I also get that question all the time, and everybody gets the same reply: “I can’t guarantee an early check-in since I don’t know what time my cleaning team will finish preparing the condo. However, when she texts me that she’s done, I’ll let you know. I’m happy to let you in prior to 4 PM if she’s got it ready for you.”
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“Let me check and see what we can do for you. There is a $25 charge for early check in for cleaning and maintenance rescheduling.”
“I’m happy to tell you we can accommodate an early check in for you! If you are still interested, please let me know, and you’ll get a request for the $25 charge on the Airbnb platform to reserve.”
I don’t mind late checkins so long as they tell me. My apartment is in a building with a shared reception for a commercial STR. So during the way up till about 8pm the guests can go into the building and take the elevator to my apartment and let themselves in with a key code. But after 8pm the front door is locked and only openable with NFC tag. I provide a tag of course but that is in the apartment.
So if somebody wants to check in late, I just put the NFC tag in a lockbox and hang it outside in an inconspicuous area the guest can access to get the tag. And to make life easier for them the lockbox code is set to the same code as the front door. Works very well.
I wish I had a good way to know this since my lock isn’t that smart and cameras are a no no. I do have a Ring door bell that is still in its box. I could use that get an alert whenever they come to the front door but then I would be alerted everytime they came back from going out unless I could turn off the alert once they had checked in the first time. So what I do know is around the time they said they would check in I do a real-time check of Internet usage in the apartment and if it’s started to increase I know somebody is there 
My house is located behind other houses so far back that gps sometimes redirects my address to the back of my house on a different street with no access to my house. To add to that if you do make it onto my correct street, the house is not in the correct sequence of numbers (gos 10, 16, 14, with me being 16 down a long driveway) I have worked with GPS companies to fix but Uber still won’t fix.
I have flashing lights, and neon yellow numbered arrows at the foot of my driveway too.
I provide very specific directions and warn the guests about these issue but guest don’t read. Then I get dinged on the review. I go to bed early and provide a land line number that will wake me up just in case but anything after 11 pm will make it difficult to get back to sleep.
I quit doing that when a guest mentioned it in a review, seems kind of transactional… that and her 4 stars during covid restrictions when she lied about being a first responder.
So I do not offer early check in anymore
RR
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Outdoor cameras are ok.
I’m coming to the same realisation. I used to think it was worth letting people in early and checking out late but I’m finding it just isn’t working. I just don’t think it occurs to some people that you’re working round them and possibly waiting to go out etc, and people coming from the airport are inevitably significantly late - hours late. Even if I’m not going out, I can’t really get on with my day until the check in is out of the way. And the people who just drop their bags to come back later it’s almost more work as I’ll need to be home for the fist agreed time, to take the case(s), and then once again later on to show them their rooms, give the tour.
Yesterday I said no for the first time re an early bag drop. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this subject. Like you I’m finding most people are asking for early check-ins or bag drops, and/ or late check outs. Im renting four rooms in my home and we’re full 95%, so having to wait in twice on an arrival day for around half these people, is a lot of extra responsibility, time and rushing. One time at 4pm or after is perfect. And then late check out also… it all adds up to to much
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I changed my stance at some point too but I went in the opposite direction. It’s really rare that anyone asks, maybe once or twice or year; however, I do offer nearly all of my guests either an early check-in or a late checkout and most are offered both.
My place is in apartment block with internal access. Even if I wanted to put a camera in say outside in the corridor I think the building management would not allow that.
I can explain why this can be really important from the guests’ point of view.
For most of our vacations, we drive from place to place for, say, 2-3 weeks. We’ll spend two days here and three days there.
When we have luggage in the car, we are captive of our car: we cannot leave the car because car theft is endemic to most places, so, if we leave some place at 10:00am, if check-in the next place is at 4:00pm, the only thing we can do is drive for six hours.
But we don’t want to drive 6 hours. We want to be able to walk around, visit, have a meal etc… In most cases, we cannot do any of this with our luggage in the car. And we don’t want to take the risk either. What we need to be able to do is to drop our luggage early (it does not matter if the room is done) so that it is safe, then to go back out and do touristy things until it is time to check in.
So, for me, I try hard to accommodate anyone who needs an early bag drop. I know how badly I need it when I travel.
