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. 

[Natalie725]

I hear you... However, I do find that no matter what check-in time I put, that guests never adhere to it whatsoever. They just blindly assume they can check in at any time - most book late night flights - or else have forgotten to look at check-in times when booking (as they are waaay down the end). At least with a mandatory box, it's something they can't overlook and maybe it will give them more personal responsibility to adhere to it, since they had to fill it out themselves. More likely to remember

[Sarah977]

@Natalie725  When you message guests asking for their ETA, how do you word it?  It's important to word things in such a way that the guest thinks that if they don't convey crucial information, that they may end up being inconvenienced, because most don't give a hoot whether the host is inconvenienced. So rather than "Can you please let me know what time you will be arriving", try " Please let me know what time you will be arriving, as Airbnbs do not have 24 hour reception. I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate having to stand outside in the cold waiting for me to return from wherever I might be because I had no idea when you might arrive". 

[Natalie725]

So I have a booking confirmation message with a section that says "how do i check-in?" and then under that, I mention how I'll pass on the link for the check in guide once Airbnb make it available to view. Check-in is from 2pm onwards, but if you have a more precise time of arrival after this, please let me know.

And I find that this is not working, but I also feel that the approach you mentioned.. I'm afraid if it comes off as too scare tactic, or that I'm not reliable. I currently have a guest I'm still waiting on (9pm here in Dublin). She only came back to be with a check-in time about 2 hours ago, which was for 8pm. Still waiting... Not sure how to get people to make note. It's mentioned numerous times throughout my listing and at least twice on separate occasions in my pre-arrival messages. 

[Sarah977]

@Natalie725  "but if you have a more precise time of arrival after this, please let me know."

I'm not surprised that they aren't letting you know with that wording. They just can think "Well, I don't know exactly when I'll get there, so no need to let her know".

Eliminate that part. "Check-in time is from 2 until XX (state the latest they can check in).  But I need to know your time of arrival in advance (give or take half an hour) so I can assure that I am here to let you in. Airbnbs are not hotels with 24 hour reception."

[Natalie725]

Your advice about saying 2pm - XX is a good idea.  Thank you! I may implement that and see how it goes. I think your correct also about them not knowing a time so "no need to let her know." My gut tells me that as well. I just personally would always have an estimate for myself when travelling. I at least know my flight arrival or bus time. I don't get how people don't have that information from the get go. It really isn't 24 hour reception, like you said 

[Sarah977]

@Natalie725  But even if guests know what time their flight or bus schedule is, they may not be planning to go to their Airbnb immediately- maybe they'll stop and do some shopping, maybe they'll go out for lunch or dinner, maybe they'll meet up with friends. And any of those things may be last-minute decisions. I know several property managers in my town who face the same thing- they end up sitting and waiting at their office long past dinnertime with their families because a guest who said their flight got in at xx hours decided to stop at the grocery store for an hour, or go for dinner without the courtesy to call and say that. 

I work from home, so have a really flexible check-in time- 11AM to 11PM. But there's no way I'm going to sit home for 12 hours waiting for a guest who doesn't convey approximate arrival time.

Why should I have to postpone a needed shopping trip or turn down a dinner invitation at 6PM, if the guest isn't going to show up until 10? 

So far, I've been lucky- all my guests, 3 years running, have been really responsible about conveying arrival time and letting me know if they get held up for some reason.

[Natalie725]

We are in the exact same boat and I feel precisely the same way! I also work from home so have set a flexible check-in. I leave it flexible because I feel like it increases my chances of getting a booking. But just like you, I want to be able to concentrate on work without expecting the bell ring, or I want to know I can pop out to get groceries or dinner at a certain time. I've only had one guest who decided to have dinner before checking in, but they communicated that to me at least. So far, the most problems I have about this, is that people aren't telling me the suss at all. So I can't estimate a time, even by myself. Hmm. Hopefully I'll come to some method that works eventually

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Natalie725: The more information gathered at the time of booking is never a bad thing. I know some of our guests book their airfare after booking so this kind of information would have to be in some kind of follow-up. We have a digital keypad lock on our guesthouse so we are not required to be there when a guest arrives. When we send out our check-in information email five (5) days prior to their arrival we ask that if they are going to show up after 10pm to just let us know as a courtesy. 

[Suzanne302]

@Natalie725 As a homeshare host, I too, like to know when a guest is arriving for many of the same reasons mentioned by other hosts.

However, as a guest, I know how stressful it can be to adhere to an EXACT time when traveling. There are too many variables.

I word my message like this:

"Don't stress over an exact time, but I do need to know your arrival window in order to make sure there are no unexpected encounters with my dog. Please advise if you'll arrive close to check-in time (3-5pm), early evening (5-8pm), or late evening (after 8pm). Once I know your arrival window, I will provide you with a door code so your check-in process will not be delayed."

[Natalie725]

Yeah, this is very good advice because it makes you look proactive and reliable, instead of laissez faire or sassy about not being around if they don't tell you when they arrive. My only thing is that I'm trying to keep the word count down in my booking confirmation message. As I already have a sort of FAQ thing set up and each answer has its own heading. Sometimes I don't know whether putting too much information is the wrong thing, or keeping it super simple is the right thing.. I also wish you could have two separate check-in guides. One for parking directions and one for guests travelling by foot

[Suzanne302]

@Natalie725Oh, I know what you mean! I've edited my check-in instructions a million times over the past year and a half! I've tried to cut it down to the basics as much as possible especially when most people are reading on the app. I number my instructions and leave space between each one. It's still pretty long though!

[Natalie725]

I do the same thing with the headings and spacing! lol. But it still ends up looking like a novel. You almost have to use scare tactics in the first line, in order to get them to read the whole thing i.e. "important info, you will get locked out of the house if you do not read all info stated below"... 

[Trevor243]

All of our properties have keys in a key safe so that guests can arrive and let themselves in whenever they arrive. They could be delayed in motorway traffic or by bad weather or whatever, but can still get in as soon as they arrive. This works well for us and the guests.

On Booking.com there is an option asking guests to let us know their arrival time. Most do. Although our check-in is "any time from 3pm", many guests from Booking.com seem to think that "let us know what time you are arriving" means "you are welcome to arrive any time you want, even in the morning before the previous guests have left".

So whatever solutions we think of, it seems they create other problems .....

[Dan11470]

Oh that would be a problem if a guest decide to come early before another guest had checked out. What did you do? I have always emphasized check in and check out times... 

[Dan11470]

I do ask my guest about what time they will be arriving but it may be hard to predict with traffic in NYC and other plans they may have approximate ETA. I believe it is our responsibility as hosts to let the guest know we may not be around at the time they arrive and  I would hope to have explained everything in detail so that they can be self sufficient, but it is still nice to talk with guests and show them around personally.