How can I stop guests ignoring the check in time?

[Huma0]

I really don't want to have to put it in CAPITALS at the beginning of my listing, as that's not very welcoming, but I am starting to get frustrated that so many guests simply ignore my check in time (3pm). It is in my listing and house rules, which I ask them to read.

Check out (12 pm) doesn't seem to be a problem. Occasionally a guest asks if they can leave bags and pick them up later, which is fine, but most leave earlier than noon with no fuss.

Check in is another matter. I would say that the majority of my guests want to come earlier. Some politely ask if that is an option, or if they can drop their bags earlier. Unfortuntely, a lot just assume they can come straight from the airport/train station and wouldn't have bothered to even communicate this to me had I not asked.

I always message them to ask what time they will arrive (the majority don't offer this information without a prompt). Even when I stress in my message that check in is from 3 pm onwards, they still respond saying, "We'll be arriving at 11 am." So, it's not that they don't know check in is after 3, they just simply don't seem to think it matters.

Even at a five star hotel with 24 hour reception, this is usually not okay.

Any tips for how I can prevent this? What am I doing wrong?!

[David126]

I am different to you as most of my guests arrive by car. But I still get the same enquiries, in fact somebody I know who has a small hotel does as well. Seems a bit braindead to want to book in when there may be people who have yet to leave. Could be cosy.

Just reply with your check in times, not much else you can do.

[Huma0]

Thanks @David126, yes I keep telling them. Maybe I should be more strict re the suitcase thing, as then I have to wait for them to drop their cases and then wait again later for them to come back so I can show them the room etc. It's just so time consuming! I don't want to be totally inflexible though as I know it's a pain to lug your cases around if you arrive early morning.

[Oad0]

As mentioned before, the crux of the problem is “bad guests”. Therefore, avoid those bad apples by putting in place a bulletproof screening process. Airbnb leaves the burden of screening entirely with the hosts. do a great job with screening And you will be good. Good luck

[Zacharias0]

You are not alone in this regard. Word for word I used to experience the same issue as you and did two things to alleviate the issue: 1)  Once I receive a booking I immediately ask them for their estimated time of arrival AND departure. If it's a few weeks out I wait to send that message as some don't know that far in advance. Some will give a time frame such as 1-3 pm which doesn't help as my check in time is clearly stated as 3pm. I respond with "Anytime after 3pm is fine and I look forward to seeing you then."  I always ask for departure time because some guests are under the impression that as long as they are not here physically they are checked out. Not the case... 

2) I started to charge for early check ins and late check outs or baggage holds. If a guest responds that they are arriving early and would like to check in early I clearly state that arriving before 11am is a half day rate and arriving between 12-3pm is an additional $xx dollars. You can set your own price by adjusting the reservation. The point of charging is to clearly let the guest know that 'yes, you are welcome to arrive earlier than 3pm, but there is a charge' for my time and effort.  Holding bags and leaving later than expected also comes with a charge. No host wants to be tied to their house watching bags while the guest goes on about their day. If the guest knows theres a charge they'll happily pay it or choose to take their luggage with them.

I'm all for being hospitable, but I also appreciate being compensated for my time and effort.

Just my thoughts. 

Let us know how you tackle the issue of early check ins.

[Huma0]

Thanks @Zacharias0, you and @Andrea9 have made me realise I'm being far too flexible about this. I do message them to reiterate the check in time and all the things you guys suggest about communication, but often they just ignore that. I've even been asked to store luggage for days at a time (I said no to this immediately). A small fee for these additional 'services' makes sense to me! Thank you.

[Huma0]

By the way @Zacharias0, is it fairly easy to add an extra charge for early check in/late check out to the booking reservation? How would you do this?

What about guests that only tell you after they come to stay that they want to leave their bags to pick up later (our flight got changed, etc. etc.)? Can you still add an additional fee to the booking?

Sorry, it's just that I've not tried anyting like that before...

[Robin4]

@Huma0 @Ange2 @Andrea9

Here I am yet again having my tuppence worth.

On accepting a booking I generally say..."We are really relaxed about arrival and departure times but every good strategy needs a bit of planning! Would you please message me with your anticipated arrival time so that I can make the required prepartions and make sure it doesn't clash with any other agenda we may have going on here for that day. And if alterations need to be made I am sure we can work it out to our mutual benefit. Oh and departure....lets talk about that when you get here"

It's relaxed....no, 'do this/do that' and because it is put that way guests do make a special effort to work in with us. Sometimes it is convenient for them to come at 10.00 in the morning, other times it may be 3.00 in the afternoon. I let them know that whatever they want, I will do my best to work with them.....and it does work!

