Poll - Do you pick up your guests?

[Quincy]

Hello everybody!

I hope you're all doing well today.

Today I thought I would do a quick poll about picking your guests up from the airport/public transport. I was wondering if any of you offer this to your guests or have done this in the past?

Alternatively, if you have any other reasons why you do not pick up your guests, please comment below in the thread telling us more about your choice and why - e.g. I don't provide this service as I don't have a car, etc.

You can find the results here!

Please give any suggestions about topics of polls that you would like to see in the future! We welcome your ideas!

I'm very curious to your answers! 🙂

Quincy

Other polls you might be interested in:

Where are your guests from?

Airbnb for travelling!

[Vanessa-and-Kurt0]

I'll start. We do not provide any airport transportation. There are taxis, rental cars and Uber here. Unfortunately, this extra service falls under the "No good deed goes unpunished" category:I would be worried that a traffic jam or any car trouble can cause my guest an issue resulting in a poor review or reimbursing costs.

We did just get back from 2 Airbnb's in Bermuda and both provided free airport transportation which was awesome of them since we arrived at 10pm and had to be at the airport to depart at 6am.

[Leigh29]

Are you **bleep**ing kidding me after all we have to do to accommodate people? You are setting a terrible precedence picking people up at the **bleep** airport too. Stop that right now before they start expecting this service from everyone!

[Kate157]

No, I don't provide transportation. It is not hard to get here using public transportation from the airport. It would be too nerve-racking and time consuming to pick people up if their flight is delayed or the baggage takes a long time. 

[Imogen11]

Do you mean "pick up" with a vehicle? Or just meet them at the nearest hub? (We do as it's a 5 minute walk)

[Helga0]

Sometimes I pick up guests at the metro exit or even at the RER station. From the exit, you can see the corner of my street, but some people get lost anyway. If they seem lost in the mails, are  afraid in the dark or arrive with lots of luggage after a long flight, I may pick them up. 

I have brought a few elder guests to a station, to help them with luggage on the stairs. 

As a visiting host and forum friend used to say, that's a guarantee that the visitor does not miss the flight, as I pull luggage nearly running and if need be, I'd strap the guest on the bag too. 😉 

[Joanna85]

The reason I don't is that there are plenty of options for them to get here without waiting....uber and lyft are so cheap to my place.  The bus is no big deal to ride here either.  Plus, flights are never on time...I'd spend forever waiting..more than I do now and juggling my family life with guests is already hard enough.  Once in a while a guest will ask if we can drop them to their next spot and usually we say yes for a few bucks for gas.  

[Zacharias0]

Uber and Lyft are too cheap in this town for me to even bother offering anymore.

[Jayesh0]

Hi @Quincy

Great question as I think a lot of hosts may be doing this outside the scope of what is actually permitted.  As far as insurance goes I believe you would have to notify your carrier that you are conducting business with your vehicle especially if you are getting paid.

Here is what we would have to do for QLD:

"Services such as tourist transfer services, accommodation transfer services, passenger services, bus services, etc. come under the general service category of the Queensland Transport and Main Roads department."

https://www.myprivatetransfers.com.au/how-to-procure-a-private-transfer-business-license-in-qld/

I am of the opinion that in a tourist town it is nice to see the influx of tourist dollars shared amoung the residents.  For this reason, we would not infringe on the business of the transport industry.

We do pass along all the info to guests for the different transport options so they can easily phone and arrange their shuttles.  

For a country that has no social security number system and had no photo on drivers licences late into the 80's they sure are on top of a lot of random regulations.  Also the reason why we cannot leave any breakfast provisions for guests.

Perhaps it is less regulated in other areas of the globe, Lisa

[Todd-and-Reese0]

No. The U.S. is too strict legally. I already worry about folks getting injured on my property and my home insurance. I can't even imagine what would happen if they were injured in my car! Will AirBnB cover that in the host guarantee? I'm sure that is a big NO.

[Tiago67]

Hy guys I got houses to rent in Portugal but I'm working in France now (Paris) I got a company of private charter shuttle from airport to houses (Airbnb) or hotel I'm trying to integrate here I think will be nice and safe 🙂

[Ellen104]

I'm in NYC and don't drive.  Taxis and public transportation are ubiquitous and fairly inexpensive.  I really don't think this is an expectation of anyone traveling to this location.

[David126]

@Quincy is showing London as is location.

It would be extremely unusual for a Host to be Insured to do such a thing.

Maybe if they were a host/taxi driver.

More importantly should not AirBnb be warning Hosts not do do such a thing unless they were certain their Insurance covers it?

[Isabel203]

I have on a couple occasions picked up guests from the airport and have not had any problems with it; in fact, the guests have been quite appreciative and it's given me a chance to have a nice chat with them. Where I'm from, it just seems like normal operating procedure. Having said that...

This is not a standard part of the service and, in keeping with my "under-promise and over-deliver" motto, I never make any reference to this on my listing. I also avoid making the offer too much ahead of time. At booking time, if guests ask for info about how to get from the airport, I provide them with info on taxis and buses.  Then, the day before check-in, when I send out our check-in info and we are confirming their arrival times, I will (if I feel like it) offer to pick them up. From a machiavellian perspective, this means I am completely free to offer or not offer a drive, without disappointing the guest. When I have offered to drive, it is usually because a) I am free at the time of the arrival, b) it will actually make it easier for me if the guest arrives at my door earlier than public transit would allow and/or c) I get the feeling based on other conversations with the guest that it would actually be enjoyable to spend 30 minutes chatting with them in the car! 

[Julia66]

@Quincy  We're on an island, and public transport only gets guests to the ferry and across the ferry, with no bus this side.  So I do take folk the 4 miles to and from the ferry, because I don't want to miss a booking from someone without a car, but don't charge.  I do say in my listing that it is more suitable for guests to have their own transport.

I wouldn't pick people up from the train station as that would be an hour, from my house to the town.