3 Star Review for personal check in

Yes, but I was only responding to the above quote. I should have been more specific. Your guest sounds super strange that you mentioned.

I agree. For many reasons, I don’t offer self check-in. However, I think that guests who are renting a whole house probably expect that self check-in will be an option. If a host of a whole house doesn’t permit self check-in I think the host needs to make that clear in the listing.

Oh Sorry!

So the phrase should be

Your House, the Guest Rules!

:rofl::rofl:

Can i get a show of hands for how many here agree with letting the guest rule due to increased competition? :rofl::joy:

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Yes they do exist, (as do travel agents)!
I spend a few months each year visiting Island and Beach Resort properties, and I can not remember the last time a Bell Man / ( person ) did not take me to my room.
Same with River or Ocean cruises.

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We have 2 whole houses.
We have personally greeted guests each time at both houses for 6+ years now. I think we have only had 3 or 4 groups ever do a self check in.
Greeting the guests puts ownership on the property, and probably holds potential problems to the minimum.
We also like to have a face.
If a guest does not want to be greeted, they are likely better off going to a mgt company instead of a private owner ( in my personal opinion ).
We send our arrival instructions at the time of booking, again at final payment, and again the week prior to arrival, or when a Security Deposit is placed.
The reasons to greet guests at a whole house are no different than any other reason.

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Actually, the reasons to greet guests at a whole house are very different than at a shared house. My main reason for greeting each guest personally is that my dogs will bark nonstop if someone they view as a stranger enters the house. Once I introduce my dogs to our guests, the dogs cease to see them as strangers and stop barking. Obviously, this isn’t a problem at whole houses.

I never said that hosts of whole houses don’t have reasons to greet guests. I said that I believe that guests of whole houses are more likely to believe that they will be permitted self check in. Therefore, if hosts don’t permit self check-in at whole houses, they should say so in the listing. I rent the spare bedroom in my house and I say in my house rules that we personally greet every guest.

If a guest finds it necessary to avoid arrival contact and a personalized check in, the guest should clarify this requirement or expectation before placing a booking.
There are a myriad of individual and personal reasons ( that hosts have) to greet guests, whether in a share situation, a whole house situation, or a duplex situation. Every owner/host will have a unique set of reasons…yours just happens to be dogs.

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It’s funny how perspective changes everything. I stayed in 6-7 AirBnbs over the past couple years, and always very much preferred absent hosts. It just feels invasive. Most recently, I stayed with at a rental for 14 weeks, because I knew I needed to find and purchase a property in that timeframe. She was perfectly nice, but I’d rented an entire two bedroom house. She was next door, and dropped by almost daily, including occasionally when I wasn’t at home. It drove me nuts. Then again, I’m the one who normally declines maid service in hotels. It’s not a trust issue. It’s an expectations thing- feeling like everything has to be neat all the time, and (for AirBnb) that you have to be on/social/charming.

And then I start renting my guest house. Sudden understanding of the other side. Alarm bells when the guy who rented didn’t seem happy to see me, and commented that this was the first property he stayed at where he’d met the host. Didn’t seem like coincidence that he was the one who snuck in extra guests and a dog.

That said? I’m installing keypad entry soon. It does come across as shifty to not want to meet your host. But from the other side, I totally get it. And it’s a lot more convenient all around to have more independence.

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If I had to spend extended time with my guests, it would make me crazy. My day job as a nurse has me being very involved with people all day. As a host, I’m here if they have a question, but I’m not their new buddy. As a guest, I’m travelling with specific plans, I view my Airnb rental as a place to sleep, change etc, not as a place to develop a relationship with the host. I rent my place out to earn income, not to meet new people. I know that is what Airnb sells, stay with a local, but in reality, most guests and Hosts are using Airbnb to save or earn money.
Meeting people doesn’t stop guests causing damage. The guests who snuck people in had met me.
The host who insists on face to face meeting said she wanted to make sure guest was nice. How can you tell in a few minutes. What if she decides I’m not nice?

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I really think my setup is ideal for doing both. Since I put in the separate entrance though I tripled my bookings. Some of that is due to my calendar being more open but most of it is due to the privacy.

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I personally quite like being met when I travel, but my wife really dislikes it and would much rather just have a key left. However, I do understand your position given that this person had no air reviews.

There is no right answer! Suggest you reply saying you like to ensure people have all the house info and that you are available for any questions.

IF you feel things go smoother by showing guests around in person…by all means continue to do so. I cannot allow self check-in. The place is just too high maintenance and guests are not going to sit around and read every single thing. If I could trust the whole family would all do so together, then they could have self check-in.

But guests can’t have it both ways. They can’t choose to not be bothered with house notes docs, then they expect they can’t be bothered with the host showing them how things operate. Too bad…to sad - go to a hotel.

Since he mentioned it wasn’t the best check in experience. I would be tempted to reply to the public review. Maybe mention - “as stated in our listing, all guests are greeted upon arrival for a three minute tour of the property. This guest was unhappy to do this, etc.”

I don’t know - if you get lots and lots of Air reviews, you may also just not bother responding.

