Guest check in time. Is this new?

John498
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Guest check in time. Is this new?

Just had a booking for today with something I hadn't noticed before. My check in time says 1pm onwards (to allow for cleaning, change of bedding etc) This guy wants to come early which is no problem for me but on his reservation it says guest check in from 11am to 1pm, He has asked can he drop off his bags which is fine but where does this guest requirement come from? I don't ask my butcher if he has any newspapers for sale, why would you choose an apartment then that would be outside your required check in time? Are the guests held to it if they turn up outside their required hours?  I must stress that I know I can tell them it isn't available I think that is a weird thing to put in reservations. Not part of my t and c's as I only accept what is mutually agreed.

Incidentally I have seen one hosts whose check in is 8am and check out is 7pm ( I assume next day!!!). Mind boggling.

25 Replies 25
Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@John498 Yeah John, just another lace in that straight jacket that Airbnb are lacing us up with!

They are now instructing us to 'fill the fridge with bagels'....telling us what we should be charging, telling us who we should accept,  and instructing us on every aspect of what we should be doing with our properties! 

And then they have the unmittigated gaul to penalise us if we don't go along with their decrees!

 

John, I seriously give it another year before the host base starts to really fall away....it already is in some areas. You can only tell someone how to dig themselves out of a pile of sh*t for so long.

Just continue to tell your guests that Airbnb do not have the right to overide the basis of your listing desciption! Arrival time is from 1.00pm onwards. The servicing of the listings requires nothing less, despite what Airbnb might say on their reservation!

Cheers.....Rob

John498
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Thanks Robin! I really appreciate your helpful replies. I agree it is getting crazier and the sooner this pregnant pause before they list as a public company is over, the better. I am not enjoying the gestation period as I seem to be getting milked!

The more restrictions and crap that is piled upon me, the more likely I am to up stumps and leave. Fortunately I have just the right tray for this kind of nonsense, it is called the shredder! 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@John498 ?? I never heard of this. So, now guests can tell us what the check in window is rather than vice versa? I don't understand how that works. They couldn't do that at a hotel!

 

i'd be interested to hear more about this. Do update us on how this situation works out!

John498
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

HI Huma I have cut out his message as he is a polite person etc But below is the time I receievd the messaged. I have blanked out his name. TBF the itninerary for his booking said 1pm onwards check-in. Just that attached to his message was a statement saying his check in time is 11am to 1m with a nice clock posted next to it. He and his girlfriend have been really nice people but they asked ( politely!) could they come as soon as possible to drop off luggage. No issues with them at all, juts hope this is not a new quirk from Airbnb.
Message receieved at Today at 09:49
 
 
***** check-in time is: 11AM - 1PM
John498
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

received*

message*

itinerary*

11am to 1pm*

 

fat fingers 🙂

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@John498, I'm very curious about this. What is this additional attached message with these timings? If it is a new thing, I really wish Airbnb would inform hosts before they make these sort of changes. Or at least, if not before, let us know when they happen.

 

As your guest is nice, maybe you can politely elicit some info from him about how this works!

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@John498

From maybe two other posts I've seen in the last couple of weeks it seems this is something new implemented with Instant Book.

Seems every time we catch out breath after the last 'lace in that straight jacket that Airbnb are lacing us up with!' as @Robin4 aptly describes they merrily trot out another surprise without even the decency to inform hosts.

 

In one of the posts I'd seen on this the host had the setting for next day booking, but can't give you further information on that.

 

We are being forced to be more and more pro-active as hosts, and in your shoes and not being able to turn the darn thing off, I'd state something in the pre-booking message that check-in and check-out are XXXX.

Maria-Lurdes0
Level 10
Union City, NJ

Hi @John498 I'm a host and I recently booked a stay for our holidays.  As a guest, I was given the option to indicate my arrival time, and that has no bearing on the stated check-in time.  I think it's intended to help the host know the guests plans.  Is it possible that this is what you're seeing?  So that It's not actually the guest saying he'll check in early, but letting you know he arrives early and then you can take the lead?  I know that's not exactly the situation as your guest indicated to you that he'd like to drop off his bags early....

