I recently stayed in a place in London- the first two nights...
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I recently stayed in a place in London- the first two nights we couldn’t sleep because there was an undisclosed night club ne...
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I'm SO tired of guests telling me they didn't realize what the check-in time is. Doesn't Airbnb send that to them in a confirmation letter? I'm sure they have to agree to the rules and the listing before booking. My check-in time is between 2-4 pm. I sent a reminder to my guests yesterday like I always do the day before. They just informed me that they "didn't realize" check-in was between 2-4 pm and can't get here until 7-8 pm which really means 9 or 10 pm coming from the NYC on a Friday. I have plans out of town and I refuse to drive back an hr to let them in at 7-10 pm. I have a strict policy and offered to stay and wait until 5 pm. This seems to happen EVERY SINGLE booking! Which is often 5-7 days a week.
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Regardless of how clearly it's stated in the listing description and house rules that guests need to confirm they read and agree to..... you should always reiterate the *important* stuff to guests at the time of booking (during the inquiry stage or right after booking is confirmed). Just because someone reads something doesn't mean they understand it.
Also, people tend to ASSUME or think rules don't apply to them, or interpret rules to their own advantage. I state clearly that our private guest room is single occupancy and I don't allow guests/visitors of the Airbnb guest (no unregistered guests allowed) to enter my home at any time, but I still get inquiries or messages that go something like this 'My GF is not a random visitor and as long as she doesn't stay the night my GF can't be considered a guest, so I don't understand why she can't come hang out with me in my room. We wouldn't bother you and you wouldn't even know she's there' or 'I know the room is single occupancy, but my mom will be visiting and wants to stay with me. She says she's fine sleeping on the sofa (since the room is single occupancy) and wanted me to ask, if she brings her own bedding, sheets and towels, would you still charge extra (and if so how much) to let her stay for a week?'
Guests will interpret rules to suit their own needs, so it's easier to check and double check that guests clearly understand what certain house rules mean EXACTLY and what is expected of them. It's always better to manage expectations in advance, rather than a few days~hours before the check in date/time.
Before the guest tells you when they plan to check in (as if it's up to them to decide) you should be telling them way in advance before they start planning trip details for that specific day that check in is between 2-4pm and they need to plan their day around this check in window.
“It's always better to manage expectations in advance, rather than a few days~hours before the check in date/time”.
@Jessica-and-Henry0 You’ve summed it up so well with that statement, and it applies to so many issues in hosting. Because if you don’t, you’re always going to be behind the eight ball. Not a good place to be.
@Sharon31
@Colleen253 This is why I have always communicated pretty extensively with guests when they book. It's important to make sure they have read all the info. I don't leave anything until the last minute, including directions.
@Sharon31 I would message them immediately on booking to say that check in is between 2 and 4 and that if this is not acceptable please could they cancel their reservation.
We now have more cancelations than ever because Airbnb placed the house rules on the bottom of the page and hides additional house rules behind "read more" link
Most cancelations are because guests didn't notice the check-in time and are not willing to pay for late check-in.
Hi everyone, so by reading your message I understand that everytime I get a new booking I need to immediately remind my guests that the latest check in time is 6pm and that if it not suitable for them then they need to cancel ? Wish Airbnb would more helpful and display our check in terms clearly in the confirmation letter !
this seems like an exceptional amount of hand holding, since many guests know to look up a house’s rules. Some guests do not want to be contacted for reminders.