What if my guest doesn't show up or is late?

[Elizabeth112]

My guest says his flight arrives 8PM and estimate conservative that he should check-in by 10PM.  So I waited from 9:30 to now almost 11:30PM and have to text the guest's international number to get updates.  He said he was close need another 30 min about an hour ago.  What are my options? 

[Sara2]

Just wait if his plane was delayed you could download flight scanner and track your future guests flight arrivals which are often late is you also download what's app it's free for overseas you could have told your guest to keep in touch by this method

[Nina36]

For future reference:

You can have a time frame where it will give you the option to charge extra for every hour your guest is late (e.g. check-in between 12-4 PM. Should the guest arrive earlier or later than the pre-agreed time, a $5 or $10 will be levied per hour difference to compensate for your or your representative's time".

Whatsapp is a good app, it is free to download but bear in mind that for it to work, the unit has to be connected to the internet. It should work in the airport but it won't work once it is out of range of free conntection unless the unit has an existing data package.

[Andrea9]

@Nina36

I'd like to hear more about implementing this from somebody with more experience in too early, too late arrivals.

Does this also apply when you rent while living there yourself?

Do you approach guests with this regulation in advance before or after they tell you when they are planning to arrive?

And do you alter their booking? And do they easily confirm?

I don't have this often, and only recently added the time frame when this feature became available thru the site.

Since then the few guests I had came during the day, so my question is geared towards being prepared for any future early or late arrival.

[Nina36]

Hi,

I usually send out pre check in document one week before the date of arrival. In the form, I ask for expected time of arrival and check-out time and a bit of explanation why these information are required. In the same form are other information useful for me to prepare the place for guests comfort and convenience (allergies, preference, etc)

These time frames for check in and out is also included in my house rule. Therefore when they book my place, they are aware of this terms and have agreed to it.

I anticipate instances when check in and out will not fit in the usual frame, a notification in advance either through the form or message via airbnb platform is ideal. Again, it's not one size fits all, I sure take it as case to case basis. The reasons for delay which I find to be acceptable is if they are coming from the airport, delay in flights or traffic jam from the airport which is expected to be horrendous.

That being said, I have not encountered a situation yet when this has to be imposed.

Hope this helps.

N

[Andrea9]

@Nina36

Thanks, that gives me a better idea.

It's also different when renting a home while not being present oneself and having to use another person for check in who will need to be paid for waiting longer.

In my case I am at home waiting for guests, so tacking on an extra charge is probably not the way to go.

[Amaris0]

Hi Andrea, 

This is my experience; I used to get lots of request to check-in early especially at my previous address. I've always had a check-in / out time which I include in my house rules even prior to Airbnb's new option. I rent a room in my home but I'm also self-employed as such I'm mostly busy out and about and have other commitments as well. Unlike hotels that have reception staff, I'm unable to wait at home all day or even throughout the entire check-in time frame for a guest to check in at a time of their choice; this is one of the many reasons that Airbnb is cheaper, there isn't a 24 hours check-in which means staff to pay and cost passed on to guest and my listing is priced at a quarter of a similar accommodation in a hotel so there is some give and take.

I used to have an additional house rule which stated that subject to availability and prior agreement between us, a guest might be able to check-in/ out outside of the specified time frame for a fee of £10, charged upfront via the extra charges - resolution centre. The guest would receive an e-mail with the additional charges which they accepted; alternatively, I also provided them with a list of temporary storage options. I have temporarily removed this option because I relied on my sister who is currently unavailable to offer this flexibility in exchange for the £10.

On receipt of a confirmed booking, I normally e-mail guest to say hello, thank you, confirm my contact numbers, offer travel directions from the airport or station and remind them of my check-in/ out times. In addition, I have a house rule requesting guest to confirm their ETA at least 12 hours in advance of arrival so I can plan around them and ensure there is someone at home to let them in. This indicates which guest might wish to check in earlier but have failed to inform me previously and we can discuss which option they prefer, my extra fee or the storage; most guests opt for my extra fee.

You still have to draw a line at an acceptable early or late check-in/ out time as I’ve had a couple of guest requesting to arrive as early as 15 hours in advance which I have outright declined as very unreasonable, in fact I would go as far as saying that is attempting to get a day more or less free.

