Hi there,
I am new to the forum and also pretty new to AirBNB so I am hoping to get some good advice here.
The listing I have on AirBNB is a private guest room with a shared bath (shared with me, the owner - my house only has one bath). I’ve got 10 completed stays under my belt with 5 star reviews as a host across the board so far.
I have check-in time listed as 3 PM and check out time listed as 11 AM.
So today I had a guest scheduled to arrive at 3 PM. Yesterday afternoon she sent me a message on AirBNB that said “I just noticed check-in time is 3 PM. I’ll be getting into (city) at 11 AM. Am I able to come early?” I was driving when I received that, and I have a within the hour response rate. Yet, not even 2 minutes after messaging, she called and asked the same question. I explained to her that I can’t guarantee the bed will be made before 3 PM, etc. She said “That’s OK. I just need somewhere to leave my bags.” I told her she could stop by and leave her bags, no issue. I am reasonably flexible between having a lock box for guests if I’m not home, and working from home often.
Except…today she got here at 11:30 AM.
She went to the front door for entrance (I send out instructions to all guests telling them to come to the side door - front door is original to the house and the lock/doorknob do not work well nor do I have a key for it).
I showed her where the side door is, the bathroom, and the guest room.
She has now settled in and save for leaving briefly to the convenience store has made herself at home. Made coffee (not an issue - it’s there for guests) and got on my wifi (also for guests). I don’t have an issue other than…she’s here 3.5 hours early.
This is not what I call “leaving bags.” I thought it would literally be…she comes in, leaves bags, goes away til after 3.
I do not know how to address this with her without risking a bad review or appearing rude. Should I just wait and knock stars off her review as a guest after she leaves? Is this a common thing, that guests expect AirBNB hosts to allow this even though hotels usually won’t? I still need to make her bed, and now I feel like while I do that she is going to be standing there watching me and it’s just super awkward.
Also - earlier this week I updated my house manual and listing to reflect STRICT 3 PM check-in time and that I’m happy to direct to area attractions if you’re in town ahead of that. Now I feel like I will have to update it again and say “due to previous guests taking advantage, I can no longer allow luggage storage ahead of check in.” I mean there’s only so much I can do if people don’t read, but still.
Anyways, any advice to prevent this from happening in the future would be great! This was kind of just venting too but man, am I mad. I wish there was a way to charge an extra fee through the site for early arrivals.