what do you do when guests ignore the check-in time

[Susan310]

What is it about Airbnb that makes guests think they can ignore the check-in time which is clearly stated on the listing ?  My check-in time is 4 pm (or after, with no late limit) which allows, or should allow, me to be at home to welcome them and give them the key when they get here. I'd say that more than 80 percent of my booking messages start with "I plan to arrive at 3 pm", "2 pm", "mid-day", even "11 am" once or twice.  And people can get quite snippy if you explain that you won't be able to check them in at that time. 

I used to try to be flexible even with these early arrivers, but it's feeling more and more that guests just see Airbnb as a cheap hotel option.

Recently I got into a dialogue with a guest who wanted to come at 2:30 and was worrying about how she was going to find my place, etc which went on so long I got fed up and declined the booking. All the information she needed was on the listing and she was not only ignoring it, but complaining that I wasn't responding fast enough!

I've been doing Airbnb for more than 3 years now and it seems to me there's an increasing lack of respect for hosts. Or is this just host burn-out? Either way, starting to wonder if it's time to call it a day....

[Robin4]

@Susan310

You are the sort of host that made Airbnb great....your guests just adore you, the platform would be the worse for your leaving. Maybe snooze your listing for a while and take some time to smell the flowers.

I can feel the frustration in your post, and the problems you are experiencing is what happens when you are simply too accommodating!

You state in your house rules that check-in time is 'after 4 pm' but, Airbnb have made sure the house rules are now buried so far down the listing description that most guests will never get that far to read them!  It's not that they are trying to 'push the choke' as far as check-in is concerned...they just never get that far into the listing page.

I would state prominently in your listing description..."Check-in is after 4.00pm. As accommodating as I am, I cannot attend to early check-ins, my work schedule will not allow it"!

That way the guest is aware up front that 4.00pm means 4.00pm! 

I would lay a bet your are only experiencing this problem since Airbnb took it on themselves to bury your house rules down the bottom of the page with the fine print!!

Cheers......Rob

[Julia1]

This is another example of guests not reading the listing.  I always ask guests what time they plan to arrive mentioning that check in is after 2 pm before accepting a booking.  As a live in host this helps me plan my day and if for example I ma going out in the evening and therefore unable to check in a gust I can decline one wanting to arrive at 8 pm but accept if they want to arrive at 2 pm.  OccassionallyI have guests telling me they will arrrive at 8.30am to which I remind them of check in time but sometimes agree to earlier if it suits me.

[Fred13]

   I list all pertinent information about my place in 'Other Things to Note', and not under House Rules since the word 'rules' never enters my vocabulary.  Regardless, I don't expect them to read anything. 

   No problem - the minute they seriously inquire or book, I message them that list and they certainly read them then. Any questions answered in that list that they are too miraculously lazy to read via direct messaging, I re-copy & paste it again. 

   Works like a charm.

[Kath9]

@Susan310, people just don't read the full listing and they actually have to click on the 'Policies' tab now to see the check in time and house rules. Some people probably don't even realise this, while others just don't bother. I now send a saved message to all my booking requests specifying the check in time and asking them to make sure they've read all the house rules before proceeding with the booking. For people who have 'instant booked', I advise they can cancel the booking if it is not a good fit for them.

[Pete69]

I have a little laminated sign on the door that shows the checkout time. Hotels do this too.

Haven't had a squatter. Some have asked to hang around later because a flight leaves later in the day (and they have nothing to do but kill time), but fortunately I don't do back-to-back same day bookings so it's not a problem and then they leave an even better review.

[Susan310]

My problem is never with checking out, although I do have people who ignore that time too; when they're already here, it's easy enough to get them to check themselves out. it's with checking in early, so laminated signs are not an option. I had one guy show up at 11:30 in the morning, without warning,  with a massive suitcase having just flown in from Switzerland. He ended up leaving it with a kindly neighbour and sightseeing for the rest of the day, but that was just good luck all round. 

😄  Several people here have helpfuilly pointed out that Airbnb is hiding the check-in time so far down the listing that people don't read it.  Since I don't do instant booking, this means I can follow the suggestion from Kath and include the check-in time politely in my first message to them.  But Robin is also right, maybe it's time to close the calendar for a while.  We stay at quite a lot of Airbnbs when we travel and we always take the trouble to read all the host information, so it just feels rude when other people don't bother to do that with our listing. And when you start to feel like that about guests, it's probably time to call a halt, at least for a while. 

[Yulianna0]

I would say that many people are just trying waters asking for early check in. If they get “no” they find the way to organize themselves, or to cancel. And I’m positively surprised that lately more guests are really reading house rules. 

[Huma0]

It doesn't help when Airbnb hides important information like check in times way down a listing or under another link the guest has to click. Regardless, I have found the early check in requests, or sometimes DEMANDS, to be a problem from the get go, even when the times were clearly stated at the top of the listing.

