The only international travelers I get are not coming directly here, rather they are usually on a tour and have already been in US a few days. They seem to all have purchased international plans for their phones and with one extremely notable exception, arrive at their stated time or keep me informed
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Amy , Airbnb should adapt your post and display it on their site:). My biggest and most frequent problem with guests is not even them checkin in late but checking in early and checking out late. When guests check in late they have a code to the door, and I never wait for them.
I can not comprehend the thinking process when guests assume that they can just show up at 10 am when check in is at 3 pm. Not once i had guests showing up and being sincerely surprised that there is a person still sleeping in their room. The same with checking out. One was a host himself who said: I usually let people stay longer. āaAnd what do you do with your next guests who can not check in because you let people stay longer?ā.
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Bravo! Bravo! That may have been the best post I have ever read on this forum.
Yes, Itās okay to respect yourself by setting your own boundariesā¦not what another host thinks should be your boundaries. Every time you resent another person for taking advantage of youā¦it just eats a little way at your soul each time.
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Moderators, please give AmyB a little star or stickerā¦ That post should be pinned to the top of the forum for all to read!
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Like you with nearly 50 guests hosted, all mine have arrived/left as agreed and theyāve kept me posted when theyāre on their way. I just had my first complete disregard for communicating or complying. They didnāt let me know when they were under way but arrived as originally stayed.
Worse was on check out, nowhere to be seen at 10. Didnāt answer my call or text until half hour later when they got back! Finally checked out an hour late, no apologies! Cleaning lady had already started outside as I had back to back bookings. I was not impressed, first time Iāve given a guest 4 stars for both communication and house rules. They should have got 3*!
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After over 90 bookings, here is the system that I have started usingā¦Yale Key less electronic front door lock linked to a Vera Lite Home Hub. This allows me to program the lock to the last 4 numbers of the guests phone and allow 24 hour access with out me sitting at home wondering when they will show up. Vera Lite Hub also allows me to place restrictions on code usage so I set the date and time the code starts and when it is no longer valid. And it holds over 50 different codes. Hub also writes āscenesā so when guest for room #1 keys in their code to the front door lock, it also turns on a table light in living room for 1 minute, and turns on a night table lamp in their room for 5 minutes so they can see which room is theirās by following the light.
Latest toy is a Ring Stick Up Camera that I bought yesterday for $200. and installed outside under the eve of the house. Camera is motion activated, and when a guest walks up to the front door, it comes on, starts recording, and rings my phone so I can watch the guests arrive or leave. It also allows me to talk to them and hear what they are saying. If the guest is having problems with the lock, I can talk them thru it or I can open the lock remotely from my phone.
Once inside the house, each of 3 rooms I rent are keyed on the door with a different lock and I leave the room key on the night stand in their room.
The maid also has her own code so she can come in on her own and I now can see when she gets there and when she leaves.
All together I have spent about $1,000 on the toys but if I can now see any one who comes to my front door, talk to them, and video it showing what they arrived wit or left withā¦and never have to sit at home waiting for a guest, a maid, a delivery and never have to worry about a guest not returning a key or making a copy of it during their stayā¦
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Hi @Vegasjerry,
Thatās an impressive amount of automation. Does it work reliably? The trouble with machines is that they tend to go wrong. Though the better the quality of the electronics is, the less it will go wrong. How long have you been using this system for?
The hub and lock since May 2015 with one replacement of batteries in lock. The camera this week.
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Iād like to know what happens if you just simply donāt open the door.
I understand people being late, but not communicating+arriving late, airbandb must back you up as it is on the messages and house rules.
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I did not open once, because i was asleep.A guest arrived after midnight, my check in time until midnight. I sent to him code for the door but he did not get it. So, he kept messaging me but i was asleep. Airbnb cancelled him without any penalties to me, but in this case he showed up after check in time.
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Because itās not a hotel, and we donāt charge as much as hotels, and we put it in writing that they are supposed to read and abide by. After you have this happen to you repeatedly in a short period of time, you realize theyāre running your life and being rude and inconsiderate. Youāve tried contacting them for the 2 days before their arrival and day of arrival, itās 10:30pm and you have to get up at 6am, they said in their booking they would be there by 4pm. Your check out is 9am because you have to go to work at 9:30am, again all of which you confirmed with them during booking. Then they show up at 11pm wanting you to cook or at the very least supply them with groceries which you donāt provide, because your rates are low and youāre trying to keep your over head low. 99% of the time guests are great, fun and enjoyable, but when you get 3 in a row like above, it makes you reconsider hosting. I am venting, and Iām trying to take steps to prevent it from happening in the future, but I already thought that before when I was very specific during the booking inquiry. I think many guests think you will be too embarrassed to enforce these rules. Iām not embarrassed but I donāt like confrontations, Donāt want bad reviews and genuinely want them to enjoy their stay. What to do? What Iāve started doing is blocking dates off so I can relax in between, Iām considering having to be very choosy about 1st time airbnbers. Please donāt come down on me hard, itās been a tough 2 weeks at the end of a long season.
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I really appreciate your post and am going to use it as a guide.
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I think you should have been paid, you kept your end of the bargain. I wonder how that would work with my strict cancellation policy.
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Read Amyās post on how to deal with guests like this. Go on with your life, and explain that you were available at their check in time.Dont inconvinience yourself.
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This scenario is exactly why I donāt have instant book. I have a check in time on my listing of 2PM, but since I am a shift worker, sometimes I simply canāt make that work. Because I donāt have instant book, and guests have to contact me before making a booking, I am able to say to them, āI am working nights on your arrival date, so I would need to make check in time anytime before 5PM. If that works for you, I will pre-approve your request so you can finish making your booking.ā This way, the new arrival time is documented through AirBnB, and the guest has the opportunity to make a reservation somewhere else if that does not work for them.
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There are several options you have as a Host to allow guest to ācheck inā without you being thereā¦maybe you should invest in one of them???
I have a Yale Keyless front door lock programmed to guests last 4 of their phone number, tied wirelessly to a VeraLite Hub that allows me to program the lock from my phone. I also have a Ring Stick-Up Wireless Camera that is motion activated and linked to my phone so when ANYONE walks up to my front door, the video starts on my phone, I can talk WITH the person outside my door and give them verbal instructions to operate lock if they have trouble.
The Hub allows me to restrict the times the guest code works so I never have to worry about lost/copied keys, sitting home waiting on guest to arriveā¦