case of an emergency. The last thing I want is for my guest to get lost 10 minutes away from my home, dragging around luggage while going in circles - so Henry and I make sure at least one of us is "on call" when we have a check-in. 

[Reiko9]

Hi Jessica

Thank you so much for your advise!

I'll try them;) Especially adivsing free wi-fi spot would be helpful.

Thanks again!

[Edwina9]

you can use https://map.what3words.com/ 

it's a system that has given everywhere in the world a 3 word address that is available in many languages, so people can look for them in their native tongue or in english. 

Every 3m x 3m square has a 3 word address, for example table.lamp.chair 

it's very precise so you can pinpoint your exact front door, the app is available for iOS and Android, and it works with no internet connection with a compass mode and GPS tracker. 

All you would have to do is find the 3 word address for your front door, and put it on your Airbnb listing page with a short explanation to download the app or use the online map.