Guests arriving hours late

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Helen0
Level 10
Manchester, United Kingdom

Guests arriving hours late

I've been hosting for four years and having dealt with a fair few guest idiosyncracies, I thought I'd got to grips with how to set reasonable and respectful expectations and boundaries, but it seems there is always something new to deal with! I don't know why this is starting to happen now when it hasn't been such a problem before, but in recent months I have had several groups of guests turn up hours later than the check-in time we've agreed and it's becoming a real annoyance! What can I do about it?

 

It's bad enough when the guest is staying at my own home. At least I can get on with my life while I wait for them, although it is often hugely inconvenient that I can't leave the house for hours, and I've often had to cancel social engagements or make apologies for my own late arrival because I've had to wait for guests. It's much worse when I am waiting for them at one of my three other listings which are not my own home. I have a busy life and I always have a whole load of other things to do in a day, I simply don't have whole free afternoons or evenings to just wait in an empty property for people to arrive. I try to pin people down to a check-in time when they book. I give preferred check-in 'windows' on my listings and include copious advice about exactly how long it takes to drive here. If they haven't confirmed a definite time by a couple of days before their arrival, I chase them until they do. I am crystal clear with them about when I need to be somewhere else and can't just drop everything to check them in if they turn up at a different time. I offer pick-ups from the airport to make arrival smoother. I say no to early check-ins and late check-outs that would cause problems. I ask people to confirm when they are nearly at the property, I send them messages when they don't arrive by the time we've agreed, I even send them updates if I hear that there are traffic congestion problems or delays at the airport. And yet. More and more often guests are simply treating me as if I have nothing better to do than sit around all day waiting for them without even the courtesy of a message.

 

As I type this in gritted-teeth frustration, I rushed home from work today because today's guests wanted to check-in an hour earlier than my usual time. I raced to get the room ready for them as the previous guest only checked-out after I had already left this morning so I had to do a super-quick turnaround. As agreed, I sent them a message to confirm that I was now home and that they could check-in. The appointed hour came and went. Ninety minutes after the agreed arrival time, I finally got a response to my message - their SatNav says they are still two hours away! No apology, either for the lateness or the lack of updates. And on top of having my afternoon stolen from me because I couldn't just relax at home or leave the house, since I was expecting them at any moment, I now have to sit tight for another couple of hours and welcome them with a smile whenever they feel like showing up!

This is happening with nearly 50% of guests recently. The record was a guest who arrived five hours after she said she would, but only got in contact after I had waited, across town, for over two hours. Again, I got no apology - just a weak explanation that the journey had taken them longer than they'd expected - on a Friday afternoon before a bank holiday weekend, on the M6, well how unexpected!

 

I could do with some advice from experienced hosts. There is no amount of tinkering with the listing or the house rules that's going to solve this, I've already done all that many times. And since it's now becoming a pattern, I can't put it down to the personality of any particular guest. What I would appreciate are some tips or tricks that have worked for other people to somehow get across to self-involved inconsiderate people that they need to show me some better manners! Any thoughts?

 

Many thanks to anyone who's read through my ranting! 

1 Best Answer

You are jumping through hoops.  If it is inconvenient just set a window and go about your business.  Let them know if they miss the check-in window, they can stop for dinner until you are home.  Then ask them to text you when they arrive so they'll be waiting for you.  I also start checking on a guests eta the day before arrival and sometimes advise of traffic problems so they'll leave home earlier to arrive earlier.

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61 Replies 61
Ivary0
Level 4
Republic of Indonesia

So @David126, what do you suggest to make it more clear? I accept guest to check in any time after 2PM but I need to know at least a few days before arrival what time to expect them as I don't live near the property I rent. And what to do when a guest arrives several hours later than promised? If I have to pay somebody to let them, it would be fair if they covered that.

 

I would gladly put a remote lock but on my case it is not possible. My place is on a very busy street, where over a thousand people pass by the front door by just a few feet. So the guest wouldn't get through the main gate which leads to all apartments.

@Ivary0

 

I have my check in time from 5pm to 10pm and ask if they could let me know an approx arrival time, most do if they do not then I am here during that period. Person coming in said about 7pm so in my mind that is probably 6.30 to 8.

 

Being so far away if it was me I would set a relatively narrow window and then mention in the text that other times may be available, cost may be involved.

David
Ivary0
Level 4
Republic of Indonesia

@David126and what happens if the guest misses the check in window? I don't think they would be happy if you told them they have to come back tomorrow at the same time. What is the Airbnb policy on that?

 

Also I don't want to limit my guests to a certain time frame. Some guests arrive in the morning, some late night. As a traveler myself, I really appreciate the flexibility.

@Ivary0

 

Remmeber your listing is there  to help protect your position is something goes wromg, noby can tell you what the person at AirBnb may decide in any given situation, if you have specific rules at to what check in time is, of they want for example a late check in the cost associated with that, then you have a position to defend.

