To Greet or Not To Greet?

To Greet or Not To Greet?

Yes, that is the question. We have a private room in our home situation. We were lax about greeting guests. If we were here, great. If not, we let them check themselves in and gave some directions, and maybe would bump into them during their stay.

 

Then, we stayed in a private room in a house when traveling where the host(s) did not greet us and seemed to be hiding the whole time. We thought that was super weird, so then we decided to try to at least greet our guests upon arrival, and went out of our way to make sure one of us was home. We then found that some folks seemed put off by it. Those folks were always the ones we had issues with, too, like ignorning house rules or being a third party booking (always parents of an AirBnBer), so we knew we had to greet everyone now, right?

 

Then, we had friends tell us they never get greeted, even at home shares, and sometimes never see/meet the host, and were totally okay with it - preferred it - especially since they didn't have to be there at a specific time to check in.

 

So, home-share folks, do you greet your guests? Whether you do or don't, how is that going for you?

50 Replies 50
Carol-Lee1
Level 9
Montevallo, AL

I have a small apartment attached to my home and I always greet guests.  I was interested in this thread because I've considered a lock box and self check-in.  So far I've enjoyed showing guests around, pointing out things they might miss, showing them a small map of the area and where they can eat or buy groceries.  I spend about 5-10 minutes with them and then seldom see them again.  They leave the key when they leave so I don't check them out.  I make a point of showing them the rules I printed out.  I feel much more comfortable knowing who is in my home and knowing they know the rules, where they can and cannot go, and how to get in touch with me if they need to.  I have a pretty strict 3-8 pm check - in which I can adjust with advance notice.  I also have dogs and gates that have to be kept closed and a private outside guest area, so I like to show them that too.

@Carol-Lee1 We function exactly the same way with a very similar set-up.

Jenn27
Level 1
Columbia, SC

We do not meet our guest. I do stay in contact by texting. Our guest seem to like reaching out to get quick answers on our home or area. 🙂 Jenn 

Peggy7
Level 3
Ringgold, GA

We have two homes and we rarely greet our guests unless they specifically ask for it. We have never had a complaint and we make sure we communicate throughout the visit by msg or text. When traveling we almost never see the host and it is perfiectly fine with me. As long as a host makes it easy to check in (keypad or lockbox) and communicates with the guest I think "just leave them to it".

 

Andrew159
Level 3
New York, NY

I always greet my guest. As someone wrote it removes worry and deters bad behavior. Another reason I like to greet guest besides making them feel welcome is, I am still surprised  (not really) how people still don't bother reading a listing. So I use greetings and a quick walk through as a way to reiterate my house rules.

@Todd-and-Reese0 

We always greet all of our terrific guests and show them their suite, the porches, etc. Our local regs require we be here at all times when guests are on the property, and it is an excellent thing!