Request to book outside of check in window- please be ware

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

Request to book outside of check in window- please be ware

I think this has been reported a couple of times, I just encountered it. I received a booking request that looked like any other. I do have IB, but there have been multiple bugs in the last week so I was not too surprised. This was on Saturday for Sunday check in. I accepted it, shared all of my instructions and did not hear back from guest till Sunday morning at which point he said my instructions have completely different check in time. I put down 4 pm and he asked for 1-3 pm, I promised him 1pm and would like to check in at 1. I explained that someone would not even be moving out till 11 and that I looked through our communication and there were no promises. He seemed to be OK with that. I pulled up the original request and at the very bottom it did say "You can review this reservation because the request is outside your check-in window". We are talking small print at the very very bottom. There was no option to approve without the early check in. It appears that we would either need to accept the early check in or loose the entire reservation. One observation: this guest turned out to be tremendous pain in the behind. I spent the entire night dealing with him which is a whole other story. I wonder if someone who is willing to not secure a booking but convert it to request over a few free extra hours has the same personality with those who ask for a discount. We have all reported those guests to be trouble. I do offer free early luggage drop off and parking so it is not like this guest would have been stranded with bags if not for this early check in. All in all, this feature needs to go. 

16 Replies 16
Lawrene0
Level 10
Florence, Canada

Thanks for this, @Inna22 ! I will look carefully at the fine print on reservation requests to see whether I am "promising" a check-in time I cannot deliver. It would be interesting to see what guests are told. I wish it was, "You have chosen a time outside the host's check-in window. Please choose a time within the check-in window." 

So many guests have tried to push my check-in and check-out times lately that, if I agreed, they would be stacked like cordwood in the bed. This new tool could guarantee them that awkward experience...

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Inna22 

Apparently, this just happened to me this last weekend. I got a request the day before arrival. I messaged support to ask why this reservation came through as a request instead of an instant book. Support tells me that it is because the guest haven't yet completed verification even though their profile stated they were verified with government ID and had 10 previous 5.0 star stays. I found it strange but accepted the answer. After reading your post I went back to look at the original request email and sure enough it is just what you say. 

 

Jeezum crow, does customer support really not have any clue what they are talking about?! And to your point, why on earth is a guest given the option to bypass a host's stated check in time?!

 

 

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"Jeezum crow, does customer support really not have any clue what they are talking about?! "

 

@Emilia42 No, they have no clue! What they told you is just further proof they make sh1t up, because they truly don't know.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

working with Airbnb becomes like a game... you have to pass from point A to point B without falling into the trap, being robbed, penalized, kicked out ... all in the given time frame.

 

 

 . . . and you have to watch out for the evil support agents who are there to trick you and manipulate you and keep you from advancing to further levels. 

 

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

@Emilia42 

 ...and when you pass a level you get a badge,  after 4 levels you earn 100 coins to purchase goodies from ABB store and give life to another player   🙂

  . . . and it is not uncommon to be blasted by another player and if you turn your back and get blasted too hard you will lose all your coins. And then you will die . .  

 

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

@Emilia42 

yeah... Game over... and no buttons to continue.... which makes ABB more evil than "The resident evil"  😄

 

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@Emilia42  thank you for your response. 

 

I encourage all US hosts to call Airbnb during regular US working hours (whatever your time zone is). 

 

I’ve talked to customer service representatives in San Francisco that are extremely personable  and friendly during regular US working hours.

 

Keep your interactions with Airbnb customer service personnel during normal business hours for the US if you wish to have a positive experience with Airbnb customer service. 

Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

Thank you for flagging this, @Inna22. Good to know we have yet something else to add to the long list of things to watch out for. Thanks ABB, for continuing to increase the burden of the host. 😠

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

And never once we received a new feature announcement! (or known glitch notification)

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

Two years ago I had a lengthy phone conversation with Laura, our host rep, when she first took over that position. She had initiated the contact, asking for input. Among the many things we discussed was the need for Airbnb to send us notifications when they changed or added anythig, instead of us just finding out by accident or from other hosts here. She agreed that it was needed and that it was the respectful thing to do.

Here we are 2 years later and it's business as usual. They have no problem sending us proddings to lower our prices or unblock dates to get more bookings (like we have them blocked for no reason) but notifications of changes seem to be somehow impossible.

Delwyn3
Level 6
Raglan, New Zealand

@Inna22 @Emilia42 I am curious, did the request notification actually detail the checkin time that the guest was requesting?   Simply being told "outside your checkin window"  is very unhelpful!

 

As for people pushing the boundaries of checkin and checkout times.  I work part time at a motel and we have people asking for early checkins when there is really no need for it.  I think they ask just so they can please themselves when they turn up.   My boss recently had everyone rushing around to get a room ready early, our normal checkin is 2pm so they must have wanted 12 or 1pm, they eventually arrived about 4pm!

 

@Delwyn3 

Yes. When a guest books within 24 hours of check in, the guest is asked to select a 2 hour check in window. The problem is that the window encompasses times outside of the stated check in time. 

 

And yes, I have found that almost all early check ins arrive well later then they say they will.

 

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