"Can we leave our bags?" How do you respond?

[Caolan0]

I have been hosting for a year now and have found the most common request (in messages and in person) is for my guests to leave their bags in my apartment after checkout before their flight.

I always accept this request and leave them in the living room so I can check my next guests in, however it can be inconvenient and sometimes annoying having bags clutter my living room all the time, especially when i have friends or family visit. 

Would it be ok to decline this request?

Is it normal for people to ask for something like this? It is normal for airbnb hosts to do this?

Thanks!!!

[Marcus0]

It can be pretty inconvenient especially when they can return at any time and expect you to be there waiting for them to hand them over.

Is there a place close by where there is locker storage?  Like a train station or such?  Refer them there (if you will be away) saying you will not be home to give them the bags back and certainly don´t let them hang onto the keys.

Most people try it but are not offended when you say no.  They also can´t make a complaint of it as your check out states by 11am.

If you find you are going a bit crazy with people coming and going, change your minimum nights to at least 2 it won´t affect your demand and in turn give you a bit more space to breath.  PS, your cleaning charge is a bit low.  As a potential guest i would wonder how good an effort that was for the price.

[Andrea9]

It depends on where you live. In a large city it's easier to leave luggage at the train station for example.

In London that shouldn't be a problem at all.

I've been hosting for a year and a half now myself.

For more than a year I always let the guests who asked leave their luggage until that one too many... (flight in the evening and she sweetly but slightly helplessly demanding, leaving me somewhat drained). It just infringed into my own time too much.

And when guests give an approximate pick-up time it's usually off a bit - they arrive either far earlier or later. Since I have to be home to lock the front door the 'waiting' situation mentally and in reality claimed my time.

I was never really free of those guests past their earlier check-out, and during busy main season this was thus slowly adding to an increasing feeling of burn-out.

There is excellent storage possibility at our main train station which is much more central than my home. And travellers by train or to the airport have to go through there anyway,.

And most guests don't really care whether they can leave their bags with me or at the station for a fee.

I began to answer to any guest asking that I normally do try to accommodate guests, however it unfortunately wouldn't be possible on their departure day for longer than  1.5 to 2 hours after check out due to plans of my own (even if my plans are only to to stay at home). And those guests since then have either taken me up on the short offer while going for breakfast or just said 'No problem, I'll go to the station - it' easier actually'. And we've all been happy   🙂

[Maria-Lurdes0]

The big issue that I was having (and continue to have, in some degree) is that if you leave your bags, you're not really emotionally checked out.  So in my case it wasn't that I had to be there to get the guests back in to collect - therefore even if I told them specifically to please just collect the bags and go as the apartment would be prepared for the next guests, they'd go back in, pop into the bathroom to brush their teeth, use the toilet, charge their phones, and sometimes take showers!   So now the apartment isn't as pristine and ready for the incoming guests.   As I've grown my business I've changed things around a bit - in some listings we have a little foyer space that is ok to leave luggage, but I make sure that I change the code on the apartment door so they can't get back in.   Ok, but now what about the key to the building - a special consideration has to be made.   And also now I have to adjust my schedule to go change the code to suit the situation rather then to suit my own timing.   In other places we have a convenience store that will store bags so I offer that info.   But really as a general rule I try and make it as bothersome for the guest as possible because it's always somewhat of a hassle.  

I just had one family that booked 5 days, away for 4 days to tour somewhere nearby, then back again for five days.  I had anticipated that they'd ask to leave things in the apartment so I made sure that they understood that we had another booking while they were away.   They still persisted and cajoled, I said that I'd take ONE bag and put it in my apartment (it's a slow time and I was grateful for the business but this family are really really irritating guests).  They reply back - oh good, we have 9 bags.  9?  They were thinking I meant one bag per person.  So after back and forth to say 'no clearly that's not the offer', etc etc they finally took all their bags, but after they checked out of their first booking texted me to say "oh we left some food in the fridge so it's there when we get back.  I replied that it would be there if the next guests didn't use it, but they knew another family was booked so that wasn't the smartest move.  As it was, they left two boxes on top of the cupboards "do not touch" so it ended up looking shabby in the kitchen with these crazy boxes of stuff. 

Because of nutty guests that take it too far, most experienced guests end up saying no to special requests, as we've usually bent over backwards to accommodate and finally gotten tired of people taking advantage.

