late checkin

[Margaret273]

I have a guest booked months ago, I messaged her asking approx. checkin time as I do go to church. Messaged again 2 weeks before arrival, no communication at all, messaged again the day before. On the morning of arrival 8am she text me privately and said she  was at work and will be here at 10.30pm my listing clearly states no checkin after 8pm. She is booked for 5 nights

[Helen3]

Unfortunately not all guests have their profiles set so they receive messages sent on Airbnb.  @Margaret273 

Personally if I can't get hold of the guest on the platform I used the email that Airbnb provides or text the guest for something as important as check in times. If this fails I ask Airbnb to get hold of them.

In your situation I would text the guest back and say you need to keep all communication on Airbnb and have messaged her back on the platform.

You have two choices a) message the guest back on Airbnb and say that as advised on your listing you do need her to check in by 8 p.m. and if she can't do that she may need to book somewhere else for the first night b) if you feel you can be flexible say that normally your latest check in is 8 p.m.  and if she can guarantee that she will be there by 10 p.m. at the very latest you will consider a late check in but would prefer if she made an effort to get to you earlier.

[Margaret273]

Thanks Helen3 , didn't realise about the profile bit, I have text her back and asked that she communicate through Airbnb, (at least that means I have a record) Her feedback on communication is poor from another host but another has not commented. She says she is a nurse! communication is a big part of the job therefore I would have expected more. I live alone and am not particularly young, so am not happy with answering the door late at night to men, women, or anyone. I will message her again. thanks.

[Helen3]

Quite honestly if guests have poor reviews for communications (or anything else) I would tend to not accept the booking in the first place. 

I do understand your concerns and you are absolutely within your rights to host in a way that feels comfortable for you.

Has she told you why she needs to arrive by 10 p.m. - is she flying in long distance. If not just confirm that she needs to arrive with you by 8 p.m. in line with the check in time that she booked under.

[Margaret273]

Its an instant booking Helen, but looking on the community boards I see I can cancel her booking with no penalties to me, if there has been  no communication, (after leaving her a message to say thats what I will do and giving a couple of days or more notice) which is not applicable in this instance but I will bare this in mind for the future.

[Margaret273]

Although I have a reasonable booking facility if within a few days, but she booked months ago so booked direct without enquiry or request. 

I have had no communication with her at all just the message when she booked to say she was an agency nurse and working in  the area, so not flying from anywhere just working.

If she had mentioned she was working late I could have arranged for her to come early and collect a key but until the morning of booking I had no idea what time she would arrive.

I always message on booking (100% response) to say hi and to ask approx. check in times, do they want directions etc. but had no communication.

[Sarah977]

@Margaret273  If a guest doesn't answer my messages, I get on that right away. I wouldn't wait until the day before arrival to message again if they hadn't answered a message I sent 2 weeks before- I would text or phone them, letting them know I had sent them an Airbnb message, and to please check their Inbox and answer promptly. If they still don't respond, I've contacted Airbnb and they get in touch with the guest and I get a response from the guest almost right away.

Being a nurse has nothing to do with being communicative outside of their job. One of my best friends, who is a nurse, is one of the worst communicators I know as far as answering emails, phone messages, etc, outside of work. Most nurses are overworked and exhausted, they usually have tons of paperwork to fill out, and when they aren't on shift, they may tend to ignore other things as they try to get some sleep and attend to their personal lives, like getting their laundry done, their house clean, and shopping. 

[Margaret273]

I am a retired community palliative nurse.

[Linda108]

I agree with both @Helen3  and @Sarah977 .  I usually get very good communication from guests but the few times I have not, I have called and left a voice message. The only time that did not work was a couple of guys who had turned off the phone 2 weeks before in the US to save roaming charges.  Turned out to be one of the worst guest experiences in 4 years!!

[Andrea-and-Francis0]

Due to the late minute communication with your guest, I would call Airbnb & get them to relocate her for the one night or stay up for her to arrive or just tell her she needs to check in by 8pm or cancel her reservation.

[Margaret273]

Thanks for the advice Andrea, I am in the UK so phoning USA is not a cheap option. She is booked in for 5 nights

[Solveig0 · Accepted solution]

@Margaret273 You can call airbnb on +44 203 318 1111. They have local numbers almost all over the world. 

[Helen3]

Hi @Margaret273 

Going forward set up Skype for cheap international calls and texts.

[Margaret273]

Thanks for the info everyone. Even Airbnb could not get into contact with her. I have been in  contact with them for the last 3 hours. She finally phoned at 6.30pm saying she was upset and didn't know what to do, so I said on this occasion I would wait for her, thinking that she had phoned in her break as she said she was coming to me from work.

She actually finished work at 6pm but 162 miles away! 

she arrived at my house at 11.24pm very indignant saying she never had this problem before, she has 6 reviews, (one of which was bad)  I have 131 with only 1 bad one from someone who didn't even stay. Many of my guests are return visitors.

I have learnt my lesson, I am now going through all my future bookings to confirm their arrival times, I will also leave her an honest review and hope she does the same.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Margaret273 

SHE was upset?

SHE was indignant?

Oh, really?

Wow!

The worst reviews we got were always from guests who blamed us for their mistakes, so you can certainly expect it. Please be honest in your review and warn her future hosts.

And in the future call Airbnb and make them cancel any booking from unresponsive guest.