Have you ever had a guest mark you down for check-in, because they got lost or didn't read guide?

[Natalie725]

Has any host been marked down for check-in because the guest didn't read the check-in guide or had some language barriers? 

I have a step by step check-in guide, with photos and directions. I send this to guests two days before arrival and urge them to look over it, so they know what to expect. I direct them from our local pub across the road instead of our apartment complex (because there's another apartment complex nearby with the same name... Stupidly). I include directional arrows in the step by step photos. The gate codes are in this check-in guide also.

Out of approx 120 who have stayed, there's been 3 people who had issues. One were a young Spanish couple who went to the wrong apartment complex (because they followed the Airbnb address instead of reading my guide, stating to do otherwise) So, I was marked down for that... Another couple asked for driving directions at the last minute, and I had to give different directions after already giving the standard check-in guide directions. I guess information overload, but I was marked down for that again. 

The current guest has just had some language barriers and got totally lost. She had no internet connection to use the guide. But it seems she has never bothered to click on the guide within the two days prior to arrival. She somehow thought I had left the keys in the local pub? She couldn't understand why I mentioned the pub instead of the apartment complex. I had to explain but I still don't think she understands... I presume she'll also mark me down for this.

I have a 5.0 check-in average... So am I doing something wrong/ over complicating the check-in? Or are these just the few people who struggle to live independently? 

[Sarah977]

@Natalie725  I'd say you are doing all you can and 3 clueless guests out of 120 makes that pretty clear. 

While many people assume that everyone can just check their cell phones wherever they are to read instructions, that's not at all the case. Some guests don't have their phones set up to use in a foreign country, there may not be a cell signal available, they may have managed to lose their phone or had it stolen in transit or it may be out of charge, and not everyone uses the app- there's many possibilities.

I actually send my guests check-in instructions several days-a week before check-in. I ask them to message me if they have any questions or confusion about it. I also suggest that they print out the map and info and have that with them in case their phone doesn't work.

[Natalie725]

Thanks for the advice. I thought guests could only view check-in guide three days before arrival? Because if I'm wrong about that, then I will definitely send it beforehand. This particular guest had an Irish phone in Ireland, but showed that she had no coverage. I wasn't even angry at her, I just hope she doesn't see this as my mistake, if you know what I mean.. 

[Sarah977]

@Natalie725  I don't have a check-in guide that gets automatically sent. I send my guests a map and directions via email. So I can send that at any time I want. When I have done that, I send the guest an Airbnb message telling them to check their email Inbox for the info, as well as their Spam box if they don't see it, and to please confirm that they received it. There seems to be something glitchy with attaching my map to an email sent to the coded email Airbnb assigns to guests, though- sometimes they get the attachment, sometimes they don't. If they tell me they don't see any attachment, I ask them for their personal email address, and then they get it for sure.

Using all of Airbnb's features, like automated check-in info, aren't necessarily that helpful for all hosts, depending on the hosting situation.

[Natalie725]

I hear you. This method sounds like it works for you, as your ratings are perfect. I have to send mine manually through a link, and I send it in an Airbnb message (as that's the only way they let you send it). I'll just hope she doesn't mark me down for check-in, and will chalk the rest up to some guests not being great at travelling and using map directions

[Sarah977]

@Natalie725  I'm not sure, and maybe you already do this, but maybe in the future if a guest has difficulty with the check-in instructions, if the host expresses distress over this and invites feedback, it could ward off a bad review?

Something like, "Oh, I'm so, so sorry you got confused. I do try to make the instructions as clear as possible, including all those photos, and it's worked just fine for 99% of my guests.  Do you have any suggestions for me on what I might have done differently that would have made it easier for you? Because I'm always open to changing the way I provide information if guests let me know."

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Natalie725 some people struggle!

We had some guests (coincidentally Spanish) who were searching for us in a local town.

With all the stuff in our listing about how rural we are it is weird they thought a town would be the right place...

[Natalie725]

Interesting! I really don't know what some people expect when they book to stay somewhere. You would think people do some research on an area before visiting!... But hey, some people seem to really rely on others to spoon feed them through their holiday

[Sarah977]

@Natalie725  Research? You mean like the guests who book a holiday in the tropics and freak out because they saw a bug? 🙂 "But all the magazine photos show people happily sitting on the beach sipping margueritas. No one told us there'd be mosquitoes."

[Yadira22]

@Sarah977 Too true.  The funniest thing I saw was someone freak out over the free roaming iguana in the Galapagos... 🙈😭😂😂😂

They had a moment as it was uncalled for and not expected *SMH*

[Sarah977]

@Yadira22  I was on the beach here one day when an iguana ran out onto the beach (they seldom do that, especially if there are people around- they tend to hang out in the trees or sometimes wander down the road, but their destination is another tree). It ran under a tourist's beach lounger. All these tourists started snapping photos, meanwhile the woman in the lounger was frozen- she was obviously totally terrified, as if she thought the thing would attack her. It was hilarious. 

Iguanas eat leaves, fruit, and flowers and occasionally crabs and other small animals. They don't attack humans and it was obvious that the iguana was disoriented and freaked out. It had far more reason to be scared than the woman in the lounge chair.

[Yadira22]

@Sarah977 true but the woman in question had a fit about why there were free roaming iguanas and other animals in the middle of the Galapagos natural reserve park! She thought it was an animal free zone... this was what made it hilarious, like being surprised by the fish swimming next to you whilst in the sea...

Some people will never be happy! 

[Sarah977]

@Yadira22   Hosts could all have a mandatory multiple choice quiz for guests tailored to their listing.

The wildlife you are inclined to encounter in tropical Mexico are:

A. Bears and cougars

B. Kangaroos

C. Mosquitoes, ants and lizards

D. Elephants and tigers

E. None of the above

F. All of the above

When booking a quiet rural listing, items that would be most useful to bring are:

A. Formal evening wear

B. Heirloom jewelry

C. Sturdy walking shoes and a flashlight

D. Your giant surround sound music system

E. None of the above

F. All of the above

[Yadira22]

@Sarah977 I can already imagine Airbnb responding to this as being discriminatory... 😉

And unfortunately there are very well educated individuals who lack complete common sense, this was apparent when I went to university with a lot of doctors etc... but something worth considering regardless. 🙂

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Natalie725 

yes, we were also guilty for our guest's mistakes, don't worry, you are not the only lucky one 🙂