 

It is a troubling trend (can it be a trend if it started 5 years ago?) that Airbnb makes changes, "improvements", etc. without letting hosts know.   For my part, I'm an active user and I go to my listings every single day, and look at the calendars every day, so I usually notice the changes pretty quickly.   This (guest arrival info) was one that I haven't really noticed as I think most guests just don't add info into that particular data field, or else it hasn't been rolled out all across the platform, so it doesn't show up for every host.

 

I hope this helps!

This new arrival time feature is not a "tell" it is an "ask". The guest is "asking" you if they can arrive between 11 and 1.  You can then say - sure we'll be ready at 1pm, just like it says in our listing.  In your case, it opened the door for the conversation with the guest to drop off bags early.  

Many hosts asked for the guests to be responsible for announcing their arrival time as a part of the booking process (in Host Voice).  This eliminates the guest who IBs and then suddenly they need to arrive at 2am.  This puts undue burden on the host to then tell them no, it cannot be accommodated, didn't you see our check in window on the listing details?  As a host who wanted check in times to be announced, my hope is that they would limit the guest's time options to the time allowance on our check in range - but alas, in their Agile world of software developement, we will likely see this constraint later on down the road.

It's a good thing to know when the guest wants to arrive.  It prompts conversation and the necessity of the guest to think about their plans when using Airbnb.  

@Alice-and-Jeff0 @Maria-Lurdes0 @Andrea9 @Huma0 @Robin4 Thanks for all the helpful replies. I agree with Alice and Jeff that it is useful to know when they are coming but when it doesn't reflect your check-in times it seems a bit irksome. As long as it is not enforced it is fine unless it creates unrealistic expectations in the mind of the guests. I also suppose that being rigid about it might deter guests from even enquiring because they may see from 1pm check-in on the house rules and think there is no point even asking. But thanks to all the replies it is much clearer to me now.

 

Denise-And-Jerry0
Level 1
Lake Country, Canada

I got this just tonight and I'm a bit annoyed. We have a later check in time because we work during the day but guest has listed check in time for 11am. I wont be here! I won't be able to take time off work and drive all the way home to let them in and show them the space. 

@Denise-And-Jerry0

One of the banes of Instant Book.

If you read the rest of the thread, you'll see that the guests are given the opportunity to state their time of arriving which could also mean airport, whataever. Intention being for hosts to decide whether they can or want to accommodate. But bottom line is the check-in time YOU've stated. So no, you're not obliged to bend to guest wishes. But you'll have to clearly communicate to them Sorry Guest, as we state in our listing it's .... and we won't even be home earlier. 

Other hosts install digital locks for more flexibility, but I personally find I wouldn't feel that comfortable or trusting with guests just letting themselves in, not even with a separate unit.

 

Arisha0
Level 2
СПБ, Russia

Right now I am having guests who are leaving tomorrow and planning to leave at 9 am. Another party is flying in tomorrow and have just told me that would be landing at 6am asking if they could come over earlier. I kindly agreed to host them n with their husky (I have just started on airbnb and this was a booking for 2 weeks so I agreed sending them a 40% off special offer and not charging anything for a HUSKY) Now the husky lady is MAD asking me what she is supposed to do till 9AM. I have  travelled the world and wonder if there is a hotel that would check in at 9 AM and it will not be good enough....

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@Arisha0

 

Tell them it's not possible simply because if they came earlier they would wake the guests in the apartment still there and leaving that day. Best thing is to not tell them when the guests are leaving because they will not think of the time you need to clean. 

I don't know your situation but maybe say you will only be at the apartment at X o'clock to let them in.

 

Also remember that if guests want to check in far earlier and in the morning that that prevents you from being able to rent out the night before. So it's normal that you can ask them if they would be willing to pay for that night for which you would be losing revenue.

 

Guests will try this again and again and again. So always good to have different variations on hand as to how to reply and find solutions that don't stress you out!

 

If they become difficult or for the future - here's how to contact Airbnb helpdesk:

 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide-UPDATED/m-p/413245

 

 

Hope this helps