Guest stood me up at check in

[Rebecca379]

Hi - my guests stood me up at their check in time of 15.00 at the apartment. They actually called at exactly 15.00 and said they cannot make the apointment and asked if we can reschedule for 19.30 (4.5 hours later.) When i told them that i am already at the location of the property waiting for them and that i can wait for them for a while or help them if they have a problem to find the place - they informed me that they cannot make it because the weather was nice and they wanted to take advantage of that and go sightseeing. I informed them that i have been waiting, that i am already there and that they should have let me know earlier to try to reschedule. I find it extremely rude that the guest were sightseing before we even met while i was waiting for the check at our appointment. It is not easy to trust those guests anymore,  I am no longer comfortable with them and i do not want them as my guests after that kind of personal insult and inconsideration. I informed them that i will no longer be comfortable to meet them and wished them to find new accomodation. Who is supposed to cancel now? I have already lost now the whole weekend booking and i paid expenses to get at the location and to reclean the apartment for check in and the guests ask me what will happen with their money. What would be a fair resolution? What is the protocol for something similar? 

[Paul154]

First things first, put it in writing on the app.

"You asked for a 13:00 hour checkin. You called me at 13:00 to postpone...."

Then ask them to cancel.

If they refuse, call airbnb to sort it out.

[Paul154]

After rereading, I'm starting to understand.

What is fair?

You may think that because they did not comply with checkin requirements, you should get their money .

They may think that because they have already paid you, they can come whenever they want.

The well has been poisoned. You don't want them and they don't want you.

The easiest thing is just to back out of the agreement and leave both parties unharmed.  Give them their money back.  

On the otherhand, you are harmed, because you cant rent the space in such a short time.

I would ask Airbnb. They are a 3rd party with experience with this situation. They know the track record of these guests. It is why we pay them.

Even if you are unhappy with the result, the decision has been made and you can move on.

[David126]

I go with Paul, tell them to cancel and contact ABB if they do not.

[Rebecca379]

Thank you for the reply guys. The point is that i have a strict policy for cancellations. Those people were really inconsiderate and rude - so it is their fault that i reasonably have to not accept them as guests (in an as objective way as it could possibly be ).  I don't want to loose all the booking money because that will not be fair since i will not be able to rebook in such short notice. Those people didn't even bother to think that we had an appointment and i did all the preparations, lost my day and put the effort and the expenses of pre-check in preparations and they actually casually told me oh yeah we are sightseeing you wait at the location for 5 hours almost!!!!!!. I woulnd't be negative in returning to them some of their money -although they are at fault-  since it is my choice that i no longer want them as my guests. But i feel it would be fair to keep a fair amount as compensation for their inconsideration, my expenses , the loss of the booking and the actual insult! 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Rebecca379

hm... @Paul154 is right, you should write something in ABB message thread so ABB is aware what happend.

If they instant booked then you can contact ABB and ask ABB to cancel without penalty for you bc you feel unconfortable with a guest's behaviour, they didn't show up on agreed time and you can't check them in later  . In that case you will not be paid but will not be penalized either.

If they didn't instant booked then you could write them on the message thread that you were waiting for them at agreed time, they didn't show up , you are unable to check them in later when they come back from sightseeing bc you have other obligation to do and you hope they will find other accomodation. Then just let them cancel.

Maybe other hosts will have better ideas... anyway, let us know how it ended 

[Rebecca379]

thank you for the reply Branka + Silvia -My whole conversation with them was through the message thread on the airbnb site - so it is all recorded - but what will happen if they do not cancel because they refuse and i do not cancel. Since we never met for the check in and they don't have access at the apartment? I am the one now that i actually cannot reschedule  a check in even if a wanted to but hohnestly i do not feel comfortable anymore with people that insulted me like that anyway. 

[Lyn-and-Gavin0]

If you cancel Rebecca then you may be penalised financially by air bnb (fined)  - the system/platform may also block your calendar for the dates so that others cannot book you - so please be careful before cancelling.  Just thought I should flag.  Please review cancellations FAQ's first.

