Is there a need for a checkout guide?

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

Over the years I have stayed in quite a few Airbnb as guest and along the way I have noticed that different hosts have varying styles of how they would like their guests to checkout. There are some important pieces of information which are needed, such as where they should  leave the key once they leave.

I wonder do you have a specific process that helps you make it as simple and friendly as possible for you and your guests?

Do you like to personally say goodbye to your guests to ensure that everything has been the way that they like it? Do you provide useful information on what to do with the key or what to do with the linen perhaps?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Lizzie

[Beth80]

My rooms are in my house. We don't have any fancy touch pad locks just keys. So I arrange with the guest when they will be leaving and I'm there to let them out and say good bye. Sometimes that's  04:00 other times closer to noon. Every guest is different but deserving of my personal touch. I like how @John1080 put it. Take all of your stuff and leave all of mine!  I'm working on a collection of left behind underwear. I think it's funny how that seems to be the lost item. 

[John1080]

@Beth0 I once had a guest leave 3 pairs of underwear in the bed! 

[John47]

@Beth0 - thanks! It's a simple but seemingly effective saying that I came up with. I have had two people leave their laptop behind! One had to be sent back but other one, I was able to call them on cell before they drove too far (maybe 30-40 miles) towards home and they came back to get it.

[Chamaine0]

I text them the day before departure with a reminder of check out time and instructions. I Cohost for 5 different homes and we use the same cleaning service so the instructions are all the same. I also have a typed list on the fridge. 

Here is our message. 

We truly hope you enjoyed your stay in our home. 

Please remember that our check out time is 10:00 AM CST. 

No need to strip the beds simply do the following on departure. 

1. Empty food from fridge 

2. Take out kitchen garage 

3. Wash your dishes, perfectly ok to leave dishwasher running as cleaners will put them away. (If they must wash your dishes your will incurre an extra charge as stated in the House Rules. )

4. Text us that you have departed. 

Has worked awesome for us and 99% of our guest comply. Our guest feedback has been very positive as our guest like knowing what is expected of them. Before I added this it was only in the House Rules and I often received text wanting to know what they should do for check out. 

[John47]

Nice and simple but I might add some variant of my saying: "Please take all your stuff, but none of mine" with a possible being 'Please check carefully to take..." which seems to have helped my guests.

[Rebecca160]

@LizzieI have just one room inside my home for guests and currently have no written guidelines for checkout. Guests are greeted on arrival and those with early flights on check out day typically ask what they should do with keys.I tell them to leave the keys on the desk in their room and lock the bottom lock of my front door. Everyone else just hands me the keys when they leave.

If they ask about stripping the bed linens, I tell them I will take care of it because I wish to inspect for stains or rips, prior to washing. I do not expect my guests to do any cleaning, although I should probably put something in the house rules about having them trhow out any leftovers in the refrigerator. Seems to happen a lot!

[Paulina127]

Most of my guests stay for a night or two. On their arrival I remind them the check out time is by 11am and when Im passing key I just ask them to just leave it in a room door when they are leaving. 

[Helen-And-Mario0]

Most of my guests like a quiet and smooth checkout on their schedule, personally saying goodbye is a drag for all. 

[Ben551]

When guests have been super savvy users of the AirBnb message system, and it's clearly their preferred method, we send them a message via the system at 5pm on the day before check-out:

PRE CHECK-OUT MESSAGE

Hi {{Guest Name}},

Time flies and it’s almost time to say goodbye. We hope you found time to relax and unwind in the cottage and will leave feeling refreshed tomorow.

We thought we’d drop a quick reminder that your check-out is {{Check-Out Time}} tomorrow.  The check-out process is super easy - when you are ready to leave, please lock the door and put the keys back in the lock box.  In case you have forgotten, the code is {{code}}.  Once you have left, I'd be very grateful if you could message me so I can let the cleaners know 🙂  You can find more details about cheking out in the House Manual on the desk. 

If there is anything you need help with before checking out, or if there is anything you'd like to let us know, please don't hesitate to send a message. We hope you had a great time staying with us and hope to see you again soon!

Happy travels!

