Good Reasons to never do self- Checkin. (ie to be inflexible about Checkin)
#1) Safety - I am a single women who shares my two-bedroom apartment with my guest. I want a quick meeting with that person to make sure I feel safe with them having a key to my apartment. I know I could get rated badly for being inflexible but ‘safety 1st.’
#2) Check for extra guests and pets - want to check that if there reservation is for ONE guest that they don’t Checkin with Two or Three guests and a dog. If they are paying for ONE guest, I want to make sure they only have ONE guest. Again, I know I will be rated badly for being inflexible. I don’t leave a key to self Checkin.
#3) Other bad behaviours- I don’t have issues with my guests have poor guest behaviours - because I have personally met them and explained who I am and my expectations upon meeting them. Hosts who personally Checkin guests do Not have the problems that hosts with self-Checkin have, it’s called ‘command presence.’ If people know you are there and aware they will not miss behave. Sure, it’s inflexible but it also stops bad behaviour before it happens.
#4) Rating- If you meet a guest personally and ask them to tell you if there are problems and to give you a good rating - THEY WILL 😀
Its difficult for a guest to give you a bad rating if they have actually met you snd you are nice. It’s just how human beings work. I’m in flexible about Checkin time but I have a 5 star rating.
In asking the flexible Checkin question the Corporation office is negating everything they claim to care about …..
My mentor told me this the 1st week I was an Airbnb host. It was good advice.
I do have a combination key box for emergencies where I can’t personally check my guest in- but strive to never use it.
As Matt the CEO of Airbnb says in his last communication to the hosts,
“It’s about the human connection….”