Guests haven't checked out when cleaner arrives

[Justin1032]

How would you go about the situation of myself or the cleaner arriving at the home after the checkout time stated and people are still in the home and haven't checked out?

Especially if this is 1-2 hours after the checkout time, what is a reasonable way to talk to them? or how to politely nudge them to move along?

[Anonymous]

@Justin1032  Most people would take the fact that the cleaner has arrived and begun cleaning as something much stronger than a "nudge."  But it does happen from time to time that the guest (or even the host) is mistaken about the scheduled checkout date.

If the current date is still available, you can ask the guest if they need to extend their booking by an additional day. If not, it should be sufficient to inform them that you need them to move along so that you have sufficient time to prepare for the next arrival. 

In the future, you might consider sending a default message to all your guests the night before, to thank them for their stay and remind them of the next day's checkout time, along with any instructions for departure (such as how to lock up and return the keys). 

[Suzanne302]

@Justin1032  To add to @Anonymous 's suggestions I would treat it as a misunderstanding first. (even if you don't think it is) Something along the lines of, "I hope there hasn't been a misunderstanding but perhaps you weren't aware that check-out was at XXam? Our cleaners can't begin until you vacate the property and they need to begin immediately in order to have the property prepared for our next guests."

And I second Andrew's advice of a pre-departure message.

[Justin1032]

Thank you both for your comments, they're very strong and to the point. Much appreciated!