[Rebecca379]

thank you for the reply Lyn+Gavin.  As i mentioned on the other reply above, my problem is that i havent'cancelled - but they havent cancelled either. Neither i have asked them. I actually told them that i will seek advice on what happens next since that has never happened before to me but i wished them to find alternative accomodation.  The check in didn't take place because of their innapropriate behavior so they don't have access to the apartment. But if i ask them to cancel they will propably refuse. What happens then? I nobody cancells but they don't have access to the apartment - but the accomodation fees go through anyway tomorow or later? Does anybody have similar experience? 

[Lyn-and-Gavin0]

@Rebecca379   Hi Rebecca,  I am not sure - did they book via Instant Book?  If they did then I believe you can cancel because you are uncomfortable with their behaviour.  If they didn't instant book then I believe you should call air bnb and check first what your options are?  What penalties they will impose.

I cannot view your listing at the moment so I do not know what check in window you give guests. i.e. the check in from 1pm to 11pm at my property.  

I have noted from reading these forums, in the past when others have complained about guests being late - air bnb have said well your window is between this time and this time and these guests wanted to check in during your check in window - so there is no problem, the host should honour the booking and re-schedule a new time that both parties can do.

Not saying I agree with this as nothing infuriates me more than guests who blatantly disregard our agreed check in time.  It drove me mad when I started hosting so as part of their pre-arrival tips that I send out for all new bookings I now state lets agree a check in time a few days before hand  - if for some reason you cannot make this check in time please let me know ASAP as I will only wait for half an hour around this time and if you do not arrive/let me know then I will send you a note of the next available time that suits me.....etc.  Puts the onus on them to stick to agreed time or at least let me know they are running late.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Rebecca379 if neither of you cancels then you will get your money . It's a no-show situation. 

Then they can contact ABB and try to get their money back but then it is up to ABB if they will get it, when will they get it and how much. 

Anyway their behaviour is really stupid , unbelivable.  

Just remember not to cancell by yourself and don't agree that they cancel on your behalf.

We have check in time set from 15 - 19:00 h but it is written that guest have to let us know the EXACT time of their arrival othervise there will be nobody to meet them and check them in. Before we had check in until 23:00 h but guests allways push the boundaries and try to check in later or will not tell the exact time or will be late or do what this guests did to you....  so we shortened our check in window. 

[Rebecca379]

Thank you for the replies everyone. I have now asked them to cancel on their behalf. I was pretty shaken up earlier. Imagine that i was waiting already there at the apointment at 15.00 which is an apartment i host quite far  from my home. They contacted me at 15.00 while i was already there for half an hour preparing everything and they told me that the weather is nice so we will go sightseing in the city and come to you 5 hours later.!!!!! They didn't call me an hour earlier or something like that but at the time of the apointment telling me we decided to go sightseing!!!!  And they didn't think that that is insulting to their host. Unbelievable - i think people tent to think that airbnb is like a hotel and you are there to serve them at their service , like a batler. 

[Matthew285]

@Rebecca379, I am sorry you had to go through this.

I imagine you would also like to avoid this situation in the future!

Did the guest know that you do not live near the property? That affects whether their behavior is being rude or not. Many hosts live either very close or even on the property, so it is no big deal if the guests arrive whenever they choose. The guests may have assumed that it was easy for you to meet at the property.

Of course, it is NOT easy for you to meet guests at the property. But if they did not know this, the guests bad behavior is making a bad assumption, rather than being very inconsiderate or rude.

Perhaps you can add some explanation on your description that you do not live near the property. Guests may not understand that it is difficult for you to meet them.

I am not saying in any way that this is your fault. The guest promised to meet you at 15.00; the guest should have met you at 15.00.

I am only suggesting making sure the guests understand your hosting situation so that this can happen less in the future.

[Kelly149]

@Rebecca379 I would expect that abb MAY let you cancel for them missing their appointment but I am certain that abb will pay you nothing if they do not stay. And also keep in mind that for a day of cancellation the guest will be allowed to review you.