Greeting guests in person

[Inna22]

My properties are self check in and are extremely self explanatory. I have never personally greeted my guests in person before.  I know many of you do for various absolutely valid reasons. I do not want to start another debate about business collection or self check in but rather about something else.

About a month ago I have decided to start greeting guests. I thought meeting me in person will further improve my reviews by establishing a human connection. (Yes, I do think I am that lovely in person 🙂

After a month of doing it I am not sure I should continue. I am not sure the benefit outweighs the burden. I have changed my entire family’s schedule around for this. Even changed kids after school activities as usually guests arrive at that time. I have run out of the house dinner on the stove. I could not have a glass of wine when out a few times because guests were arriving late and I did not want to smell like alcohol. Of course it gave me whole new appreciation for those of you who HAVE TO do it. 

The burden is obvious. Now to the benefit. I think some guests were annoyed with having to accommodate meeting me as this is a self check in peoperty. Some I couldn’t meet and I think it looked even worse when I tried to arrange a meeting and couldn’t make it happen. They might have felt they were left out without a greeting. Or at least I was worried about them feeling that way. One group left me 7.5 out of 10 for staff on booking.com so clearly they were not as enchanted by me as I thought they would.  I am not entirely sure I have gained anything.  I do not feel I salvaged any potential bad reviews by meeting guests and that was the sole purpose of doing it. 

Please share are your experience and thoughts. 

[Tacina0]

In a world of do little human connection meeting guests in person can make the difference of an ordinary trip to an extra ordinary trip . I have guests come back year after year because they felt safe and they were coming “ home” 

it does wreak havoc with personal life !  The people contact is so rewarding to me as a host . 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Inna22

Unless you are an on-site host (like me & Henry) I can only imagine how hard it must be to always be on-call for check ins.

Maybe instead of greeting guests in person specifically at check-in, you can keep it casual and be flexible by either doing a personal check-in or arrange to drop by for quick greeting within the first 24hrs for guests who used self-check in. Just a thought~

[Kelly149]

My space is in our backyard so I MAY meet guests if:

- they seem problematic (either evasive communication or dodgy guest info)

- or if they request 

but I don’t rearrange life to make it happen and if their arrival bumps up against something else then they may get a phone call instead or one of us will pop over later in the evening. 

Some guests appreciate the personal interaction & others are annoyed. I’d take cues from the guest and your life and adjust as needed. 

[Jackie148]

@Inna22 I would love self check in as I live approx 1 hour away but can't just have self locks due to fire safety regulations in the building Onsite need to access apartment Incase of fire. Having to wait sometimes until 10pm I wish I could give out a pin number and be at home. 

[Robin4]

@Jackie148

Hi Jackie, is it not possible for you to use something like August Smartlock and have building management in on your access codes. This would solve all your check-in issues and would satisfy community management access issues in time of crisis!

https://august.com/pages/works-with

Give it a though hey!

Cheers......Rob 

[Robin4]

@Inna22, If I was in your situation Inna, I wouldn't do it, as you so rightly say, too many opportunites for that personal introduction to go off the rails.

Hosting is an individual thing and because something works well for me does not mean it will automatically flow through to work well for others. 

At the very least you are going to become frustrated with your hosting because of the pressure you are putting on yourself, and your guests will sense this and feel they are a nuisance. Just the agitated tone in your voice if a problem arises will make them feel uncomfortable.
Inna, give it away and go back to what made you a Superhost, don't try and chase something that does not suit what you do, and do so well. Let them self check-in, you always tell them you are handy nearby if needed, leave it at that hey!

All the best for this year Inna!

Cheers.....Rob 

[Olena15]

@Inna22 I have pointed out to Airbnb that their guidance on exceeding guests' expectations is objectionable. It is based on everyone being predictable and, perhaps, what the guidance writer imagined for themselves. When you buy a dishwasher or any item or service, would you be pleasantly surprised if it sprinkled a bit of glitter on your dishes? If you want a cut with your hair colour, you definitely ask for it and pay. If you cater for people preferring self-check-in, there is your niche. Perhaps, you can program your intercom to play Salieri's March of Welcome when they punch in the right code? They would not expect that! Hence you have exceeded their expectations.

[Rubén16]

I have found that greeting guests in person has improved not just the quantity of reviews I received but also the Quality of the review, this is important because recently I noticed that when a guests leaves a short 3 or 4 word review, airbnb does not put that last review on my recent reviews but puts it towards the last page of my reviews. My home is not far from my Cottage listing so if I see them packing up their car at check out, i also go to them and wish them safe travels and remind them again of a review.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Inna22

if self check in works for you then continue to do it. Unfortunatelly we have to meet our guests , drive few kilometers, wait for them if they are late... because they have to go through 4 locks and doors to enter in the apartment and we have to register them .

It is of course very time consuming for us because we have 2 units and average stay is just 2-3 nights.

I believe most of our guests would love to have self check in option. I would love it too...