Airbnb should have a mandatory box for guests to fill out arrival time before booking

[Natalie725]

I have mentioned in my listing that guests who book must state their arrival time upon booking request, as well as reminding them down the line when they still don't mention it in the first message. It seems quite apparent that none of the potential guests read any of the listing details....

And so, I think Airbnb should should have a mandatory box for guests to fill out arrival time before booking. Would that make things better? Or make expectations worse when they don't turn up at that time... I just don't know anymore! It's frustrating to not be able to fully relax in the evenings until they arrive. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0 · Accepted solution]

@Natalie725  and others.... I have to admit, most of our guests let us know when they will arrive, and usually, they do arrive +-1h on time. Of course, as we are off-site hosts, we would like them to be punctual so we don't have to spend our time and money in a cafe while waiting for them.

But...

I booked Airbnb twice for my friends and me. We traveled by car. We intended to depart from home at 8 AM but were late for half an hour. Then they decided to go and buy some sandwiches... then we stopped to fill the tank and drink coffee, then it was heavy traffic on the road. I tried to tell them we should arrive when we said we will but it didn't bother them at all. So I phoned our host to tell them we might be late half an hour or so.. then I phoned him again when we were close... then we got lost because our GPS directed us to the wrong one way street. So in the end, we were about 45 min late.

As a host myself I knew we are taking our host's time and I felt bad about it but my friends didn't understand it at all, like OK, we are late, he will wait so what! They didn't think about our host might have new guests every other day and if all of them are late for an hour it's 15 hours a month wasted on waiting 😞

So, in fact, I am surprised how many of our guests do arrive on time or at least keep us informed during their trip 🙂

[Sandra856]

Hi @Branka-and-Silvia0  🙂

I ALWAYS ask my guests arriving by car from far away/ other countries to use google maps. It is incredible precise and will within seconds tell you about traffic accidents 2 hours away and update arrival time. I ask them to send me a couple of updates during the day and they usually arrive within 10 minutes of what google says. ♡ google maps ♡  but I also really, really hate the waiting time..Haha  😄

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sandra856  we all do 🙂

Btw, my phone doesn't have internet while I am out of Croatia. So no google map on the road, unfortunately.

[Sandra856]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

If you "roam" for very short periods it costs very, very little and you won't need your internet from Croatia. 

[Natalie725]

It's good that you kept the hosts 'in the know' about your arrival time. And you were only 45 minutes late (which isn't an issue in my books, especially when you had issues along the way). My problem, is that my guests turn up hours after my stated check-in window and - almost all the time - they turn up much later than they said they would.. So in a way, my suggestion of a mandatory box isn't the answer to everything... but I know I would feel less tense if I had a precise time from the very start. I could plan for that time. Everyone is aiming for that. That's what everyone is expecting.

If they don't arrive at that time, it's a bonus if they can update the situation (although not everyone can - or bothers to). But the main thing, is that if they fill a mandatory box, the pressure is on them and not me. The way Airbnb has this system now, is that all the power lies on the guest's side for when they want to arrive. 

Small things on top of that, like I put ice water into their room before arrival. If they turn up hours late, the ice is all melted. I'm waiting around and my mood is affected for the worse. I can't relax. 

A mandatory might just ease any tension I think..

[Helen427]

Hello @Natalie725 

If you include in your listing Profile that it's polite to send a msg a day or two before as you have a life as well.

Have a read through how I've wordered my listing about those details.

All the best

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Auckland, New Zealand