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I used to do self check in. My place is unlocked and guests could just stroll in. But it was lazy on my part. Then when I was mandated to collect tax, it was just better to get that as soon as they checked in and collect the equipment waiver… plus just give a friendly reminder or two about the main things I am concerned about in the apartment. The usual things, plus I have now had to add safe use of the BBQ because I had two numbskulls almost burned the neighborhood down by leaving the bbq unattended and letting it get too hot.

I like to wrap it up with a mini lecture about sightseeing on the island and what is nearby to visit. They could look that up in books but it’s just friendlier and more efficient to show them on my big laminated map p. Then I step out of their holiday for the rest of the time and don’t contact them again unless they need me. I tell them don’t hesitate to let me know if they need anything…

Edit… I also have a dog, who is now blind, so it’s better for me to carry her out to meet the guests so there is no barking.

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I fully agree on everything you’ve just said!!!

Maybe your public response could be something like "After his stay, Joe Guest told us he strongly prefers to have self-entry and not interact with his hosts. We as hosts prefer to briefly meet our guests. Just a different approach or personal style, I guess. We appreciate the feedback, Joe, and I’m sorry that our message that we would meet you at check in was an unwelcome surprise. We’ve now improved our listing to specifically say that we plan to meet guests at check-in, so that going forward our guests know exactly what to expect. Best wishes in all your travels, and thank you for booking with us."
Normally responding in public is tricky because it makes the host look defensive, but I think you might want to clarify the “not the best” comment he made about check in, so as not to put off others. I would have assumed you were late, I couldn’t get in, etc. just by reading his review, and would hesitate big time to book with you. The trick is to be exceedingly polite while leaving the (truthful) impression that you are eminently reasonable and give other readers enough information to decide if they think the guest was reasonable.
Is your listing “business ready” or otherwise have “self check in” ticked under Guest Resources? You may want to add explanation there if so.

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Meeting the host is one thing, the host invading the guest’s privacy is another. I personally greet each guest. I often go outside to greet them even before they ring the bell. That in itself is more comforting to people because they often feel awkward going up to a strangers door. You quickly get a feel for what type of guest they are. Some like the company and to chat. Others want to be left alone. For those guests, I give them plenty of space and privacy after getting them settled in.

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Thanks for all of the replies and opinions on this topic! After reading many of your comments I ended up replying to the public review like this: Per this guest’s private feedback, the only check-in issue was that they didn’t want to meet us (the hosts) in person. We prefer to greet guests in person whenever possible to make sure they are comfortable and have everything they need. We regret they didn’t welcome this gesture but appreciate the input.
I decided not to reply privately as it’s a waste of energy. I did realize that perhaps my listing wasn’t clear on meeting guests in person. While I did mention it in the check-in portion after they book, the listing did imply that perhaps guests could just self check-in.
I was a little paranoid as we had a guest yesterday that I thought might prefer self check-in as they were driving and couldn’t know for sure their arrival time, so I crafted a lengthy self check-in message and told them we’d still meet them if possible but that we wouldn’t be offended if they declined. They actually specifically told my husband that they prefer to meet the hosts, and they had a bunch of logistical questions as they were only here for one night and wanted to make the most of their stay.
Bottom line is we’ve been hosting for a year now, have maintained superhost (for what it’s worth), and have never been marked down for check-in before. I’m not going to change drastically the way we’ve been doing things, but I will be more aware and open to letting guests check themselves in if it seems they really prefer it.
I really feel the personal touch has helped our reviews/ratings overall so I’m not going to change based on one person. I don’t think the check-in warranted 2 stars, nor the stay only 3, but I’m going to just let it go and move on. I’ve had 2 awesome 5 star reviews since, so I can’t dwell on one jerk!!!
Thanks everyone!!!

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Sorry to say it, but I’m with the guest on this one. Probably 3 stars is a bit excessive, but not everyone is socialable, and booking a place by themselves, rather than staying with a host on property, says to me that this guest wanted to be to themselves. If you don’t say in your listing that you insist on meeting guests first, you probably should.

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If you are just doing in person check-in for the guests benefit. I would give the guests the option. Most will prefer self-check in. Reason airbnb requires it for business friendly listings.

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Hmm. I don’t understand them making such a big deal of it, but I do totally get the wish to self check-in, especially when getting in late, in an area you’re unfamiliar with. Because, for one thing you never know in advance what you’re going to feel like when you arrive at a location…you may be hungry and want to stop for food, or go out for drinks in the new area. Having to meet a host can cause an imposition to the guest because they have to adhere to a certain time frame when they may really have no idea when they’re getting in, or if it’s going to be a hassle to leave again once you’ve arrived and settled in. How would you feel if a hotel made you state in advance what exact time you’d be arriving? It’s a pain, and also people don’t want to inconvenience you by making you wait. So that makes it doubly annoying. I’ve stayed at lots of AirBnb’s myself and I dread escorted check-ins. And ones that keep offering to get us from the airport (a lot of int’l ones do that) also drive me crazy. I know they’re trying to help but for many reasons that usually doesn’t appeal to me either.

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