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?!

[Huma0]

@Mathieu-And-Kunj0

Do you ever charge an additional fee for early/late check in, or you just use that as a tool to prompt them to specify their arrival time? Although I have had a few guests enquire about paying for an early check in, none of them has ever gone for this option and the majority just expect it for free whether I've mentioned an additional fee or not.

I also mention the check in times again in my welcome message, but unfortunately a lot of guests are not very reponsive. They often don't use the App and once they've booked, don't bother checking their messages. So, I have to chase and chase until they finally give me a time.

I don't bring up the possiblity of an additional fee anymore as I don't want to encourage guests to arrive earlier, but will mention it if they want to check in very late. My rooms tend to be fully booked and I really need the time between check out/check in to turn them over and clean the rest of the house. I already find it quite hectic managing this by myself and juggling it with my 'day job'.

I used to let guests drop off luggage earlier, but encountered so many problems with this (as described earlier in this thread) and it became too stressful. I have learnt to view the time I spend on Airbnb the same way as the time I spend on my job, i.e. it is worth something. I cannot lose a half day or full day's work just to save a guest a few pounds.

Actually, they are not even making a saving as the tube fare will cost them the same as the very cheap left luggage facilities I recommend to them, but a lot refuse to accept this logic!

[Mathieu-And-Kunj0]

@Huma0 honestly except for one guest who checked out at 6:30 pm, I never have to charge any guest for early arrival or late departure. But to be fair both my properties are in a small town - Dijon with limited means to arrive and depart from the city. Often guests who stays with us tell us that they choose Dijon to break their trip in half. Which works for us and means that most of the guest going down south or up North leave early as they have either a long drive ahead or the train departure. We have no airport either. A city like your which is an endless sea of things to do and places to visit, it is no surprise that your guests want to squeez out every second of their time to explore and ask for more. But I do understand that for us the traditional hosts with multiple lisitngs it can get difficult to please every guest pretty quick.. Specially if this disturb not only your schedule but may risk of overlapping guest arrival/departure. 

In your case unless you put a clear statement " Early check-in and late check-out are subject to availability and at the host's descrition and may incurre half/full day charges" I don't see what else can work? I am ex-hotelier and it is now a common practise to mention this sort of statement in the normal confirmation mails. Most of the time an early arrivals are charged full day...

[Zappa0]

In the past, I have charged a fee for late arrivals (when it gets ridiculous) but I nixed it. The problem was, in order to charge I felt like I had to state this up front in the listing, and by doing so it actually invited MORE guests to arrive late.

Early Check In: Drives me up a wall that people can just assume they'll get there when they want. When they say 11am, I politely say "well, I still have guests currently onboard, so I don't think I can do an early check in tomorrow. Our usual period is 2pm to 8pm to allow time to clean the boat. If they check out early and we can get you in, I'll let you know tomorrow." If I'm not scrambling that day or really busy, I don't mind checking them in to help people out but I don't want pressure. My time is set for a reason.

I learned not to agree to them the day before because a lot of times people would request an early check in and I'd get out there early and then they wouldn't show up till 5pm. Really annoying. Forget about the "can we just drop our luggage off" because it turns into a full-blown check in..."do you think we can go out and see it? I know it's still dirty and the other person is still there but we are here now..." (Granted, I rent boats on the water so my situation is different than most).

This is one area where guests don't have a learning curve. Hotels have check in times. They can try to arrive early, but if the rooms not ready it's not ready. Hotels don't care what time your flight comes in. If you can help them out and it's not stressing you out, great go for it. I'd like that if I was traveling. But I'd also understand if it couldn't happen.

As far as charging for luggage storage - unless it is really an incovenience I don't think it's a good idea to charge to hold a bag for a few hours.

[Huma0]

@Zappa0

I totally hear you! Although our situations are very different, the problems remain the same. I have also had guests request early check in and then show up hours late or ask to drop their bags off and then refuse to leave until I have given them the keys and let them use the bedroom/bathroom even though I'm still cleaning them. I simply won't do it anymore.

The luggage issue is what causes more problems than most. Like you say, a hotel doesn't let guests just turn up and have the room hours early or vacate it hours late. However, a hotel will store their luggage for them for free and so they expect the same from us. But, we are not running hotels. We do not have full time reception, concierge and porters. We may also have jobs and other commitments. These are some of the reasons they are paying much less than staying at a hotel, but unfortunately many guests don't see it that way.

You are right that trying to charge for luggage storage is maybe not the best idea. I tried this, more to put guests off dropping their luggage here (because it is often really an inconvenience) than to make an extra buck. It doesn't work though.

