how to check in to your own home?

[Emily1447]

I rent out a room in my home. I am not getting excellent ratings for check in procedures. I welcome guests at the street or front gate, lead them into the front door, show them the room, and the house rules, towels, table and chair, water and ice, etc. I ask them when they plan to wake up and if they want coffee or tea in the morning. I tell them what I'm doing right now, and then they close the door and do what they want.

What am I missing here? I'd like to hear suggestions.

Thanks.

[Colleen253]

@Emily1447 Reviews can’t be edited after 48 hours,  or once both have been posted. And if you try to remove a review authored by someone else, very difficult. But policy doesn’t dictate that you can’t have a review authored  by you removed. Same with responses. If you wrote it, you can ask for it to be removed. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/13/reviews-for-stays?locale=en&_set_bev_on_new_domain=1626211034_...

@Marie6762 

[Marie6762]

@Emily1447 

Thanks, Emily, for the links, too.  And, maybe if I get a different CS person, I’ll get a different answer - as can be the case 😉

[Sandra856]

@Marie6762 That is unfortunately very true. Try another rep - I have had a reply removed myself and you can ask to get your own written replies and reviews removed. 

[Anonymous]

@Emily1447   I would second @Colleen253 's recommendation that you ask Airbnb to remove the responses you wrote to those reviews. Without your responses, they come across as perfectly positive reviews, but your responses ruin them by adding unnecessary negativity. 

Your check-in routine sounds mostly fine for a homestay situation, but it should never be necessary to ask guests what time they plan to wake up. If there's a certain time that you like to put out fresh breakfast items, you can tell them when that is, but people tend to prefer being able to just make their own coffee or tea when they feel like it rather than keep to a schedule.

[Emily1447]

Thanks for the input. I will work on all of it. I do put out breakfast items but will manage it differently.

[Marie6762]

I am a home host as well as an AirBnb traveler.

1.  I assume there’s a reason guests can’t just ring your doorbell.  Isn’t there a garden bench, or more gracious option than standing outside the gate with their luggage?   This, followed by what might be TMI, followed by a direct question about my wake-up  time (even for the promise of hot coffee!) could be off-putting.  

2.  In my experience, younger travelers have preferred less “hospitality” and more messaging.  That being said, I am definitely an older traveler.  After a long trip, a check-in requiring me to be pleasant & attentive beyond showing me to my room (where the house rules would be easily accessible) makes me cranky.  

3.  Can coffee be self-serve during specific hours, also posted in the room?  

[Emily1447]

Hello and thanks for your input. Yes guests simply ring the doorbell.

Yes I get the TMI part. I will change that. No I won't ask about wake-up times again.

I won't seem to expect guests to be pleasant when they arrive.

And no my room is too small for self-serve coffee machines.

But thanks for your thoughts.

[Marie6762]

I guess I was confused by “street” and “ front gate”

 I welcome guests at the street or front gate, lead them into the front door

BTW, your place is delightful and a great value!

[John5097]

@Emily1447 

Looking over your listing, reviews and responses here, I'm thinking your interaction with guest is a huge plus! Your listing is very well thought out, and guest know exactly what to expect. You're popular with solo female travelers. You could just include what they can expect when checking in. After all you share a kitchen so not a bad idea to just get all of that out of the way. I noticed they can make coffee themselves. You could just let them know you will message them about scheduling breakfast if they want one. Several guest mentioned breakfast as a plus but maybe also work on phrasing that or not including it. There is always some situations like that where you want to do something extra but may or may not be a good idea. For example I had a hot plate cooktop but was better to just get rid of it. 

Oh, in your reviews, as @Colleen253 mentioned, you have 5 stars for check in. However, 4.9 for value that seemed odd as its $34 a night. You might want to include a brief breakdown of the fees. This is what I did in the Other Things to Note... "Airbnb automatically charges guest the 14% accomidations tax and pays it directly to the city. Airbnb also charges their 14% service fee. Host have no control of these fees and taxes." I'm sure you can make it more concise in the same style as the rest of your listing. My guess is that they think you are added these fees? Not sure, so just a suggestion. You could also include the cleaning fee in the nightly price but $10 seems very reasonable so don't think that's an issue. I noticed you had a discount for the dates I checked, though, so could just have your $39 nightly rate and no cleaning fee. Just an idea. I can't say for sure, but little changes do make a huge difference with any listing. You are totally on the right path with fine tuning the description, so would continue with the same approach. In the first message or message before check in let them know exactly what you said here, that it takes five minutes to show them how everything works. However they may just want complete self check in which isn't possible and you have 5 stars for check in so wouldn't worry about it. You are doing great!