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Initially, (7 years ago) I thought someone had written an article in getting the biggest bang for an Airbnb buck. Only to realize guests rarely showed up, never commented on not and not appreciating that it puts pressure on us fulfilling duties required in a shorter amount of time. Yes, again, more are asking. I explain, airport distance, car rental, lunch and finally finding the house puts them there around 3PM. We list in policies somewhere we don’t do early arrivals but people are not reading. I don’t think I should be explaining anything.
I’m surprised that you take that kind of risk. Does your STR insurance cover their personal property outside of the STR booking? Mine is quite clear that outside of the schedule booking, it falls under my homeowners insurance. And on my homeowners insurance, the deductible alone makes it too expensive to hold onto somebody’s luggage.
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yes, was listening to a podcast where the ladies were saying you must charge for early check in, and how clever it is, but i can’t help but feel that the paltry $25 fee results in a ding to the Value rating. Instead i use the term “complimentary early arrival” (I also try to get away from using hotel language with guests) and hope that makes them feel they got some extra value.
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Thank you for sharing this Kasual Observer. I do understand why it can be so important from a traveller’s point of view, as I’ve travelled a lot too. And I am torn on this one, especially now that I’ve been reminded of that point of view. Not that I’d forgotten, but it was interesting hearing view’s from other hosts on this subject.
I think I might try something in between a yes and a no - a let’s discuss again the day before and if I’m around then I’ll try and help you, but I can’t promise as I don’t know my plans yet kinda thing.
I have someone arriving tomorrow from Singapore who wants to drop his bag at 9am. I offered this option when he asked for early check in, several weeks ago. Since that time, my daughter has booked a flight to the US and we need to leave at 10am tomorrow. My daughter has two huge cases and is moving to US for uni, plus Heathrow airport had a lot of problems lately with overcrowding and chaos, so we need to get there with tonnes of time and it’s likely to be a bit chaotic when we leave. Therefore having to worry about my guest tomorrow morning, and to communicate and coordinate with him, is not going to be ideal.
A couple of days back I was doing the same… young man from Malaysia arriving at 9am to leave bags… doesn’t make it for 9am… doesn’t realise I am waiting to go out… I’m end I have to leave and do lots of texting and rushing back to receive him later. He’s a lovely, polite young man, but don’t think it always occurs to guests what’s going on behind the scenes.
The rooms that these two guests were taking are about £35 a night, so all of the stuff involved in accepting early cases etc really doesn’t seem fair on me, not when it’s happening at least with half guests. I suppose if I was renting out a condo or something with a higher rate, I would be more accepting of it…
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A few days ago, I had a guest who felt so entitled to an early check in.
is there no way we could check in earlier as we did say we would be arriving a lot earlier than 4!
I think guests are used to their early check in request being accommodated by hotels and other Airbnb hosts. This entitled attitude is annoying. I’m going to take care of her in the review.
This particular guest told me a day ago that she will be arriving during the day (didn’t specify the time). That’s just not enough time to coordinate with the cleaners.
Recently, I did an experiment where instead of declining inquiries who wanted an early check in (like 10 AM ) or a late check out (8 PM), I asked them to book an additional night. I did that with five guests, and none of them agreed to pay for the extra nights. It’s a small sample size, but there are just way too many free-loaders out there.
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Agreed, and additionally, all those clickbait articles on “How to negotiate a lower price for your stay / How to ask for early checkin - late checkout” make guests feel that they are in a transactional situation.
Those who ask for a lower rate based on their needs / budget / problems are also part of the ‘Entitlement Crowd’. And yes, those hosts who ‘acommodate’ these guests make it harder for we hosts who cannot do this. Please, hosts, can you make it clear to the guests that you are giving things away to that they should not repeat their whine to other hosts, that your freebie is unique to you? Then maybe the ‘it never hurts to ask’ crowd can be trained to expect costs to accompany their neediness…
Some places have a view, some have a pool, some have beach access, some have a hot tub… I have early check in.
I don’t feel the need to make a fuss over what a deal they’re getting. It’s all part of the package, and what differentiates one place from another.
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…One of these is optional for the host and is considered an ‘acommodation’ not part of the physical plant…
True. So maybe a better parallel is that I limit my guests to a maximum of two adults plus children. I do this for lots of reasons, some of them logistical and some of them are purely my own preference.
My listing clearly states this restriction, but I’m still frequently asked to make an exception. I have no problem saying no. I make no excuses; I just say “I’m afraid we can’t accommodate that.”
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