Cheers....Rob

[Andrea9]

@Robin4 @Huma0 @Ange2

Robin, as usual very nicely worded!

I've noticed that if I give (many of) my guests any sign of a leeway, it will be used. And considering that I can't ask top-Euro with my listing setup it means that being too flexible in 'working things out' with them is extending what they are getting even more and it kind of sucks more value out of the good deal they are getting. Did all that in the first year, and succumbed a couple of times in the 2nd year, and am now unwilling to pander to the extra wishes for no extra dime. All of my guests have to come through Central (train) Station in city center, and they're better off depositing them there anyway. Plus, having somebody arrive in the morning and sleeping till mid afternoon prevents me from working and is counter-productive to my own work.

Every host needs to consider what works for them. For some earlier arrivals/departures are no problem. For others it is.

Important is always to formulate things positively towards the guest. "Check in is as early as 2pm when I will be back at the apartment after work" sounds better than "You won't be able to check in before 2pm." In the end however, it comes down to the same line drawn in the sand - no earlier arrivals 🙂

[JoLynne0]

Hi Robin,

I've not had problem with early arrivals. My check in time is 4pm because of my work schedule. I have guests that arrive late, 10pm,11pm,even 12am! I also ask them about their ETA.

Most of my guests arrive by car. I like the idea of extra fees but I'm surprised they still arrive so early!

I enjoy hosting JoLynne

[Good-Morning--0]

I got several messages from business-guests, they wanted to leave bags at 7am or 8am before they are going to work.  Even though I explained  I am not available  like that early morning or I have current guests who wanted to prepare they morning..    Those guest still insisted to come.   I did several times, all the time it made my day bad. 

*A couple guests asked to leave at 8am and didn't come,  I waited for them for 2 hours and couldn't take a shower in the morning, because I thought they might show up 8:15 or 8:30 etc..  

*A couple guests asked 'Only' to leave bags at 8:30am and 'Promised not bothering current guests like not asking use a bathroom',  and these guests came at 8 and left bags, they asked 'water' ,,, I offered.  and asked 'use a bathroom', even they noticed my current guests in a shower,  so I said 'NO' and I had to tell unhappily  'you promised only dropping off your bags in this early morning !'   and then they left very unhappily.    

In spite of all my efforts, these guests didn't thank nor sorry.

Both cases are by Chinese young couple guests,

Now I have learned once I show kindness to someone who lack common-sense, they may keep bothering for whatever they want. If I was strict at first or didn't give any flexibilities,  they wouldn't ask any Service.   

[Huma0]

@Good Morning

Yes, this is exactly the kind of thing that I was experiencing when I first created this thread, which was a while ago now.

It's like @Ange2  said, if you give them an inch, they often take a mile. It's not that I don't want to be flexible and helpful to my guests. I know when I am travelling and arrive earlier than mid-afternoon, it's really helpful if I can get an early check in or drop off my bags.

However, my problem arises when:

1. Guests ask once, are told sorry, it isn't possible and then ask repeatedly. I mean sometimes six, seven times. I would never do this myself. I would ask the first time, "Is there ny chance you could make an exception?" and if I was told no, I would not ask agian.

2. Guests totally taking advantage of your time, e.g. asking for early check in or bag drop and then leaving you waiting for them for two hours. Or, they agree that they are only dropping off their bags, but need to come back to check in when the previous guests have left and you have had time to clean, but then arrive and DEMAND to be shown the room, use the shower and even to do laundry!!!! 

I got to a point where I just thought ENOUGH. I am not putting up with this anymore. It is a shame for the guests who are more considerate, but actually I do occasionally still allow early check in but only when I know 100% it is not going to be an inconvenience to me.

[Michon2]

Hello @Huma0 - thank you for posting this. I just recently experienced a problem like this. My guest booked Friday through Tuesday, and let me know she would be arriving at midnight on Friday. Since she did not book Thursday night, I mistakenly assumed she meant she would be arriving late on Friday night. She arrived at 2am on Friday morning...a full 13 hours in advance of her Friday check-in. I was just lucky that I did not have a guest booked for Thursday. 

She then proceeded to check-out at 4pm on Tuesday afternoon, a full 5 hours late, and she did not even inform me of her plans. I was at work, so I had no way to know until I saw her leave on the security cameras. So she paid for 4 nights and received 5 nights, plus an extra half day on the tail end. I was astounded. To add insult to injury, I arrived home to a space that was so messy with garbage and dirty dishes everywhere. She also left the TV and every light on.

