Late checkout

[Ilse3]

What are Airbnb's policies concerning late checkouts? My listing clearly states that check out is at 11AM and I have guests that have not exited the room yet. Please help. 

[Danny9]

@Ilse3

Well, ask them to pack up and leave. Other guests, Airbnb or not may be on their way. 

It makes a lot of sense to use your House Rules and state the convenience fees for the guests who wish to stay past the listed check-out time. 

No one likes the fees. Yet, in this time and age, the fees have become a necessity. You want to offer a very competitive price that will cover you good accommodation. Factoring more into this is simply unfair to those who are purchasing your standard service as listed. 

And for the guys who wish to check out late, and this happens to be possible on that particular day, there is a reasoable fee that everybody who feels that his additional comfort is worth something will gladly pay. 

I have just had a guest request to stay till 9pm? My check-out time is the generous 12 noon... A small fee will make the guest understand that we cannot really offer anything for free. And it will help the host understand that he is not being taken advantage of either. 

If you find this information helpful, consider clicking the Thumbs-Up icon near lower right. Thanks!

[Whitt-and-Martha0]

We are considering a late check-out fee. We are thinking of charging our cleaner's hourly rate per hour or partial hour since we have had times when the cleaner is waiting for the guests to check out and we are paying the hourly rate for the wait. Anyone else charging a late checkout fee? How do you handle it through Airbnb? This would be for those who start to hang out without prior communication...

[Huma0]

I don't charge a late check out fee, but I do state in the house rules that guests who check out late without prior permission may be charged for an additional night. That seems to generally work as a deterrent, but not always.

Of course, I will allow a late check out if there are not other guests checking in and it's convenient for me.

I also state on the listing that I do not do early bag drop off/store bags after check out. There are some very inexpensive luggage storage options in London (often cheaper than the guest paying for public transport to come back and collect their bags) and I am happy to provide details.

Again, I do let guests leave their bags after check out if they have been good guests and seem reliable. It's no skin off my nose. However, I learnt that it's better to say I DON'T do it from the start as I initially had so many guests take advantage of this and mess me around.

I'd rather make exceptions for the good guests and be stricter with the less considerate ones.

[ค-นธรส0]

How can you charge for the late check out ? Pay at your place ? 

Is there any system of Airbnb to charge for the late check out fee ?

Thank you. 

[Wendy580]

How much of a fee? I’ve got guests still in a dark bedroom at 10:20 and checkout is at 11am. They COULD be out on time, LOL! Just wondering in case. 

[Daniel1992]

Large enough to be a deterant, but small enough not to be ridiculous.  I charge $20.

[Michael4582]

Hey Daniel,

How do you add a late charge to the booking system?

[Jude5]

Can Airbnb add an additional charge for late checkout like 6pm? If so how do we alter the booking?

[Kris12]

Normally I don't charge extra for 1-2 hours extra, if it is possible to stay longer. But late check outs have to cost extra. And if they don't tell me ahead of time and just expect to be able to stay longer, I normally don't let them, as it shows no respect for my rules, business or my time.

Just today, I go to one of my apartments at 11am to check them out, and everyone is still in bed, and they ask me if they can stay for one more night. That is just disrepectful and tell them to get up and pack their stuff.

[Deb29]

Hi all,

I like to over communicate from the start. This way guests know what to expect.

We include our checkin time (5pm or later) and our checkout time 10am or earlier) in our listing. We also restate it in the message thread at the time of booking. Then again a day before arrival and a day before departure (amongst other relevant rules)

We do so to set expectations because we usually book back to back stays where one guest moves out in the morning and a new one moves in during the afternoon and need enough time (and padding) for cleaners to come, and to have an inspection, both prior to a new guest arrival.

Plus, our cleaners clean multiple homes each day, so we need room to build out their cleaning schedule for the day so they can clean all of the cleanings necessary for the day.

Occasionally we are requested a late checkout, and if possible we arrange the cleaning schedule so that guest can get an extra hour or so, but we make sure to communicate that it is an exception so they feel great about the favor and are likely to give a nice review in exchange for that favor. We don't charge for the late checkout, but we don't do it often and don't allow more time than we know we can handle and still make the operations work smoothly.

Again, it's all about communication and setting expectations.

Good luck!
Deb

[Susan-And-Gene0]

I did communicae clearly and i reiterated that we have guests checking in today - possible as early as 3p - and they went ahead and fixed food.  It is clearly stated that checkout is 11am - an hour later than other places in my resort town - stated both in my listing and on the rules on the back of the door.   I am unable to clean any area because they are all over the house... can you tell I am a little pissed off...  not sure what to do - the main person in this group also asked us to drive over 150 miles late at night to pick her up - after she had been informed that there was no public transportation in the area that she was going to visit, let alone back here.  She got a ride with another guest...  they said they only wanted to use the bunkbeds but also used the queen bed - so now I am washing extra bedding because it was all sandy (we do live at the beach so I get it...)

sigh - HATE to add another fee but think it is imperative to get this situation handled.

Going to ask for damage deposit as compensation - will see what airbnb says..

thanks alll

[Betty124]

Hi Susan and Greg,

Did you try saying, "no , I'm sorry.    The cleaner is coming at x:00  o'clock, and all your belongings need to be out by that time.  If your belongings are not gone,  it's possible they will be disposed of.  Your contract for staying here really ends at 12:00 noon.  Any time past that is......"   I don't know really what you could say. something legal-sounding.  " Illegal", maybe?  

I've had people ask to stay longer than 11:00, and when I say, Ooh, I'm sorry, the cleaner is coming at 1:00.    I've offered to let them leave their packed luggage in my garage for a few hours, if they wanted to come back and pick  it up.   I guess they decide that's too much trouble , and go ahead and leave when requested.

[Ma3]

I need to know if the charge can be thru Airbnb or you make the charge when they are leaving your room?  

[Jerry350]

I just curious, in this scenario , what if they give you  a 1 star review?