When to communicate rental info to guests.

[David-And-Kevin0]

We've been hosting in Hawaii for several years, and we've used Airbnbs around the world. As a guest. I have a pet-peeve: Last minute communication of address, driving instructions, and the code to unlock the door (or key location).

I know many places around the world where cellphone connectivity is dreadful. Additionally, it's very possible that a guest's cellphone runs out of power. 

Please, please, please advise your guests of the address and lockbox codes a few days in advance. I just received an email from  a host via Airbnb that they will send me the door code the morning of my arrival. For me, I find that totally unacceptable. If a host needs to change a code or rotate a series of codes, so be it. I like to have my travel plans firm before I leave home.

[Sarah977]

@David-And-Kevin0  I feel exactly the same. I haven't yet travelled as an Airbnb guest, but I like all my ducks  in a row well ahead of time before I travel. I print or write out hard copies of info. There's enough things that can go awry when travelling without adding to it by withholding crucial info until the last minute.

That's one thing I would ask a host before committing to a booking. If they said they won't give out the info a few days ahead, I wouldn't book with them.

I do know why some hosts do this- they have had guests arrive early without notice, while the resident guests haven't checked out yet. And some guests, on finding the door code doesn't work (because the host doesn't change it until check-in time) have actually banged on the door, disturbing and scaring the guests in residence.

But the solution to this has to be something other than not sending the info until a few hours before check-in. People's phones can run out of juice, they could lose their phone, and believe it or not, not everyone uses a smart phone.

[Lisa723]

@David-And-Kevin0 I'm with you. We send ours one week before check-in. We clearly state that the door codes will only work during their check-in-to-check-out period and we have never had anyone try to arrive early. I recently had a host who sent the check-in instructions the day of arrival and it was just one more thing to keep track of on a busy day of travel. Annoying.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@David-And-Kevin0 @Lisa723 @Sarah977   we can set when Airbnb will give our guests the address and other info. It can be sent immediately after booking or on the end of free-cancellation period

Dashboard / listing / listing details / location sharing / address privacy for cancelations

Address privacy for cancellations

When this setting is on, guests won't be shown your address, last name, or phone number while they’re able to cancel for free. After the free cancellation window, we’ll send guests this information.

I am not sure though, does it mean they will get it 48 hours after booking or it depends on our cancelation policy?

[Colleen253]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  If you have that setting checked, address is available after the free cancellation period is over. Check in details are made available to guests in their trips dashboard 72 hours before check in, as long as the info has been put into ‘info for guests’ section. Of course, you can also send any info you want directly to guests at anytime.

[Sarah977]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  I guess it depends on what Airbnb is calling the "free" cancellation window. With my moderate policy, if a guest booked 2 weeks before check-in and cancelled within 48 hours, they'd get their entire payment back, including the service fee. If they cancelled 6 days before arrival, they'd get refunded their entire nightly fee, but not the service fee. 

So is the latter, the host's cancellation policy, what Airbnb is calling "free cancellation window?" Who knows.

I guess the easiest thing is to ask a guest to tell you if they received the info after 48 hrs. Then we'd know.

I don't know why Airbnb has to word everything so cryptically. 

[Lorna170]

@David-And-Kevin0   My AirBnB listed property is in the mountains of NC, and we have spotty phone service once off the highway and on the back roads to the cabin.  I send my guests a PDF with the driving directions and the door access code a week prior to their arrival, and I ask them to acknowledge their receipt of the information.  On AirBnB I have noted that the access code for their visit is in the PDF.

You would not believe (then again, maybe you would) how many guests of a certain age try to get here relying solely on their GPS and phone -- which is now not working because of the mountains.  If they do manage to get to the cabin, they cannot call me until they are connected to the WiFi (code in the PDF).  Bless them.

[David-And-Kevin0]

OH! I know! I send the PDF with directions and warn that it must be printed. I'm ignored or they forget to bring the paper. If GPS works, it often sends people to the wrong street. We are 20 miles from any reliable cell service and there are no stores or gas stations. And we are not known by many residents. We've been fortunate to see our guests driving back and forth....

[Elaine701]

Aside from extensive location (Google Maps link) and driving directions available to all confirmed guests on our Airbnb listing (few actually read it) we've tried sending all that info a week before arrival, and it inevitably gets lost in the "noise" of the guest's week, and we often ended up with frantic voice calls just before arrival, occasionally in languages we aren't fluent in, which complicates matters when dealing with spoken dialogue. 

So, I send everything they need on the day before arrival (in their native or otherwise preferred language). We have excellent mobile coverage virtually everywhere here.

So far, that has solved the "lost in the noise" problem, and nobody has complained. 

Of course, if they want it earlier, I'm happy to oblige.

[Laura2592]

@David-And-Kevin0 in defense of last minute emails...

We have had guests try to get into the space early with codes that don't work while others are still there. We have gone to do turnover behind the cleaners to discover a fallen tree in the yard, a dishwasher that suddenly didn't work and various other situations that require last minute communication or intervention. We always alert our guests that they will get info the day before check in and do not send it earlier. In about 180 stays now only 2 people have ever complained about this. Our location is visible on the map at the time of booking, and we certainly are available to answer any questions guests may have well before check in codes are sent.

If this is your pet peeve you need to speak up to your specific hosts. Hosts do business the way they do because of past experience but it doesn't mean they can't alter it if something will work better for you. When I travel I prefer codes to be sent close to my arrival so that they aren't buried in my inbox. But everyone is different. If you feel more secure with an earlier email, I would imagine all you have to do is let your hosts know.