Guest arrived too late

[LuisAlonso0]

Our last guest (who had stayed with us days before and is a host on his own) arrived too late. We have a check in window from 3pm to 10pm and we're flexible enough if asked to check in out of that window. However, when we tried to get the expected time of arrival, we got the response after 10pm on the day he was supposed to arrive saying that he would arrive at 1:30am.

We were considering not to host him and tell him to find another place, but eventually think that we wouldn't want this to happen to us in case of an emergency. We feel that this is some abusive behavior based on the fact that he knowed we were going to be there (it's our home) and he had some other abusive aspects on his previous stay.

How can we prevent this problem to repeat? We have listed that people should notify us their expected check in time in the rules, but we're not sure how to enforce that.

[David126]

I has a 1am arrival recently and I have a 10pm check in. It was not there plan, they did a major divert. Happens.

I have enquites occasionally with very late arrivals and just say no can do, I will be sleeping.

[LuisAlonso0]

I understand when there's something unexpected (flight delays, traffic, accident, people get lost, etc), but this person was planning to get by midnight without notice.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Write him a review with a thumbs down.  If he's abusing you and your hospitality, say so in the written review too.  

After reading your House Rules, it is not really clear what the penalty is if the guest does not arrive before 10pm.  You might try something like: "Check in hours are strict. Any arrival after 10pm must be arranged 24 hours in advance (flight and travel delays will be considered the day of when communicated).  We expect you to be respectful of our time and arrive when arranged or find another accommodation."  

[David126]

I would think the penalty is obvious.

[Helen3]

Hi @LuisAlonso0

Personally I don't con**bleep** in time. This minimises the chances of guests doing this.

Of course if there is something outside their control such as flight delays or a motorway pile up I would be flexible, but if not, I would suggest if they want to arrive in the early hours they book a hotel near the airport for the first night.

I would definitely mention this in your review as a warning to future hosts.

[Helen3]

Sorry once again BNB has blocked out comments for no reason.

It should have read, that I only confirm a reservation, when they have confirmed an arrival time.

[LuisAlonso0]

Thank you @Helen3, but having instant booking on this isn't an option, AFAIK. It only needs confirmation if it's outside the check in window and, even then, some people lie about it.

[Christina62]

I changed my front door lock to work on a code instead of with a key, and now offer my guests "self check in" so travel delays don't muck with us. This is for a room rather than a whole house rental, but it works very well for me and has eliminated all of these types of issues. Guests love not having to worry about arriving at a specific time, we all stress less over travel delays this way.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

We have it right in our house rules: 

* BE ON TIME: We'll expect you to work with us to find a mutually acceptable check-in time and commit to arriving at the agreed upon time.

We also send along this message when they balk at committing: 

We have busy lives. Since it's our home, we would like to commit to an arrival time with you. We both have commitments and jobs that often force us to be away from the house.  There is no full-time staff, it's just us, so we need to make sure one of us is available to greet you, let you in, and show you around.  There is no remote key or keybox and we'd hate to leave you stranded on the porch wanting to check in while we're off running errands. We hope you understand.  We'd be happy to put you down for a xxpm check in if that works for you.  Then we can set about planning our day around your arrival.

We try to set the expectation that our time is valuable too.  Then we provide a broad welcome and walk through of the features and benefits of their room, how to use the alarm system and where to find things.  The key is setting the right "guest-pectation" which includes communicating with us when you are going to be late.  Maybe it was my Mom's constant worrying, but when the guest is late, I start to worry.... are they okay? And frankly, I don't even know them yet and now I'm worrying?  Don't do that to me.  

We joke, because when we get an Airbnb message just about check-in time, we immediately bet "how late are they going to be?" but really, it's a sad start to a relationship built on trust.  Even if a flight is delayed, you know LONG BEFORE check in that you aren't going to make it on time and didn't bother to communicate it to us. If you sit down to lunch at 1pm and your check in is at 2pm, what are the chances you are going to arrive on time?  We think communication is paramount and if you didn't bother, we mark you down for House Rules as well as Communication.   If you write us a message, "hey, my flight is still sitting on the tarmack and they are saying we're going to get in 30 minutes late."  We see that as a time to renegotiate the check in committment time.  That means we get the chance to say, hey, if you're going to be more than an hour late, we have plans and will have to arrange another time to check you in.  When there is no communication, we are held hostage.  Why should I want to host a person who would treat me like that - like I'm at their beck and call.  That's the start of a bad experience.  We've ultimately had to agree that anyone who is over an hour late and doesn't communicate will be turned away, we have to for our own sanity.   

We've had an issue once where someone reached out and said they got a late start and were looking at being about an hour and a half late.  We had tickets to a play that were expensive.  We had to be honest, we bought these tickets with the plan you were going to be here at 6.  We cannot check you in at 7:30 because we have plans.  We can meet you at 10 when the show is over or you can cancel and find another host.  Guess what, she found something else to do because she got a late start.  She went to dinner, she stopped and saw an exhibit at a museum, she figured it out and only impacted our ability to go out for a nightcap after the show.  We were both, mutually, affected - not just us missing the show because she did not plan appropriately.

There is a phrase I love: Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.  I think this applies appropriately to check in times and committing to be somewhere when you say you are going to be there.   

[LuisAlonso0]

Thank you for your detailed post, @Alice-and-Jeff0. It's very clear and helps me get some ideas. You really went above and beyond.

[Sam104]

I love it when my guests arrive late, as it cuts down on the electric and expensive heating bills,  i prefere it to when the guests want to check out late

[Alison3]

I love your statements and you wrote my "life." I would like to use some of your verbiage in my listing.

[Gemma-Gabriella0]

Hi there eveyone

My guest (for 2 nights) confirmed weeks ahead to check-in around 5.30 pm.

On her arrival day I waited for 4 hours. At 7.15 pm finally a message from my guest: she had reached town but didn't know how to get to my place. I explained the 'procedure' - despite of it being explained in detail in the booking confirmation. 

One hour later she still hadn't shown up nor sent further notice - and when my check-in window closed at 9 pm .. I reluctantly wrote her a message that I was sorry but couldn't wait any longer. I kindly asked her to look for another accomodation for the night and went to bed.

Now, my question is: Would you - am I supposed to - offer a refund for the second night? How would you handle such a situation?

Thank you for your support

Gemma

[Gemma-Gabriella0]

Hi there eveyone

My guest (for 2 nights) confirmed weeks ahead to check-in around 5.30 pm.

On her arrival day I waited for 4 hours. At 7.15 pm finally a message from my guest: she had reached town but didn't know how to get to my place. I explained the 'procedure' - despite of it being explained in detail in the booking confirmation. 

One hour later she still hadn't shown up nor sent further notice - and when my check-in window closed at 9 pm .. I reluctantly wrote her a message that I was sorry but couldn't wait any longer. I kindly asked her to look for another accomodation for the night and went to bed.

Now, my question is: Would you - am I supposed to - offer a refund? Maybe for the second night? How would you handle such a situation?

Thank you for your support

Gemma