~ Ben & Angel

If they aren't so savvy, we stop by and ask in person.  In fact, sometimes we do both if they're up for a chat.  Some are quite chatty and clearly like when you stop by.

If people have booked a valet service, we modify the message to include those details (i.e. bag pickup and carry).

[Ian_Janice0]

 @Lizzie - I have a lock box and guests leave the key in the lock box and that is just about it. We installed a Nest, so we can set temperatures on our phone if heat is too low/high orthe aircondiioner is left on. The Nest knows when no one is in the cottage and goes into a sleep mode that alerts us they are gone.  We live close,  but not on the property. We are very private people and always feel awkward "intruding". I message daily to make sure all is good and communicate local happennings. We do not physically interact unless asked. We have helped with the Smart TV or brought over a pillow topper upgrade on rare occasion. Our guests seem to prefer being left alone. We offer cleaning after 3 days but only 2 guess have wanted this, they were extended stays. I admit, it was very uncomfortable cleaning around all their stuff. Is this normal for most hosts? I would appreciate tips on guest interaction.

[Patricia1293]

Hi Ian and Janice - like you, I also have a lock box and I ask the guests to place the key there after they have locked up. I am on off-site host.

In reference to the cleaning - we once stayed for 5 weeks in an AirBnB in Chile. The host asked us for a convenient time when she could send the cleaner to change the linen, towels and tea towels, collect the rubbish, vacuum, clean the two bathrooms and do general cleaning. This happened on a weekly basis (every Monday). It was never uncomfortable because we made sure we weren't in the apartment when the cleaning took place. But it was great to return and find the place looking clean, tidy and fresh.

[Priyank1]

@Lizzie I have been hosting guests from various parts of the world from last 3 years now & have had some really nice experiences with most of them until a couple of guests did something which created a problem for the next guest to check in. Once a guest took the Airbnb set of keys to my house with her & realized it when she reached her city and once a guest lost his set of Airbnb keys one day before his check out. Every time I had to help out the new guest with my set of keys.

Since I live alone & am mostly out for work, saying a goodbye face to face every time is not possible. But I do ensure that I give them a complete download of do's & dont's on their arrival which makes lives easy for both, the guest & the host. 

In spite of giving my guest the best service possible & receiving the honor of becoming a Superhost along with some heartwarming reviews, my account has been suspended a few days back for which I believe was a cheap trick by some guest to get the refund by giving extremely negative & false feedback. At times, few guests leave bad reviews even on the smallest of the things which can be either ignored or can be fixed immediately if bought into the notice of the host. 

Looking forward to getting the suspension removed soon & create some amazing experiences for people visiting my home.

Cheers...

Priyank

[Rosie35]

I accommodate up to 3 guests.  I leave easy instructions about how to find the key as I have found people almost invariably arrive late!

If I am not going to be around when they leave I simply ask them to leave the key in a specified safe place.  They could post it back through the door but then they can't get back in if they suddenly realise they have left something behind.

I serve breakfast daily.  If I am going to be out I leave everything out and they make their own tea and coffee.

I am a host who subscribes to the original philosophy of Airbnb of sharing my home so I do not need elaborate instructions for checking out.

[Paul1566]

We send a text message at about 0930 reminding guests they should check out by 11am and leave the keys and parking permit behind. We have a check out procedure in the guest handbook. The problem we have found on three occasions is that guests have not understood that there is a check in and check out time. We've had one person text at 7am asking why he could not get in when check in time is 3pm, we've had two groups of guests still on the premises at midday when check out time is clearly 11am and no apology when they did finally deign to go. 

[Patty168]

So far I’m very happy with all my guests ! They’ve been following my instructions correctly! I provide a detailed check-in guide as soon as the reservation is confirmed and I offer a transfer. Even  I have installed a electronic lock , usually I check-in and check-out my guests in person ( at least to say goodbye), so  they feel welcome to my home in OPorto. I show them each room , I give them tour and restaurant recommendations, explain how to use the appliances and the entry lock.The passcode is provided one day before their arrival. I like to make my guests feel at home and interact with them. If it’s required I help them park their cars or I accompany them to the supermarket nearby. Actually I was  invited few times to join them for dinner and talk about my life experience in Portugal after moving from USA. They love my stories! 😉