We were supposed to have a young female guest traveling alone check in last night at 11pm. She said her flight was delayed several hours. She finally said that she had arrived and was 15 minutes away at 3am, but she never got here. We had given her the code but I can see that it was never used and room is empty. She never responded again. What’s going on here? Do I contact Airbnb? I’m worried for her.
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contact HER.
202020202
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Did that. No response as of 8:30am
Keep trying to call her but don’t get too worried about it. It happens.
It might be a simple thing (she hooked up with someone and went to stay with him) or something horrible but it’s not really your concern.
Leave messages on the platform to demonstrate to Airbnb that you’re aware and concerned but otherwise don’t get worried. (I know it’s hard not to go into ‘mother mode’ but you have to be calm).
How long was she staying? Is her phone turned off? Have you texted as well as trying to call?
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2 nights, check out tomorrow 2/14
Then truly, don’t worry about it. With a two night stay, she’s not losing a lot of money so it could be that she just changed her mind or hooked up with someone or met a friend or something innocuous.
And if something not so nice has happened then you worrying about it won’t change anything.
Send her a text saying that you hope she’s okay and that the room/apartment will be available for her until 11am (or whatever your checkout time is) tomorrow. Take a screenshot.
Leave the same message on the Airbnb platform.
Then you’ve done all you can. If you wish, you can also contact Airbnb simply to report it. Then it’s their problem and you’ve done all you can. Truly, don’t worry about it.
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P.S. Be sure to change it at checkout time tomorrow, just in case.
This is worrisome but Jaquo is right, there’s not much you can do. I’d contact Airbnb as well.
I’d had a guest that was mugged in LA and then arrived here. Her phone was among the things stolen and could only communicate via her laptop. She couldn’t even get another phone here in El Paso because of her limited ability to get any money. Her charge card was also stolen. She flew to New York a day early where she could get some help. Airbnb was completely worthless in my effort to help her. I’d call the police to report her missing as well since she did say she had arrived in your city.
Another time a guest didn’t show up but they did respond to my text the next day to tell me they changed their plan. Apparently it didn’t occur to her that her Airbnb host would give it any thought and for some hosts, they probably wouldn’t.
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The hotel mindset is very alive for many travelers. Paying for a room and not showing up for that room ordinarily does not trigger calls from the hotel inquiring about plan changes…
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I personally would be concerned for her safety, especially when she said she was 15 mins away. I hope she’s okay.
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I would also be concerned. Because it seems this guest was quite communicative before that, letting the host know her flight was delayed, and then letting the host know when she arrived and was going to be there in 15 minutes.
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Remember there has been a case in the USA where because a guest failed to check out the hosts alerted local authorities and a lost, stranded couple was found.
I would ask Airbnb to try to contact the guest. If she’s a no show/no response at least report you concern to the police. There could be a worse case scenario…
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The thing is though, if the guest isn’t answering the host via phone, text or the app, could Airbnb contact the guest?
There have been cases reported here where Airbnb was able to reach guests when hosts cannot. I don’t know how, I wonder if some people ghost their host but answer if it’s Airbnb for some reason?
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I think that’s exactly what happens. The guest may see the host’s message but either think it doesn’t bear replying to, or they’ll do it when they get around to it (and then probably forget).
Then when Airbnb says, Hey, your host is trying to get ahold of you, they figure they’d better.
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Hi, I was wondering if your guest showed up. I would be very worried too.
It would not have bothered me if she had not said that she was 15 minutes away. I’ll be interested to hear if she ever showed up or contacted you. Also, Airbnb messages on phones often get cut off after the first sentence or so unlike on a computer. I’d do the police and Airbnb report but be sure to tell them both if she shows up or calls you.
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I’d be reluctant to call the police. As @Rolf says, many travellers have a hotel mindset and think that if they paid for a room/apartment, then it’s theirs to use (or not use) how they want to.
If the guest has hooked up with someone or has some similar innocent explanation, she wouldn’t be happy to find that the police had been informed.
My view on this is that it’s a two way street. The guest might not appreciate it but as a host I don’t appreciate the guest saying they are 15 minutes away and then not showing. It’s not that hard to send a short message saying “I had an emergency and won’t be checking in after all, thanks.” This is a rare case where I think my needs as a host are equal to the needs of the guest.
OTOH, if a guest booked and I never heard from them again I might just blow it off. But to be in touch and then not be in touch…that 15 mins message really gets to me. Honestly the police aren’t going to do anything with my call but if relatives also call in saying they haven’t heard from them it’s another data point.
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Right. However, there are travelers with a hotel mindset, but they don’t message to say that they’ll be arriving in 15 minutes. That’s what doesn’t add up.
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