Should I check on my guest that I haven't heard from in 2 weeks

[Shauntae0]

I host a room in my house that I also live in. I have a guest that has booked for nearly two months. After they had been checked in for about a week I had some family members come into town that I went to visit for a couple of hours. While I was there I got a message from my guest that my dogs had been crying off and on since I had left. This is a fact that I posted on my listing. They usually don't carry on but I do know that they occasionally do get sad. I messaged the guest back and apologized and suggested something they could do to get them to settle down. Two days later they left and, nearly two weeks now, have not come back. They are not communicative, besides the message about the dogs, they have not replied to any of my check-in messages. I don't know if they are mad about the dogs' noises and don't plan on coming back or if they are off doing something and do plan on coming back. Should I check on them and their well-being or is this something that is none of my business?  They still have about a month left and if they are unhappy they can get some of their money back if they cancel but I also don't want to make things awkward. I just recently opened my space to allow long term stays so I'm not sure how I should handle this situation. 

[Jennifer1897 · Accepted solution]

@Shauntae0   I too offer my space for longer term rentals and have had 2-3 months stays. On occasion my guest will leave for a few days to visit a neighboring are. 2 weeks is a significant amount of time to be gone though. My first assumption would be that they vacated the property, however if it was due to the issue with the dogs or something else, I am a bit surprised they wouldn't say anything further regarding their dissatisfaction. 

I don't advise entering their area until it is confirmed if they are no longer occupying the space, but are there any personal items or indications that they are there? When most of my guest depart, they open the doors to their bedroom and bathroom and leave. If you are seeing their space open and no personal items left them again it would lead me to believe they vacated. 

I think it is reasonable to send a polite message to check in. You don't even have to mention their absence. Just say something like "HI XXX, I just wanted to send a friendly check in to see how your stay is going thus far. Please reach out should you need anything. " Just be aware some guest are not big communicators and/or do not have app alerts on so they rarely respond. Ultimately, if they are not misusing the space or breaking rules you can let the reservation run its course. 

[Rebecca]

Hi @Shauntae0, 

That's a tricky situation! Have you taken any action since your post here, perhaps based on the suggestions from @Jennifer1897?

Let us know how this is progressing please, it might help other hosts in the future! 😊