Some people don't read anything and others simply don't think it applies to them for some reason. Many are just trying their luck.

I find I just have to stress repeatedly that my check in time is from 3-9pm and that the guest needs to let me know when they are arriving. I will message them over and over until I get this information. If they respond that they will be landing at 9.30am, I send them links to left luggage services and ask, "Would you like to check in at 3pm then, or do a full day of sightseeing and come later? Either way, let me know!"

It is frustrating and time consuming to be sure, but you are always going to have guests asking to check in outside of your time frame if your time frame is not convenient for them. Sure, they shouldn't book the listing if that is the case, but they will because they just expect you to fit in around their plans.

My check in window is 3-9pm, but the other day, I had guests arrive close to 1am. They had booked late flights AFTER booking my listing and after they had been reminded several times that check in was 3-9pm and hadn't bothered to let me know. They were surprised that I was not fine with this, simply stating, "We didn't think it would be a problem."

[Clara116]

@Huma0 how crazy is that to just think it  wouldn't be a problem to show up 2 hrs early for check in???  I've only had one that wrote they were arriving by flight at 8:30am.........and staying 4 nights - they wanted suggestions what they could do till my 3pm check in time..........my suggestion was book the night before and come when you arrive early morning......which is exactly what they did - they "hadn't thought of that"!!! wow....so I thought I will give a discount because I suggested this option and it wasn't booked already - it worked and they were great guests. 

I just am often surprised that people don't think outside the box AT ALL. 

I tour my folks and they need to message me 30 mins. before arriving and I have only had one in 77 that forgot and just came- it was cool as I was expecting. But that works for me. I'm with you Huma I don't bend my houserules and 3 is check in - only 2 times did I offer that they could come alittle early. 

[Clara116]

@Susan310 I'm with Robin and others that you have to make sure folks know immediately about your check in time - send a message - post it in your photos - up at the top of your listing - since this is important and not flexible and it is alittle later than most check ins - and seems alot of hosts are doing very early check ins, and just about anytime and that doesn't help with the situation for you. I'm of the belief when folks bend all the things they have in their listing it starts to create or further these entitled peeps out there. Obviously you are a great host. What about taking a short break - come visit a relaxing place for a week and get back to being a wonderful host as you are. all the best Susan, happy hosting, Clara

[Huma0]

@Clara116

Sorry, I didn't mean they wanted to check in two hours early, i.e. at 1pm. Those kind of requests I get all the time and I mean literally ever other guest. I have even had guests who confirmed twice they would "respect my check in time and come at 3pm" and then just showed up on my street at 9am, six hours early!!

The guests I mentioned before arrived at nearly 1am on a week night, four hours after my check in ends and after my other guests were already asleep. Not ideal at all, but the only other thing I could have done was cancelled the reservation, lost the income and faced all of Airbnb's penalties (this was a request booking, not IB), including losing my Superhost status. So, I had no choice but to wait up for them.

[Clara116]

@Huma0 WOW, you are remarkable.............1am.....folks are always a surprise thats for certain. And they think its just fine I suppose. 

So what do you do with 9am check in folks??? Since you have several rooms, I guess you accomodate? My cottage if occupied at 9am - folks would be directed to the mall or downtown and to come back at 3pm so that the place can be cleaned and ready for them. 

I can not imagine everyone wanting to make it different -and always asking for early...... I suppose folks are coming from overseas with you and arriving early and that would change things - happy hosting

[Huma0]

@Clara116 

No, I don't accommodate those 9am check ins. Those guests that just showed up on the street were sent away and told to come back at 3pm as agreed.

I am pretty much fully booked so normally have guests checking out (until 11am, but of course some of them run a bit late) and then have to get the rooms ready, as well as do my day job, and some days i have a cleaner come in, so early check ins are rarely a possibility.

However,  a lot of people do arrive in London on a morning flight, either because they have come on an overnight flight from the US or similar, or they are coming from Europe and have booked an early flight because it's the cheapest one. So, I do get requests for early check in all the time.

In the beginning, I used to be more flexible about guests dropping off bags early etc. but so many people took advantage of this that I had to put a stop to it. Actually, I created a thread about this ages ago with a very similar title! I was finding it to be such a problem.

See: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/How-can-I-stop-guests-ignoring-the-check-in-time/m-p/304...

Now, unless a room happens to be empty the night before, or I know for sure the previous guest is leaving very early, I just have to stick to my guns and keep saying, no, sorry I can't, and give them links to convenient, inexpensive left luggage services.

[Gary382]

I just message them that early check in is available at1:00 (from 4PM) for a $45 fee.  Once they know its pay to stay they either pay or show up at 4.

Gary