A guest asks to check in SUPER early, he will land at 6am...

[NY-Blue-House0]

The new coming guest told me, after he made the reservation with us, that he and his family (wife, one infant, and one toddler) will arrive in NY at 6 am on Sunday.

He said: "Hey. We are arriving early morning on 10/10 (610a). Do you think we can check in early?".

Who will book such an early flight with two super young children?

It will be Sunday, and my housekeeper will need to come super early for him.

But then I feel bad because it will be miserable for the parents...

And maybe he might take it on me and gave me a bad review later...

I wish he had asked me before booking. I would never take him.

I told him the earliest time we can make it will be 10 am.

I explained some details to him and my cleaning lady will need to come at 7 am... 

He:"We can wait until 10am".

Those are everything he texted me... somehow, I don't feel his appreciation...

This reminds me I allowed the guests to check in very early because they came from another country.

But it was overlaying my previous guest, they ended up bumping into each other...

They later gave me a bad rating on "Check-In".

What should I do?

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@NY-Blue-House0 

Now what you've done is make your guests want to drop off luggage at 7 or 8am, and while dropping off luggage, they will want to take a look around, use the bathroom or even take a shower to freshen up or a quick nap before heading out for lunch.......or maybe have a cup of coffee and a snack or breakfast before heading out again. Some might even say that they are too tired to leave, they are okay with just 'hanging out' while the cleaner cleans. Either that or they will now assume your check in time is 1pm and will be upset and mark you down if you dare to tell them check in time is actually 3pm. 

[Brian2036]

@NY-Blue-House0 

I would tell them that they can check in at 6 AM if they want to clean the house themselves.

Or they can wait until it’s ready at 3 PM.

Seems like a fair trade.

[Helen3]

If your place is free the night before just suggest he books the night before and then he can check in on arrival ? @NY-Blue-House0 

[Lorna170]

The guest should have booked the night before.  Then arrival time would not be an issue. 

[Ana7]

I allow early check-in in cases when my studio is empty and already clean. If I have any kind of trouble whatsoever in order to get it ready earlier than the check-in time, I don't allow it. I simply say - sorry, it is not possible.  And guess what, I get betters ratings then than when I bend backwards to please the guest.

[Mark116]

@Ana7  Yes, this is what we do.  If someone asks us, well in advance, in a nice way, and we're able to make it work with the schedule we do it.  If someone comes off as entitled or sends a message the day before check in, that hey, we'll be there at 7am with an expectation that it will be arranged for them....we usually don't accommodate. 

Its the same for late check out.  Post covid, we're much less full, especially with Europeans having been banned until recently, so if we like the guests we will often offer then a late check out.  If someone messages the night before or day of check out that they want to check out at 4pm.....we say sorry, can't do....

[Inna22]

@NY-Blue-House0 once you start to offer complicated scenarios, you are inviting different interpretations of them, wrong expectations etc. No one is happy at the end. I have a set check in time (any time after 4 with door code). When someone asks for early check in, I offer three options: free luggage drop off, early check in for a fee or book the night before with a small discount. I only send those options when asked. Do not complicate your listing. I explain that I charge the fee for early check in because I need to pay my housekeeper more to move her schedule around or to even bring in extra person so we are done on time(and this is true)

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@NY-Blue-House0 

we had such a guest a few weeks ago. She booked and wrote: We will arrive at 6 AM and would like to check-in immediately.

I said it is not possible bc I have guests leaving the same morning and need time to air and clean but will send her a message when and if it will be ready earlier.

Then she said OK, but when she arrived she continue to insist and sending me messages while I was cleaning. In the end, I finished right on time of regular check-in at 2 PM.

Later she wrote in her review something like "They have very precise check-in time so keep this in mind if you arrive at unusual hours"

Exactly, thank you, I hope it will help me with future guests 😄

I've told her she should have asked for it prior to booking or book the night before and choose the "self-check-in" listing.

The other problem is late check-ins. The arrivals at the airport are until midnight + 1 hour to arrive at the apartment.  My check-ins are until 7 PM bc I am the off-site host and I want a peaceful evening but I regularly get inquiries and bookings with late check-in requests. So I wrote in house rules I am charging 10€ for every hour past my check-in time. Of course, guests are not willing to pay anything extra for keeping me awake and making me drive to the other end of town to meet them at midnight so the problem is solved 🙂

[Brian2036]

@NY-Blue-House0 

When we fly to Panama our flight invariably arrives at an inconvenient time and we are tired.

 I always ask the hotel if early checkin is available and offer to pay extra for it.

The response is always the same: “If your room is available you may check in early.”

Sometimes it is ready and sometimes it’s not, but this seems to be a reasonable accommodation.

[Ana7]

@Brian2036 exactly. I find this to be the best possible answer. If the place is available (meaning: empty and cleaned), you may check in early. 

Everything else means sorry, you may not 🙂

[Debra300]

@NY-Blue-House0,

We charge guests an early check-in and late checkout fees that are 50% of the nightly rate for up to six more hours.  Longer than that, the guest needs to book an additional night.  In my opinion, this is fair because guests want the comfort of the space, and know that they would have to pay something while they wait for check-in time or their departure transportation.  Also, the fee is a way to discourage people from thinking that they can change the rules as it pleases them.