Guest's that don't communicate with you usually are difficult

[Donna375]

I have been a Super Host for awhile, but learn new things daily!  I have a guest that wanted to check-in early 9AM, but the house was not available until 2PM (check-in time is 4PM).  I let her know I didn't have a problem with early arrival.  Immediately after I agreed to let them check-in early, she emailed me to say they would be here at 10PM instead.  The problem here is 1) she never answered my emails for 4 weeks prior to arrival day.   2) I needed to send her a contract to read and sign before arrival date.  3)  I now have to meet her at the house at 10PM to sign the contract.

Please advise, I can see trouble on the horizon!

[Lynette57]

@Donna375  I too have to agree with you, Guests who do not communicate are usually trouble,

I have just had a guest due out Friday so I took another booking for the weekend Fri,Sat, Sun Night out Monday.

I sent 1st guest a message on Wednesday and also sent same message on Thursday asking that they leave  the keys locked in the house on check out Friday morning  as cleaner had her own key, they did not respond until Friday morning at 9.am saying that they would be leaving their belongings at the house and would be back for a shower at 6.00pm prior to catching the late flight out of town. I immediately responded to them asking that they leave their belongings at the airport and try to take a shower at the local transit centre.

They never responded again so I instructed cleaner to bag up any belongings and I would keep them at my home until guest responded. Well they never responded until this morning (Saturday) asking if they could rebook house Mon thru Thurs with check out 10.00pm Fri night. Ive responded they can book Mon  3.pm thru Fri with checkout sat 10.am , Guess what , NO RESPONSE. 

[Donna375]

I guess I am not alone!  Thank you for your input.....I have hosted a few couples like this and no matter what we did it was never enough!  The hard part is that they don't bother to leave a review, sign the guest book, or phone us on the way out.  Being a good guest is not that hard!!

So sorry to hear about situation too.  It makes me grow as a person LOL!!

[Robin4]

@Lynette57

I got to hand it to you Lynette, you are learning...Good on you!

The time to be firm with guests is right at the start......the moment you let them land that right hook on you, you never recover! From that point on, they play you like a Stradivarius!!

Cheers.....Rob

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Donna375 @Lynette57 : The people we find that are the poorest with communiucation (especially through email or the Airbnb messaging system) are people over 55 years old. We send our check-in email three (3) days prior to a guests arrival. We ask that they reply in any form that they received the message and the information. If I don't hear anything in a day. I send a follow up message on Airbnb. If there is still no reply I send a text message direct their phone. That usually works as I have not yet had anyone make me go to the last step which is to make their phone ring.  

We haven't had any guests at this point that have been difficult with check-in or check-out times. We live on property so we have had people in the past ask to leave items until later in the day for a late flight which is never a problem.

[Inna22]

@Barry-and-Lera0  I  usually go straight to calling after no response two Airbnb messages. That’s usually their wake up call (pun intended) and they realize they need to be in touch with me going forward. But some remain checked out until their check out (I am full of puns tonight). I often wonder- don’t those people want to have their stay details themselves?

[Alan359]

|I send this message after every ist message or even after they have booked..just to clarify all as guest and never as yet had a problem...

Hello .....

Thank you for interest in the cottage,  but just a little reminder… have you read the house rules (some people forget to look!) and you agree to abide by them?

• Please note: this is a non smokers property, so non smokers only 
• Children over 12 years old are allowed at anytime (no younger under any circumstances
• Strictly no pets at anytime 
• No additional stay over guests (maximum 4 people)
• The property is respected at all times
• No parties or using the property as a meeting place

This is information we ask all guests, thank you very much.

Please respond, so I can confirm the booking.

Alan

[Donna375]

Hello Alan!

I like your idea of sending thig message ahead of time.  

We have all the house rules spelled out on our contract, along with a "Menu" of extra charges.

Adding this menu has really saved us a lot of work.  

Thank you for your input,

Donna

[Donna375]

Hi Inna, it is amazing to me that people pay a good amount of money to stay with us, but never take the time to read all the rules!  Thanks for your input (:

[Donna375]

Thank you Lynette, the age doesn't seem to make much of difference so far. I like the idea of your 3 step communication.  I shall try this next time.  We don't live far from the property, but make a few trips a week to check on things.

[Donna375]

I have had that experience too!  Sometimes I don't hear a word from these guests until late the night before check-in!  It makes it hard on everyone....Yes, the phone is the last step.

[Lyn3]

Hi @Donna375  It seems to me that generally, people  just assume Airbnb hosts have the occasional guest booking, tra la la, so arrivals and departures can be flexible with no need to worry about other guests whose bookings might be in the calendar. Even friends of mine are totally surprised when they learn how busy I am, and how busy every other host is, just in our small village 🙂

All the best,

Lyn 🙂

[Donna375]

LOL!!  I had someone ask me the other day if we have had other guests this year!!  I was honest and told her yes, back-to-back actually.  Out at 11AM  and in at 4PM over48 times last year.