late arrival

[Tim95]

A guest booked my apartment (instant book) and then informed me that they would be arriving very late, well past the check in time. What should I do in such a situation. Do I have the right to cancel without charge? If they dont tell me until a few days before they arrive then surely I have the right to compensation?

[Momi0]

Hi - it is up to you as the host how you would like to handle this. If your listing is very clear about the check in time then you need to communicate to the guest that they need to respect your check in time or find accommodations elsewhere that would work best for their schedule. They can cancel and look elsewhere or they can call AIR BNB and ask them to help them find a new place to stay... BUT don't cancel on your end or you will get penalized.
If you are willing to accept their late check in for an additional cost, then write them on the message board informing them of this charge. But if they declined, then call ABB immediately.
Guests need to respect what your listing Check in says... It's up to you to ensure that they do. Or don't allow them to check in. It's your house, your rules.
But if you can work with the guests, then do that first. Do what makes you comfortable. Hope this helps.

[Helen3]

That's one of the many reasons I don't use Instant Book 😞

If you can't accomodate guests outside of your check in time give BNB a call they should be able to  cancel the booking and help the guest find an alternative.  (If you don't have the number use the search function here)

Personally I always confirm check in details and times with guests before a booking is confirmed, so I don't find myself in this situation.

[Marit-Anne0]

Makes me think a function for guests to enter their check-in time and a mismatch alert would be useful - like when your dates do not fulfil the host's minimum stay.  

[Ivan484]

I know this is an old thread, but I have some very useful info if someone stumbles upon this one.

The Airbnb just canceled such a reservation on my behalf (I'm a host) and left me without my payment. They've explained to me that a host HAS AN OBLIGATION to wait for the guest who has paid for their stay, no matter that I have previously declined guests request for a late check in (way past the check in time on my accommodation listing). I asked Airbnb support why does the check-in time even exist on Airbnb if guests don't have to respect it and got the answer that I should write a feedback about their Terms of Service. They said that I failed to provide accommodation to the guest who paid for it and normally they would penalize such hosts, but they've made a one time exception for me, since I'm a superhost.

Quote:"Ivan, the host has an obligation to be available to respond to the guest's questions during all reservation time. Sometimes this also includes the late check-in."

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Uh @Ivan484 just great isn't it? ! 😞

Numerous times our guests said they will arrive at 19:00 (end of our check in time) , we were in front of  the apartment 15 min earlier just to be informed at last minute that they are late and will arrive at 20:00. It means we have to wait for them in a cafe, pay for a coffee or something ... then they send another message that they are lost and trying to find the address... so another 30 min pass... Those are all games, I am 100% sure they knew from the begining they will arrive past our check in time. I hate when they do that.

At the begining our check in time was until 23 h... but guests arrived after midnight, so we shortened it to 19, at least now they usually arrive before 21 h.

The best is when their flights are delayed for an hour but they don't care to let us know.

[Yulianna0]

The worse of my guests delayed arrival of her group just till check out  time. And they were asking for discount for next days as they didn’t sleep the booked night.