Marking dates as unavailable for check-in but available for staying.

Answered!
Ben103
Level 2
Innsbruck, Austria

Marking dates as unavailable for check-in but available for staying.

Dear Airbnb,

 

I cannot contact you by email, so I try this.

 

Let me explain my problem:

 

I am consistently declining requests that want to book between Date A and Date B, because I am not there between Date A. and Date B. However, it is not possible to add a calendar setting where the dates between Date A and Date B are free IF check-in is before Date A.

 

That is a major problem, that one cannot mark certain dates in the calendar as unavailable for check-in. The reservation from Date A to any day before Date B is possible and I would not decline it, even if it is a short stay, so I did not want to block these days in my calendar.

 

People can stay in my apartment when I am not there, they can just not check in unless I can welcome them in person. That is also why I decline requests for stays starting from Sat. Most Sat., I am not there. 

 

I have been declining many requests because in my specific case, date A is juste before christmas and date B is just after new years, and many people want to visit my place between these dates! Declining this many requests got me a warning by airbnb and is also time consuming and frustrating.

 

How can I deal with this problem?

 

 

1 Best Answer
Iana0
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

It seems that the solution to this could be going into

- Callendar ->Availability Setting (top right in green)-> Press Edit under the Trip Length ->Press 'Add another requierement' where for spesific dates you can chose that the check in can be only done e.g. Friday. 

 

So for the weekend of 17th -18th of March I would only allow check in on Friday 16th. I think thats what this rule is supposed to do but I have not tested it yet fully. Just putting my listing live now. Fingers crossed. 

View Best Answer in original post

31 Replies 31
Susan151
Level 10
Somerville, MA

I have not been able to wrangle the AirBNB platform to allow this. I too, would love to have guests during certain periods, but they would not be able to check in or out on specific dates. For now, I think that you either need to find a co-host type of arrangements, put something in your listing indicating the dates and your parameters [which means you don't appear in a date search] or forgo having guests during those periods.

Dear Susan,

 

thanks for your reply.

 

In my experience, it is nice to be hosted by the person that lives / used to live / owns the apartment, and not a random co-host, I thus do check in in person, or by a person very close to me, who often is unavailable when I am  😉

 

I hope that this discussion makes Airbnb aware of this problem even more, it seems like such an easy problem to fix.

 

Best,

Ben

Lilian20
Level 10
Argelès-sur-Mer, France

I guess that by using minimum stay for that specific period, you would be able to get the right booking. 

I don't think so. The problem is that I would have to set the minimum stay to 14 days. But: If someone wants to check in on Dec 21 (I leave on Dec 21 at night and I am not there until Jan 5) and stay for 3 nights, that is completely fine with me. And with my minimun stay setting at 14 days, that booking is impossible.

The same goes for weekdays, by the way. Check in is not possible on saturday, but I actually do not mind travellers staying for just one night during the week. Now to avoid the usual sat-sun booking, I have to increase my minimum stay and lose availability during the week!

Forgive me if I misunderstand the issue, but it is possible to set minimum stay for specific dates and also define the specific day of the week for the check-in.  It is done in the calendar settings.

I found the option to specify restrictions for specific dates and that definitely helps. 

 

But what I am really looking for is the option to differ between days that are available for check-in, and dates that are available for staying.

AirBnB has no such function, if another booking service does I have never seen it mentioned.

David

Thanks for your reply.

I find that disappointing by airbnb to say the least.

You could put it in your description but not sure how many people read that.

David
David126
Level 10
Como, CO

There is no way of doing what you would like, I have also had this situation, knew I would not be around one day and the only option is to remove it completely.

David
Judy87
Level 1
Columbus, OH

I am new to all of this but one option may be - I have a key pad for entry instead of a key and when the guest arrives he/she pushes the door bell and I talk to them via video on my smart phone - where ever I am. I can give then the code to unlock the door, the code for the security system and any other info needed.  I can leave written insructions on the kitchen counter and make sure they have my cell ohone and a backup number in case of emergency. I use this to avoid having to hang around for hours waiting for an arrival but I could be on the other side of the courty. (Usually I am within a mile but stil can meet them at a more convenient time).  Be sure to have a local emergency contact if you are out of town.   ADP is the carier for all of this and it costs about $50 a month. I am in the US.

@Judy87

Even having an electronic lock doesn't fix the problem. It's a matter of personal choice, perhaps, but I think I would be doing them a great disservice by not personally greeting them as they arrive, helping them acclimate to the space, introducing them to my dog, and answering any questions they might have.

 

The personal touch is what got me my good reviews in my last apartment. God knows it wasn't the rickety bed, 30 year-old mattress, or stained carpets. (Luckily, my new place is MUCH nicer, but I still plan to give them personal attention.)

Megan5
Level 1
New York, NY

I'm having this exact same problem. I leave on the 22nd and need people to arrive by the night before. I don't care if they leave while I'm gone so I don't want to set a minimum but I'm not comfortable with them arriving when I'm not there.

 

I did state this requirement in ALL CAPS as the very first sentence on my listing but no one is reading anything.

Tons of inquiries for the 24th, 25th....

 

Airbnb, hear our cries!