My question for you is, did you ever discover a way to add a fee for people who abuse the check-in/check-out policy? I know we can request more money, but I do not think we can force people to pay it. I left her a bad review, but until she reviews me, I am unsure if it will ever be posted to her profile. I am feeling powerless, and taken advantage of.

Do you have any advice? Thank you in advance, and happy hosting! Michon in Saint Paul

[Huma0]

Hi @Michon2 . I am sorry to hear about your experience, which sounds really awful.

Firstly, I'm glad you left her a negative review. Don't worry, your review will be posted regardless of whether she leaves one or not. If she doesn't leave one, yours will automatically appear on her profile 14 days after check out. If she does leave a review, yours will appear as soon as she has posted hers.

Your guest totally took advantage. I assume you clearly state your check in times on your listing, so she must have known what she was doing. I would not have put up for this. If she had arrived at 2am on Friday morning, I would have told her she needed to pay for an additional night and immediately sent an alteration request to add a day to the booking, which she would have needed to accept before checking in.

Perhaps it would have been too late at that stage to add that night to the booking though, so my next recourse  in that case, or if she refused to pay for an extra night, would be to call Airbnb. If your check in is from 3pm, the guest has absolutely no right to show up 13 hours before and Airbnb should back you up on this.

You would have been justified in asking them to cancel the reservation (although they probably would have given her a full refund), but I imagine at 2am in the morning, the guest would have been more amenable to paying for the extra night than having to find somewhere else to go!

Of course, she would probably have then left you a bad review, but as hosts, we cannot be held hostage to the whims of an unreasonable guest for fear of a retalitory review. Sometimes you just have to stand your ground. Plus, if she had mentioned any sort of resolution dispute in her review, you would have had the right to ask for it to be removed.

There is not much you could have done about the late check out though if you were not there. I put in my house rules that guests who stay past check out without permission may be charged for an extra night (also that guests who arrive before check in without permission will not be granted access) so I technically could have charged her for it, especially having caught her on camera! Also, perhaps including this in the house rules encourages guests (at least those who have bothered to them) to leave on time, as this is not often a problem for me.

If you haven't done so already, I would stress your check in times at every opportunity: on your listing, in your house rules, in your booking message, again when you ask them for an arrival time, e.g. I always ask, "What is your estimated time of arrival, bearing in mind check in is from 3-9pm?"

I have never had an experience like yours with a guest arriving the night before. The earliest guests arrived for check in was 9am, when they had agreed twice to come at 3pm. I did not let them in, but politely told them they should go sightseeing and have lunch before coming back at the agreed time. That is more difficult to do at 2am in the morning, especially to a solo female traveller!

I have never actually charged anyone for early check in. I simply won't check them in early unless this is something that was agreed to beforehand, i.e. it was convenient for me anyway, so I didn't bother to charge then either. I have never charged for a late check out as I haven't had anyone leave very late without asking permission. When they have left a couple of hours late without asking, I've always managed to at least get them out of the bedroom so I can start getting that ready.

I have, however, charged for late check ins (after 9pm). This is stated in my house rules and, if the guest doesn't seem to have read that or has ignored it, I remind them of it as soon as I find out they will be arriving late. This has always worked, except once, where the guest ignored the request for additional funds and my messages. I got Airbnb involved and they also tried to contact the guest without any success. They then dropped the matter as they said they could not take the money from her without her consent so, no, they didn't really back me up.

If it is an extra night added to the booking, rather than a fee for "additional services", they would probably be more likely to back you up and take the money from the guest's card, because they want their cut too!

Sorry for the long response. I hope it all makes sense!

[Michon2]

@Huma0 - thank you so much for the quick reply! Yes, we do state our check-in/out times in our listing, but I am going to make it even more obvious and be more vigilant in my messages with the guests. I am also considering not being flexible anymore. As for the late check-ins, we have an automated lock, so checking in late isn't really a hassle for us, and of course, that is what I thought she was intending. I will be more vigilant in my interpretations of guests messages in the future as well.

I did talk to Airbnb support, and they did alert me to the review process, and my options for course of action. I may be SOL on this one, but at least I learned a valuable lesson. I am also growing a thicker skin. If this were to happen again, God forbid, I would insist on the extra night at the door, and send the alteration request at that time. I was definitely too nice, and she definitely took advantage. Some people will do that...I guess I will have to leave this one to karma.

Thank you again, and if I ever make it back to London again, I will definitely be looking for your Airbnb 🙂 Cheers! Michon