 

Or you do what you do know and accept every now and then you will have an issue.

David

Hi David I am going to give you thumbs up because it is reasonable that a guest takes this literally and having had my own issue last night despite many attempts at communicating with the guest, I will check mine but the rules do say something like check in between 3-9pm. And I always ask guests before confirming if they have read and agree to house rules. 
Thanks 

Raquel13
Level 10
Miami, FL

@Helen0  Having several properties is a job in itself, and every job has its problems. In my mind, check-in time is the earliest time your guest can show up and not the deadline by which a guest must show up.  However, all you need to do is to ask your guest to call you when he/she is close to your home. Alternatively, put the lock that others suggested.  I have guests showing up hours after check-in time, some close to midnight; but how I complain if a flight is delayed or whatever other reason that caused the delay? 

Helen0
Level 10
Manchester, United Kingdom

Thanks - of course I understand when delays are inevitable, but in my experience guests whose flight is delayed generally contact me as soon as they know this and are very apologetic. In fact this is much less of an inconvenience to me; I have an app on my phone to track arrival of flights at the local airport, and I live so close that I don't even set off until they're flagged as 'on approach to landing' which still means I am usually in the arrivals hall well before the guests have collected their luggage. Other guests let me know the exact arrival time of their train, from which I know pretty much how long it will take them to arrive at the property. Guests who keep me updated are not the problem, I re-arrange my day around them - the ones that cause me the grief are the people who are convinced they can drive from London to Manchester in less than five hours, and have ignored my advice about bank holiday traffic, roadworks on the M6, stop for extended breaks or detours with no warning and don't even think to send me a text message about it 😞

The problem with calling is the ones that don't have a phone with them. "I had no WiFi" ever Mcdonalds and starbucks on the way up has it. "I don't have international calling." Do we mark them down for communication? I think so. I've started writing it in the comment box as well as if the guest was late.  If you don't have a phone with calling that is OK, but find a way to get a message to me. Hop on your laptop at Mcdonalds or the airport for a minute (you can probably pick up the signal from the parking lot) and message airbnb, fire up What's APP, borrow a local's - come on! Unless you are in a seriously remote area this is getting annoying.

Sounds like a lot of winging. If you made money dont complain. If you cant handle people give up airbnb

Jacqulyn0
Level 1
Bearsden, United Kingdom

I agree with this writers comment entirely, maybe you shouldn't be in the Hospitality business anyway Helen , people are generally very nice if you are welcoming in your pre arrival stipulations which to be quite honest sounds like you may not be . Perhaps look at this area objectively is my advice. 

but that nightly rate is not to cover every 24 hours of that rate to rent your time as a human being waiting for someone to arrive - it is the rate to book the room not the human host.

I agree. There needs to be a re-training process  with guests because people are so used to hotels - with a full staff. They are getting great deals on airbnb because they need to be a little flexible with our schedules too. We do this on the side, and can't dedicate our entire day to one person. Most people get it - but there are plenty who just ignore your questions for an arrival time then call to announce they have arrived.

 

Of course, we try and help out and are available if they need us and try to do as much as we can to make their stay comfortable, but there has to be a limit.

Paul0
Level 10
Brunswick, Australia

Hi @Helen0

 

Some good advice here, either change your key exchange (go keyless or put a lock box in) or ensure your Guests know you're a busy and function member of society, not a hotel and can't always be flexible on their arrival times. 

 

@GuestStay0 - People come here to discuss opinions, ideas and pose questions. Your attitude sucks, check yourself next time or don't bother.

 

- Paul

 

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I suggest getting a lockbox for $35 if the whole installation of a wifi or keyless lock is too much of a hassle - that way they can just grab the key when they arrive and they can call you if they need help or if you need to orient them you have time to get to the apartment while they settle in. I've also had some uncommunicative guests but in the end we have to remember they are traveling to a new place and dealing with a lot of travel hassles and potential delays as it is and sometimes have no internet access until they've reached your place. I adore hosting and try to make things easy on everyone including myself!

Helen0
Level 10
Manchester, United Kingdom

Thank you to everyone who took the trouble to give me advice . I wish I could solve the problem with a lock box, but I suspect I will just have to soldier on and keep trying to clarify expectations at the booking and pre-check-in stage. It helps to just vent occasionally to people who understand! 

 

The couple who were checking-in yesterday finally arrived at 8.20pm (original check-in time 3.00pm) and immediately demanded I call them a taxi to take them to the event that was the reason for their trip, and which they were now very late for. They got in very late last night and didn't stir from their room until midday today. I gave them information they wanted about how to get to a couple of places they planned to see today on their way back home and they left at about 12.30pm, seemingly unaware that they had also slightly overstayed check-out time. So they've gone on their disorganised uncommunicative way and now I just have to decide what on earth I can put in a review! Fun times 🙂