Check-in times - do I really have to stay and wait the whole night?

[Kati33]

Hi,

I've been doing Airbnb for several years and served thousands of guest groups. Just recently I faced a new rule by Airbnb: if I have stated a check-in time (the minimum is 2 hours), the guest doesn't have to tell their arrival schedule but they can just pop in. I have in my house rules that the guest has to tell their arrival schedule latest the night before and I keep asking the schedule on arrival day as long as they'll respond. But then there was a guest who never responded but just popped in and I wasn't home. I got a 13 euros penalty plus a mark to my profile - if I'm doing this again, I will be shut out from Airbnb.

I'm still in shock. I thought that the house rules matter and the community is based on mutual trust and communication. I was wrong?

Yours,

Kati

[Steven1090]

I have a keylocker next to my frontdoor. Guests can check in any time they want. For me there is no need to welcome them.  Would that work for you?

[Kati33]

An apartment building with locked front and gate doors in the capital city center.  Due to pandemic no key drop shops available. But this was not the problem - I'm home whenever desired; I was just surprised that I'm serving as a hotel receptionist, not a home owner.

[Debra300]

@Kati33,

I have a guesthouse, and some people don't realize that they are staying in host's home and not a hotel.  This is what I tell guests after they book, "Please note that we do not have a front desk or staff.  You must tell us no later than 24 hours before your scheduled check-in your flight or ferry details, and the time you expect to arrive to the guesthouse to ensure that someone will be available to check you in."  I still have to chase some guests for their arrival information, but I no longer wait around for them if they don't provide it.  

The following is what I found in the Airbnb Help Center.  

A a page about what's expected of hosts:  https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/whats-expected-of-hosts-432.  I emboldened two sentences that I think may be the reason you were penalized.

• If you plan to meet guests in person, make sure to coordinate a check-in time in advance
• Make sure your guests know how to contact you if they have a travel delay or last-minute question

When you sent your check-in messages to the guest did you inform them that you may not be home during the listed check-in time?  Did the guest call you when they arrived?  How long did they have to wait before they could enter?

There is also a page that lists what's expected of guests: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3053/whats-expected-of-guests.  Guests are not held to a strict standard in regards to checking in late and lack of communication.  I think this leeway is granted, because guests may experience legitimate difficulties with sending communication while they are traveling:

• Disrespecting the reservation agreement: Guests must abide by the standards set by Hosts for each reservation as long as the standards are not inconsistent with Airbnb policies. This includes but is not limited to: check-in and check-out times, number of guests, permissibility of pets or smoking, and other Host rules agreed upon at the time of booking.

[Kati33]

Dear Debra,

-When you sent your check-in messages to the guest did you inform them that you may not be home during the listed check-in time? - Yes, I did.

-  Did the guest call you when they arrived? - No, they sent a message when they were behind the door

-  How long did they have to wait before they could enter? - Less than an hour

They also brought an extra guest (strictly forbidden in my house rules), stayed in the corridor (also forbidden) and didn't respect the nightly silence hours. And I got a one star review.

[Debra300]

@Kati33,

I almost missed your response.  Be sure to tag a person so to alert them of a post that mentions their profile (type @and then select or type the profile name).

I know it's not fair, but many Airbnb policies are not.  In this situation, I would follow up with Airbnb to request that the penalties be removed from your account, because you did everything that was expected of you as a host and the guest didn't communicate back to you.  There isn't any need to mention the rules breaches that the guests made since you didn't cancel the reservation when they occurred.

[Kati33]

So, could you find the rule or standard of the check-in penalty of 13 euros, if the guest is not responding to messages or to the house rules and just arrives? I asked a support agent to find it to me and he has now searched it for 2 hours.

[Debra300]

@Kati33,

A guest must be able to enter the rental during the check-in window that is listed.  Even if they agree to your house rules, and then don't provide an estimate arrival time.  The only instance where a host wouldn't be penalized for inaccessibility is if the guest arrived after the end of the check-in period, and hadn't notified the host or Airbnb to make arrangements for a later check-in.

[Kati33]

Could you please provide me the Host Standard where this is stated? Because I can't find it. 7 years and almost 4000 guest groups back it was due to the agreement between the guest and the host.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Kati33  where did you find these 13€ penalty rules? Is it written somewhere? I never heard of them.

I see you have clearly written your check-in time frame and in your additional house rules guests are required to let you know the time of their arrival. You also reminded your guests about it. So you did what you should do to prevent such things to happen and you are not guilty if guests don't care.

What I found the best to prevent such a situation is to send the following message to my nonresponsive guests a day before their arrival and they always respond immediately when they realize they may end up waiting on the street:

" Dear XX, it seems I still don't have your exact time of arrival but no problem, you can call me when you arrive at the location and I will do my best to come and meet you within 1 hour. Have a nice trip, see you tomorrow :)"

[Kati33]

Hi,

Me neither, but I got the penalty and got a mark to my profile and will be kicked out if this happens again. I can't find this rule anywhere.