Non responsive guests

[Iva1]

I will copy paste what I wrote through Airbnb feedback section, everything is explained already so I won't retype. I am eager to hear your opinion and input on the issue.

I am writing this feedback because I have been annoyed so much by unclear rules about the guest's checking in rules. I have been a Superhost for 20 times in a row and I have worked in travel industry for over 15 years. Generally, guests are OK and communicative, but what happens with those who won't communicate? In the past 5 years I've had two very unpleasant situations with unresponsive guests. Here is how it was.
The first time it happened that the guest wasn't responding about the check in time, I reached out to the support, they tried to locate them, and finally when they couldn't, their reservation was cancelled by the support around 7pm (my official check in time is 3pm). These guests never showed up and only later, much later, they wrote to me apologizing cause they couldn't come. On that occasion I asked Airbnb support agent what he suggests I do to avoid this kind of situations. And he said, well you can try to reach them, blah blah... I said to him that this doesn't work for me because I work full time, I don't have a reception desk and I can't keep my cohost on standby all day (she also has work to do). Then I suggested that I write a check in information rule in my house rules and he said that is OK. On that occasion I fixed my house rules saying that all guests must inform me about their check in time at least 24h in advance or their reservation will be terminated.
So, this time it happens that I have a non responsive guest again (don't tell me, I know, I tried messages, email, whatsapp but to no avail). I then reach out to the support inform them about my house rules and that this guest has basically broken one of my house rules he agreed to once he made a booking. And I get the response saying how I need to try to reach out to him more times, how I need to call, write...blah blah and how he can check in any time from my official check in time until 24h later. Are you serious?!?!?!?!? I wrote to him 7 days ago when he made a reservation, he didn't respond. Then he requested alteration 3 times and I accepted all three. Then I wrote to him a day before the check in asking him to confirm the arrival time but he didn't respond. What should I do? Travel to Canada to try to find him and talk to him in person?!
Here is an example according to what support suggested. My official check in time is 15h. It can happen that he shows up 4 am the next day. Should I sleep in Airbnb and wait for him? What kind of support is this? I've been a Superhost for 20 times in a row and I have worked in travel industry for over 15 years. I've never seen this approach in my life. Even hotels, if you don't write to them or show up until some reasonable time (22h) terminate the reservation and mark it as a no show.
I work full time and Airbnb is something additional. I can't stay up all night waiting for someone. Would you YOURSELF do it?
And I don't even want to mention how Airbnb doesn't value key partners, Superhosts. Good hosts make a name for Airbnb and when it comes to treating them kindly and being of help, Airbnb is nowhere to be found. I know Airbnb insists on keeping guests happy because they are paying, but that works as long as everyone is treated fairly (because without hosts, what would Airbnb be?).
According to all this what I wrote, I ask you kindly to change this approach and make it possible for hosts to mark a no show should the guest not show up by certain time (the end of check in window for eg). I know this opens the door to misuse, but you can just make this feature available for Superhosts for start and then when someone marks that the guest didn't show up, you can check the conversation (messages) and decide within an hour or two to close the case. I believe this can be done. These situations don't happen frequently, but once they do they can be very stressful.
Look, in my case, I have check in window 15h to 22h. I have work, I have life, I have a family. Why should I be sacrificed to cater to guests who clearly don't deserve flexibility nor any kind of especially nice treatment?

[Anonymous]

@Iva1  Why not just take matters into your own hands? Here's a message you can send to guests who haven't responded in the proper time frame (noting that when you shrink down your check-in window it's best to stick to the last hour of your usual one):

"Because i have not received any info about your arrival time, I've been unable to coordinate my schedule around it. Therefore, the only remaining check-in time window available will be between 21:00 and 22:00. If you aren't present within this time period the booking will unfortunately be considered cancelled by Airbnb."

[Zappa0]

I like the No Show option. I also have done what Andrew suggests. 

Additionally, when accepting the reservation I emphasize the Check In window and I make it an hour BEFORE I actually want it to end as so many guests underestimate traffic etc...

But at the end of the day, Airbnb NEEDS TO EDUCATE guests on check in communication, especially with hosts who do not or Cannot offer self check in, that it is NOT ok to show up whenever the heck they feel like it. This rings true for Early arrivals too.

They also need to clearly display check in times. I recently traveled with airbnb and it is hard to find. 

[Anonymous]

@Zappa0  Many people seem to be impervious to education; no matter how much info you put right up in their faces in bright flashing lights, there's no guarantee they're going to pay attention when it counts. 

The problem with uncommunicative guests happens far less when you don't use Instant Book. If you instead require guests to request, you make it possible to get the important details squared away before hitting the Accept button -  or to decline guests whose communication is unsatisfactory.

[Zappa0]

While many people will still ignore it, that can be said about anything. 

If airbnb clearly displays check in times with a "Heads up! This host doesn't have self check in! Please contact them about check in arrangements!" It will significantly lower the number of incidents we deal with. Of course there will be some that dont read descriptions or information and show up late or dont communicate, at which point hosts can relay that in reviews.

I don't offer instant book. Have tried it once in the past and saw no change in the number of bookings so went back to accepting every request. I also try and hound guests for some idea of their check in time the day before. 

[Ange2]

@Iva1    While you are waiting for Airbnb to do something I suggest putting your check-in/check-out times in the description so it appears at the top, front and center, and add some wording about need to know. Many guests do not scroll down and down and down the page past the reviews,  a map etc. to see where Airbnb has put such important information, right at the very end!  You could also try adding a graphic in your gallery.

I also reiterate the check in window throughout my description, in things to note and even in rules, and I write it in every message to the guest. If they don't tell me I resend the message with PLEASE RESPOND. That always works, not sure why, maybe writing a demand in  block capitals gets their attention. My impression is many guests ignore notifications/emails from Airbnb unless urgency is noted.  Some guests have told me they don't bother to look, not sure why, maybe Airbnb sends them a lot of marketing messages too.

[Katie1064]

I have a guest scheduled to check in tomorrow.  I sent the check-in instructions by text and then tried to see if she got them by using the Airbnb message feature.  No response from the guest.  If she doesn't check in,  will Airbnb still send me her rent, or do I have to do something to make that happen?

[Sarah977]

@Katie1064   Some guests don't have notifications turned on and don't know they have an Airbnb message. I would text or phone her to ask if she received the check-in instructions.

If she turns out to be a no-show, contact Airbnb to let them know that, as well as that she didn't respond to your messages, so she doesn't claim she showed up, found it unacceptable, and try to claim a refund.

Otherwise you just have to assume she will show up, and if she doesn't, and doesn't cancel, you should hopefully get paid.