self check in

[Lynn120]

I am very new here... I have setup for self check-in, but both of my first guests have contacted me about getting the door code.  How do they get the normally information for accessing the house?  Email? Mobile app?  They must have the address since they are at the front door.

[Kate157]

Hi @Lynn120 I also use self-check in. I have a lockbox on my gate. I send the code in my welcome message along with directions to enter the house as soon as I have a confirmed reservation. This system has worked very well for me. Other hosts send the code the day before or the day of check-in. It's whatever works best for your situation. I only put the key in the lockbox just before I am expecting guests.

[Lynn120]

Thanks

It is my understanding that the purpose of instant booking and self check-in is that a person could find a place, book it, then go to the location and get into the place with no host interaction.  Since both guests needed to contact me, although I had setup everything, then something is missing.  Perhaps it was oversight on the guest's part but I cannot evaluate that without understanding the process they go through.  I suspect the information was available to them but they did not know (they were both new to AirBNB).
My desire is for the house to be available to accidental visitors; whether a flight was delayed, freeway closure, or air conditioner went out (this is Las Vegas).  I just need to be sure that if a person needs a place, that they can book it and access it if they have the proper setup and they do not need to contact me at 2:00 in the morning.

[Linda108]

 @Lynn120, So you send the check-in information, i.e., key pad code prior to the guest arriving but your guests do not have the information with them, right?  For me when I travel, I had one host used a key lock box and one host used a key pad.  What I liked about the key pad was the host coded it with the last 4 digits of my phone number.  I could remember that better than some other code that I might have to remember to bring with me.  

I don't know if you have traveled on Air BNB, but being a guest a few times has made me a more considerate host.  It might be helpful for you to pose this same question to the guests and ask their input as to what would have made the check in smoother.  You can send them a private message if they have already checked out.