I appreciate that sometimes there are travel delays which means the guest might arrive outside of my check-in time frame and I'm flexible to a degree give or take 60 - 90 minutes although I expect guest to communicate if the delays are particularly lengthy. I try to be flexible but I don’t promote it especially as I use Instant Booking, I like the guest to know where they stand upfront so they can make an informed decision as to if to book my listing or not.  

This is an option I’ll offer again for an extra fee once my sister is in a position to stand in for me as I do receive such requests. I do this as standard for my other properties and it works well although those are not on Airbnb.

I hope this gives you some idea.

Ama

[Andrea9]

@Amaris0, thanks, there's some great tips in there!

The thing is that although I've been hosting long enough to get all that info regarding planes, trains, and automobiles beforehand even if I feel like I'm hounding them. And it works fine.

Just  every now and then a little request comes from somebody like a guest who will be arriving soon who will be checking out of a hostel in the morning asking to just drop her bags before checking in later.

Since my studio is at home, it feels wrong to say I'm not home, but it's a major interruption of my concentration to have somebody already arrive earlier, even if 'just to drop bags'.

Told her I need to wait with a definitive response for when I have a better overview of what my day planning will be.

Your option of dropping bags or early check-in fee is a great one actually! It still 'disrupts' hours I'd rather have to myself, yet the extra fee makes it more business-like. Good one!

And as for the late arrivals, I haven't gotten those yet after recently installing the time frame, so will have to see how I actually choose to handle them. I can handle 90 min. later, but once it's past midnight it's a drag.

[Christine1]

Sorry to be so serious, but this situation is to be expected from time to time and certainly in an enterprise built around assisting travelers. Get comfortable, have a good book or pillow and keep the phone close. Your guest is struggling in a strange city in the dark of night and trying to make their way unassisted, sometimes without language skills and intermittent communication. 

Anticipate this situation from now on, and decide how you are going to handle it. Enquire when you are having pre-approval conversations if it suits you.

Then make your position clear around check in timeframes.. eg, "I will be onsite and awake till about 10pm, after that I will probably sleep, but you can phone me if you get stuck or confused on your way. When you get to the front door, phone me or ring the bell, I will come and let you in........." or I am visiting a friend, give me a call 30 minutes before you arrive and I will drive back to meet you at the property." How do these ideas sound?

Sincere Regards, Christine.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

1/ Always get flight times from your guest so that you know when they have landed.

2/ Give them a generous timeslot after that within which to arrive, remembering that they may be in a strange city and miss connections, etc.

3/ Ask them to contact you if if looks like they will be later than xx time, as you have another appointment that you need to attend to.

That's just about as much as you can do - I think.

[Helvio0]

This is my very first hosting experience and my guest asked me to check in between 9 and 11 pm.

I accepted that, waited until midnight and he didn't show up. Also, he didn't even send a message as a status update.

Eventually I went to sleep and woke up at 6AM with an unread message from him at 1AM, saying sorry for the delay, that he's there now.

What would you do in my situation? I don't really feel like trying hard to host a person that proved to be so untrustworthy, but don't want to screw up my reviews on my very first experience.

Important to note that he's not coming from a different country, so there are absolutely no hard times keeping communication. He was indeed very lousy about it.

[Matilda14]

Did you have to refund his money back or?

[Helen3]

Hello @Helvio0

On your listing you say check in after 6 p.m. but don't have a closing time, so that means guests can check in any time after that.

With my listing for example it says check in time 6 - 11 p.m. 

What happened to your guest - did they go and stay somewhere else for the night.

Are they expecting to check in now?

[Helvio0]

Hi Helen, thanks for your fast reply!

I've been tuning my listing as I'm learning from messages and bookings. This was my first booking and my check in times were Flexible by the time of the booking. My guest chose from 9 to 11 and I made sure to be home for him.

I haven't yet communicated back to my guest, because I want to better understand the situation I'm in. I would have expected a status update or an acceptable delay. He failed to arrive on time (chosen by him) and failed to provide any information. I could have waited, no problem, until 2, 3 AM. But I wouldn't stay away just because.

I assume he found another place to sleep, and I wonder if I should reestablish communication after the fact.

Thanks!

[Helvio0]

@Helen3

I failed to tag you on the previous reply.

Please excuse me if this is unnecessary. Like I said, I'm kind of new to Airbnb and didn't yet figure out how community notifications work.