Instead, I now provide them with links to very inexpensive luggage services and this does help with many, but some guests still don't want to pay for that and see it as my responsibility to store their bags. I think all I can do is stick to my guns. Some guests really aren't going to like it, but often the guests you bend over backwards for are the least appreciative, so I'm not going to disrupt my whole day to save them £4.

[Huma0]

Thanks @Mathieu-And-Kunj0

Yes, I think our locations are very different and, as you say, a lot of guests book very early flights in and late flights out so they can get as much time here as possbile. It doesn't occur to them that other guests might still be in the room or that I am not available to meet them 24/7. 

Many guests also book very early/late flights because they're the cheapest and these are the guests who do not want to pay for left luggage facilities and do not want to pay for early check in. Often people are making false economies, e.g. booking a flight at some ridiculous hour not realising the Underground will be closed and they will spend a fortune on a taxi, or arriving at some distant airport having not considered the train fares, which are very expensive here.

It's the same with the luggage. It will cost them as much, or more, to come here and drop their bags 'for free' as if they paid for left luggage near the sights they plan to visit, because they have to pay for the transport. A recent guest barked at me angrily that he had to drag a suitcase around town all day. He could have paid £4 to store it at the places I already recommended to him, but was determined NOT to pay a penny (the same guest had twice tried to haggle me down on the price of the room, so I suppose I should have anticipated this!)

When I started this thread, some hosts mentioned charging early check in fees. I tried this, i.e. wrote on the listing that early check in may sometimes be available for an additional fee. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work for me. I think guests can be very 'selective' in what they choose to read/digest. They seemed to pick up on the 'early check in' part, but ignore the 'additional fee' part in the same setence. So, then other hosts recommended I take this wording out.

Now, I have tried to make it crystal clear and state early on in my house rules:

"Guests must communicate their arrival time prior to or at the time of booking. Please respect my check in time of 3-9pm. If you are arriving in London earlier, I can send links to inexpensive left luggage services. I do not provide luggage storage at the house prior to check in/after check out. Late check in (after 9pm) or late check out (after 11am) can sometimes be provided for an additional fee of £5 per hour but please enquire in advance. If you arrive earlier than the check in time without the host's permission, you will not be granted access. If you stay past the checkout time without permission, you may be charged for an additional night."

It still doesn't work! I am going to take out the bit about charging for late check out as no one wants this, they just want me to store their bags, even though I've already stated I don't do that.

I am thinking of changing it to:

"Guests must communicate their arrival time prior to or at the time of booking. Please respect my check in time of 3-9pm and check out time of 11 am. If you arrive earlier than the agreed check in, you will not be granted access. If you stay past the agreed checkout time, you will be charged for an additional night. I do not store luggage prior to check in/after check out, but can send links to inexpensive left luggage services. Late check in (after 9pm) can sometimes be provided for an additional fee of £5 per hour but please enquire in advance."

Still not sure if it will work though...

[Alejandro-and-Suzanne0]

We request, as part of the booking process, our guests to give us an estimated time of arrival. When we confirm the booking (or a couple days before their arrival, if they booked very early), we ask them to confirm their arrival time so we can plan our day. Oftentimes, we get no response. Sometimes I've had to call them by phone on the day of arrival to find out when they are arriving. Other times, they give us a two hour window (not exactly conducive to having a life) and then they still show up an hour outside that window. My husband and I sometimes comment that folks must think we have a front desk staff!

Check out hasn't been as big of an issue for us, thankfully!

[Huma0]

@Alejandro-and-Suzanne0

I have the same problems. Some guests get it and are very considerate about not keeping you waiting. I've had a few recent guests who gave me updates the whole way here from the aiport, and were very apologetic if they were even slightly late.

Unfortunately, there are many who never consider that you might have a life and that leaving you waiting for hours on end is maybe a little impolite.

I hosted some girls over Christmas who fall into the latter category. They were due to arrive around 8.30-9pm, so right at the end of my check in window. It was only when I chased them to double check that they had received my directions did they think to mention that they 'might' have missed their train. I asked for a new arrival time, which was followed by two hours of silence. After further chasing, I managed to get a flight arrival time from them, but they took forever coming from the airport and eventually arrived at 12.30 am.

Now, I clearly state in my house rules that I have a check in fee after 9pm. When I realised these girls were going to be very late, I reminded them of this fee. However, it has been over two weeks now and they have completely ignored the payment request for this fee and I have had to get Airbnb involved.

