Christmas

[Victoria2292]

Is it unreasonable to tell all guests from 3pm on Christmas Eve and Christmas that my phone will be turned off?  I will supply all they need to know on an ipad about the house, I am going to back this up with a write up of everything that could happen on Christmas day and how to resolve it, anything that isnt able to be resolved I will deal with on Boxing Day (hoping there will be nothing!), the house issues should be dealt with in the same way as if it were their own home on Christmas Day, in that if there is a leak, they should contact an emergency plumber (although likelyhood of getting someone out on Christmas Day is slim).  

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Victoria2292 Oh dear - perhaps you are not suited to hosting. There is no excuse for a host to be uncontactable over Christmas. You are running a business and making money from your guests so you need to be available if they need you. As for them contacting an emergency plumber who is going to pay the call out charge? If you pay then the guest could agree to a ridiculous charge.

So, in summary, yes it is unreasonable and if you want a 100% guarantee of not being disturbed then close your listing over Christmas.

[Victoria2292]

@Mike-And-Jane0 Ive hosted for the past 5 years every christmas for 5 cottages, i think i have been put on edge a little from someone last year calling me every half an hour about the wifi going down but there was nothing I could do about it as the suppliers were on christmas shut down.  My guests are checking in on 23rd so I may offer them early check in so they can ring with any issues/questions before Christmas Day, the thing i think is I wouldnt be able to do anything other than advise it would be dealt with after Christmas day as I am not an on site host.    I want to try and cover every eventuality i suppose so they dont have to disturb their Christmas day either 

[Shelley159]

Hi @Victoria2292 

I'd suggest rather don't turn your phone off completely, but active "Do not Disturb" and allow notifications from the Airbnb app only.

Telling them in advance that your phone will be off may only make them worry that your listing is the type where things go wrong all the time.

Unless they're checking in on Christmas day, it's probably unlikely that they will need to contact you, so you even with Airbnb messaging allowed, you likely won't be disturbed.

[Victoria2292]

@Shelley159 thats a good idea, all of my check ins are on the 23rd or earlier and most of them are direct bookings not through airbnb so how could i tell them "do not disturb"?   Thanks for your advice 

[Shelley159]

@Victoria2292 I only communicate with direct bookings via text messages on Whatsapp, so usually nobody phones me (guests tend to keep the conversation in the same place).

I only recently learned that there are many countries where Whatsapp is not nearly as widely used as I've always assumed, so I'm unsure whether you usually communicate over Whatsapp with non-Airbnb guests? If so, you'll have to also allow Whatsapp (or Telegram if that's what you use for texting) as an exception to the Do not Disturb.

[Helen3]

Hi @Victoria2292 

I think if you don't want to be disturbed then it's best not to take bookings over Christmas .

The reality is that you are unlikely to be contacted unless there is an emergency in which case the guest has a right to expect you deal with it .

you absolutely shouldn't expect a guest to deal directly with trying to source a plumber or other tradesperson. 

an early check in is a good idea 

Do not turn your phone off that's poor customer service .

For anything minor which can wait ask them to message on the platform for emergencies guests can call you.

[Lorina14]

@Victoria2292 

I think it is unreasonable to say your phone would be turned off during this time. It may be best not to host over the holidays as this is not customer service most people would like. Consider putting yourself in their shoes, you are on holiday with family/friends trying to enjoy the time together and something doesn’t work as expected and you have already checked the house manual to trouble shoot and it still doesn’t work.

Even if it is something you will have difficulty addressing, as a host in the hospitality business you should be accessible and compassionate toward your guests. To offer a timely answer and a potential discount or solutions to the issue is good customer service and will help prevent a bad review. 

You could consider paying a friend or family member to be a co-host or hire a cohost for the holidays so you can enjoy your time uninterrupted with your friends and family and your guests will have someone to reach out to if there is indeed an emergency or just a question that they would need answered.

[Zheng49]

I agree. Either block the Christmas dates from your calendar, or hire someone temporarily to act as a co-host. 

It has a high chance of backfiring if you turn off your smartphone during the day. And it's not something I would expect guests to be okay with either. 

On the topic of Wi-Fi. If your Wi-Fi is unreliable on certain days, then I would invest in an alternative Wi-Fi for those dates, such as reliable satellite internet/Spacelink etc. It just needs to be fast enough for video streaming, so you don't need ultra low pings (for gaming). Although you won't get ultra low pings with satellite internet anyways.