I meant why are you letting the guest check in early. How are they able to get into your listing?
I have to type 20 characters, so, lolz!
Love to know which locks you have and if they have ever failed you. Thanks!
It is self check-in. I wasn’t home at the time as stated in my post. 4 years, hundreds of guests and the first guests to check-in early unapproved were these hosts
@ballyhoo, our keyless locks are from RemoteLock. The software they use is Lockstate. They have never failed. We have the software on all the locks set to notify us on our cell phones if the battery is low. They work flawlessly.
The software integrates with Airbnb reservations. Nicely, if the reservation changes (the departure date gets changed, for example, or a reservation gets canceled), the software updates automatically.
The only thing Lockstate does that we override is assign a random four-digit code to each guest. We manually change it on the app (phone) or the website (computer) to be the last four digits of the guest’s cell.
The software is set with our defaults for check-in and check-out times. We can, of course, override those times if we’ve agreed (via Airbnb message) to something different.
We use the same locks on our front door and on the guest room doors. A guest’s access code for his/her guest room door is automatically synced with his/her front door code.
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So complex!
Guest asks: Can I check in early? ANSWER: no
Guest asks: Can I check out late? ANSWER: no.
Guest: I can’t seem to get in! ANSWER: That’s because I have the key and I’ll see you at 3:00!
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I use the same thing and set it once they have given me their requested 30-60 minute heads up on actual arrival time. I have run into one problem with it cutting off their access at check-out time though. Someone checked out late (unauthorized) and then left the house unlocked. They could have locked the handle since the August lock is for the deadbolt, but they didn’t. I have a house rule of a $50 fine for leaving the house unsecured with no one home. Airbnb would not support me on it because my lock prevented them from locking when they decided to leave. They also wouldn’t give me anything (or allow me to charge the guest) for their staying late, even though it is in their house rules.
One problem I have had was when a guest showed up earlier and without the requested notice and just walked in on me cleaning. I sent them back out to wait for an hour and told them if I happened to finish early I would let them know. Well, they marked me down overall to a 4 (still have a 5 for check-in) but in the private feedback said that they felt unwelcome when they arrived and that was not a good thing. Well, duh! Don’t waltz in someone else’s house, unannounced, when you are not allowed in for at least another hour!!! I guess I need to ensure that I keep the door locked at all times when I’m cleaning. Some people are just so ridiculously rude!
I am a host and very considerate guest. Even if I wasn’t a host I would have never done what they did, would not do anything without the host’s approval.
Also, there are hosts and hosts. My suspicion is they are lousy hosts also. Install the airbnb extension to see what kind of reviews people left them.
Tell you what… get a mean dog and tell guests you need to let them in because otherwise the dog will bite them.
A couple of things can help you here. First, the keypad allows you to lock the door from the outside by pressing the ‘a’ button without a code. I have this included in my instructions and it really helps guests, especially if they are a few minutes late checking out.
Second, the August app allows you to get alerts when the door is left unlocked. I personally check the door when the guest checks out (as alerted by my security camera). You can also remotely lock the door from the app if they leave it open. Inversely, this feature is also useful if they can’t get in. You can remotely open it too.
Lastly. August has the option to auto lock the door when it is closed. That means when the door is shut, it will lock itself. This would help with forgetting to lock the door as well as guests who don’t remember to lock it. I personally do not use this feature, just because it’s annoying when I’m doing yard work and want the door to stay open.
It sounds like you need a self-check in system where it is only available to guests between check in and check out times. That would help solve your problem with guests checking in early @ballyhoo
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I understand all this. The fact is the guest left late without approval, did not contact me and then did not lock the door. The guest was the problem, not the lock. I love all the Lock features but also don’t use auto lock.
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This year I put in driveway gates, I do not open them until about 30 minutes before check in. Before that I would always lock the door while cleaning, or tell the housekeeper to keep it locked. I do not change the code or open the gates until I am ready to allow check in.
RR
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