[Monica4]

I have found that guests who want free storage for their luggage are the demanding ones in other ways. I always say no. There is no separate lockable place for me to put luggage, and then I need to be around when they retrieve it. A big NO.

[Gregor34]

Great advice. 

I found the same problem, that it takes too much of my time meeting them later for pick up of bags. They also usually want to use the bathroom, which is already clean again for new guests.

Like you say, it is better to recommend the train station or airport, and say you cannot do so because of your own plans.

[Susan36]

NO.  guests are to check out which means the person and their belongings are leaving together at check out.  leaving their belongings with you is a liability and you are responsible should they come back to you and say "my jewelry is missing" or some such.    

[Michelle0]

This is a question the team at Cityami in NYC hears all the time. For the most part, the answer is to respond by letting them know that unfortunately the cleaners need to come in at check-out time, but that there are 3 excellent luggage storage options in the city - with a few mobile luggage storage options just starting out and offering great starter rates. 

As hosts prior to forming Cityami, we tried to accomodate guests for a long time, but found that 1 in 5 just took advantage. They weren't packed up in time, they would come back and use the apartment (cooking, etc.) just before grabbing their bags for their flight, and the worst was when they didn't pick up their bags in time - leaving you to explain to the new guests why this luggage was there, that they should still feel safe, but maybe take their valuables with them, etc.

[Katie73]

Hi Michelle - I've been getting the "can we leave our bags" question more and more and always say No, but hoping to find a reputable option in NYC to recommend to guests. Do you have any recommendations for luggage story in the city? Thanks so much!

[Mike77]

I want to read a good "luggage story".

Mike
AirBnB Treehouse for Rent
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7292887

[Doris224]

Here is a good one: My brother and his friend were in Rome, they asked nicely to leave their laguage for a couple of hours, (11am to 13pm) and host fully agred to give it to them at 1pm. They came back, ang guess what? No one opened the door or showed up! They wer knocking, sending emails, calling-no answer. Their flight was in two hours so they had to leave. It's been 40 days since their laguage is trapped, with hundred stupid excuses. Host is keeping their belogings and waiting for 2 months to pass, so they won;t have to pay for the shipping. Airbnb support is fully on guest's side, but hosts are playing games, not answering calls and trying to keep my brother;s personal belongings as long as the case can be closed, and- voila! - no expences for the host who is 100% gulity for not showing on agreed time and not sending the laguage.TAirbnb agreed on that matter.This is a disaster. We are trying to solve this problem for a long time, pushing it, coresponding with airbnb,calling and begging for our personal belongings! We have all the coversations screenshoted, all the calls to the host with no respond. What can you say? What to do?

[Kika1]

I used to get these requests a lot, so at some point I started saying (and also stating in the hous emanual that I leave in the guestroom) that they can leave their luggage in my basement for 10 francs per day. Since then the requests stopped! I also inform people that the lockers in the nearby airport cost only 6 francs per day. 

[Lyndsey2]

I've never had anyone ask to leave their bags but I constantly get asked if they can park in my driveway early. So far I've always said yes but it drives me a bit bonkers because I feel like I need to greet them inbetween mopping floors and schlepping loads of laundry. And I'm always afraid they will want to enter the room to "just use the bathroom" or something while everything is all torn apart and dirty. I always ask them to leave the car and then tell me what time they will return to check in so I can give them the tour, answer any questions, etc. One time, they came back and didn't even bother to check in or say hello. Just ran right to the room, found the door unlocked, and moved in. That irked me a lot more than it probably should have. It felt like such an invasion. 

[Mary1211]

"Can I check in early?"

"I'm sorry I can't have the place ready."

"What about just coming by, dropping my bags off, and taking a breather and using the shower before I need to go to X?"

:facepalm:

[Omri0]

I Always try to be helpful as i can. i always put my self in my guest shoes and wonder how i could appreciate if my host could keep my suitcase for few hours until my flight.

When I'm at home i am doing it with pleasure.

be nice, it will come back to you.

Some how always this people leaving the best reviews after doing something like this for them.

Do what you understand, if the guest is nice make him this small favour.

And yes, guest are asking to do it ALL the time. its just normal. i also ask the same when i travel.