When is it ok to call host at night?

[Inna22]

Obviously if there is a water leak, call me any time. What about this one though?

Guest messages that they need to check at 2 am (4 pm scheduled arrival on the same calendar day). I reply saying that they would need to pay for the extra night. The guest replies that it would be cheaper to rent a hotel. Odd but fine. 

At 1 am the guest starts bombarding me with calls and I answer number 4. It is cheaper to stay with me and they want to pay. I told them I was sleeping and would see them at 4. If this were simple I might have taken care of it since they woke me up already. It is not though. I would not have been able to do alteration because it was the new calendar day, money requests are usually confusing to guests and many can’t follow through. I also thought it was a totally obnoxious move. 

I woke up to an apology- they did not think I would be sleeping. Ok, fine, try me one time. Four times in a row at 1 am? 

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  They didn't "think" you would be sleeping? What BS. They didn't care, as evidenced by them calling 4 times in a row. They were trying to wake you up so you would attend to them. Every normal person knows 1 am is considered to be "after hours" and sleeping time for most people, even if they themselves are night owls.

Reminds me of 2 sisters who were close friends of my daughter's when they were young. The youngest was sweet, the older sister was a princess manipulator who would never accept no for an answer, and had a compulsive need to organize and control everything to her liking.

One Saturday morning at 7am, when our entire household was still asleep, the house phone rang (pre-cell phone days). I ignored it until 30 rings, then got up to go downstairs, which took about 6 more rings. I picked up the phone and said angrily "Who is this?" Dead silence on the other end, but I could hear breathing. I had a good idea who it was, and hung up and went back to bed. Sure enough, 5 minutes later it rang again, and was answered by my daughter, who had been woken up and I could hear her talking to this girl. "Jess" had called back as she figured she had now woken everyone up. The only thing  that was important to her was that she got to talk to my daughter. That I was angry and that she'd disturbed everyone was entirely immaterial to her.

I forbid her to call our house for 2 weeks.

Guests calling hosts for non-emergencies should be limited to whatever hours the host has stated they are available for non-emergencies, or 8am-10pm seems like reasonable hours to me.

[Laura2592]

@Inna22 I get a lot of guests emailing late at night both before and during reservations but I've only had one call very late. And that guest was very altered. The conversation didn't make sense and I wouldn't have answered except that I thought it might be an emergency. When I messaged the guest in the morning they said they "barely remembered" the conversation and apologized.  I would tend to think that unless the guest was attuned to a very different time zone any late night non emergency phone calls are drunk dials and should be treated as such. 

[Christine615]

The minute they said a hotel was cheaper the universe was telling you to not take that booking. I know there are time changes that might account for it but the ones I've gotten like that from the US have been kind of shady. In one case Airbnb suddenly blocked them.

Also, the people who call and need to get in last minute. Nope. Hard pass.

If it's someone traveling it's rare airlines get them in at that time in the morning unless there are flight delays.

Sometimes, trust your gut. A guest that is rude or inconsiderate (or both) is often a problem waiting to happen once they check in.

[Sarah977]

@Christine615 "Also, the people who call and need to get in last minute. Nope. Hard pass."

I recall a post from a guest who was outraged about the "bad host" who left him standing outside the Airbnb for an hour to get the key. The guest had had a Tinder date who had said, "Hey, let's get an Airbnb", so the guest had booked one, wanting to check in within the hour. The host lived on the other side of town and it was 11 pm. 

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 in that guests defense, the host should not have made the place available or indicated time they needed to deliver the keys

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  When I said the guest was left waiting for an hour, the host had told the guest he would need an hour and a bit to get across town and deliver keys. It wasn't that the host was later arriving than he had said, but that the guest was outraged that he had to wait that long. He seemed to think if a host took a booking, he should be there to let him in instantly. 

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 I think unless the listing states that for same day bookings wait will apply, it is reasonable for the guest assume that they receive access as soon as the book. Just like a hotel. I think a host who excepts same day reservations should I have a keypad or a lockbox. While I think most of same-day bookings are up to no good and don’t except them, clearly there is a sense of urgency for these people. The place is marketed as available now

[Helen744]

Helen @744  I have a two day minimum and if you dont book by 8 then too bad.Some people run a different business but thats not what I call Airbnb 

[Helen744]

Where I live they are called 'sex hotels ' and normal travellers are well advised to steer clear

[Sarah977]

@Helen744  Where I live they are called no-tell motels. They even have parking spaces adjacent to the rooms with heavy tarp curtains across so wives can't catch a glimpse of their husband's car parked there. 

But they aren't to be avoided for regular travelers here and lots of people on road trips stay in them as overnight accommodation. 

There's no requirement to watch the porn channel. 🙂

They are actually kept quite clean, at least the couple I stayed at.

[Sammy-L-0]

Just don't turn in a blacklight. What you can't see can't gross you out.

[Kelly149]

 When is it ok to call host at night?

@Inna22 never. no never. certainly not when they aren't even in residence.

IF they are in residence and the house is burning, flooding or being invaded by aliens, then a guest may desperately call to awaken their host. Otherwise, no, not ever.

[Sudsrung0]

Not funny is it? I've had a few calls and messages late at night I put it down to the different time zones people live in,

But I dont expect airbnb to call me at 2-30 am and because I didn't answer her call she cancelled a booking what she said that in her email as the reason to cancel the booking because I didn't answer the phone she didn't accept that it was 2-30 am, everything was under control from my end,

Another one from a guest at 2 am we cant find any toothpaste 

[Sammy-L-0]

We stopped the toiletries problem before it started. We leave guest kits with soap, shampoo, lotion, toothbrush and toothpaste. Everything is safety sealed, and we leave a kit (or two) in the bathroom sink. Most people haven't used the toothbrushes, so we save those for cleaning around faucets and other hard to clean areas.