The same girls stayed two hours past check out, cooking and eating in my kitchen, even though they had been reminded of the check out time the evening before.

[Huma0]

Something else that is starting to annoy me is guests complaining in their review that they could not store luggage/check in early. It's all on my listing and they are reminded of this before/when they book. I don't think I can state it more clearly and I provide details of several cheap luggage storage options.

It seems to me that if this is such a problem, the guests should not book my place. There are plenty of other listings in London from them to choose from. It's very unfair for them to then complain about it in the review as if it was someting strange and unexpected. I think a lot of the time, they read the rules but think it doesn't apply to THEM and are very put out that I don't offer to make an exception.

If I offered to make an exception for every guest that wanted to check in hours early or drop off luggage (and then often refuse to come back at a designated time for a tour after my previous guests have checked out), then I might as well not have a check in time at all.

[Helen350]

Late to the thread, I know, but what bugs me is WHY do guests have to lug enormous suitcases round with them (so expect storage?) My ex-husband & I travelled by plane/train/boat/bus in Central Europe for TWO weeks & only carried a SMALL rucksack with us, which on the plane was small enough to be hand luggage. So when we jumped off our trains/boats/busses, we could run around the sights taking our tiny backpacks with us! 2 weeks = 7 T shirts, 2 spare trousers, underwear x 14! Tiny backpack = no bother!

[Huma0]

So, here's a new one.

The guest confirms that she will check in at 3pm. Three days before, I send my usual instructions for finding the house, with "I will expect you at 3pm, but please let me know if you are running late etc. etc." right near the beginning. She acknowledges this message.

Today, the 3pm check in time comes and goes. At 3.30pm, I try to contact her with no luck. After some more time, I call Airbnb and ask them to contact her and they have no luck. I know it is not a flight delay as she was landing at 9am.

Two and a half hours later, she turns up and says she "got lost" near the station, which is a five minute walk away on the SAME road (plus my house is very distinctive looking and she acknowleded she had seen the photo of the exterior) and that she needed to charge her phone so went to an Internet cafe.

Really? For two hours? Really? I have an ancient phone and the battery is on its last legs, but even that only takes a few minutes to charge up enough to send a quick message to someone. Or, did she think she needed to fully charge her phone before responding to the person who was waiting for her for 2.5 hours?

That has got to be the most 'dog ate my homework' excuse I've heard for being late for check in, although the girl who decided to go to watch the tennis/get drunk instead comes close. Then there was the couple who arrived several hours late, one saying, "The train was delayed!" at the exact time the other said, "The taxi was late!" - both of them apparently forgetting that they had messaged me several times that evening telling me they were still at dinner with their friends. I'm pretty sure alcohol was involved on that occasion too.

The girl today, however, did not even have alcohol as an excuse, just cluelessness and bad manners.

[John498]

Hi Huma. I do think this type of behaviour is becoming more common sadly.  One mitigation that I use is to ask for 15 to 30 minutes notice so thst I can be prepared for their arrival. The ones who just pitch up and phone you saying " I am at the property.", my reply is ok I will be with you in 15 to 30 minutes as advised.

[Huma0]

@John498 

That's not a bad idea. I often ask guests to message me when they exit the tube station, which is a five minute walk away. Most will do this when asked, although some forget and others say, "sure", but forget to mention they are coming by taxi.

With the guest who was 2.5 hours late yesterday, when she did eventually message me, it was to say she would be there in 5 minutes. I told her I was in the middle of eating dinner (actually it was lunch, which I had not had time to eat between waiting for her, trying to reach her and going back and forth with Airbnb) and that she should come in 15 minutes instead.

[Helen3]

I've been hosting for over three years and have hosted hundreds of guests. I always ask as part of accepting a guests booking what time they plan to arrive, so I can make sure they understand my check in times.

I've only had two guests who haven't turned up on time. U S guests arriving 6 hours earlier because they lost their luggage and another guest turn up a few hours late without apology.

I have self check in -  it's just that if possible I prefer to meet them, but I certainly wouldn't be in a situation where I waited around for guests.

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

Certainly self checkin in helps to avoid being stuck waiting around for guests, but it is not something I want to use. They are staying in my home with me and other guests and my cats, so I really feel I need to meet them and suss them out! Also, there are too many things I need to explain to them (based on experience of guest behaviour) that I don't want to leave that all to messaging, notes, guidebooks etc.

[Helen3]

Yes I know what you mean @Huma0 . I would say I probably meet and greet 80% of my guests, but work full time so it's not always possible.

In which case I give them a guided tour when I get back.