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Does anyone else experience this regularly? If I’m not actually hovering by the front door, I often find people just walking in without ringing or knocking. Quite disconcerting really! I’m not talking about once we’ve met as then they are given a key and can come and go as they please, but this is when they very first arrive!
My latest guests arrived 10 minutes ago and did just this! Is it because they confuse Airbnb with the old boarding houses where you walk in and go to a check in desk rather than appreciating this is our home?
Last month I wasn’t even expecting guests when three people walked into my hall. I was upstairs and when I came down they said that their sister in law was booked in sometime in the future and they just called round to see what it was like . Being very English and proper, I asked them if they would like a tour
I know I should start locking the door but honestly, some people have the cheek of the devil!!!
LOCK THE BLOOMIN DOOR!! If you’re going to encourage the devil, expect his minions to be cheeky!!!
People should NEVER “just call round to see what it is like”. They should have been told that such visits are against Airbnb policy, and that their visit because of your visit their sister-in-law could lose her reservation for giving out your address.
I have a similar issue with guests coming to my back door, which makes me testy because it looks into my bedroom and dressing area.
That means they’ve ignored the house rule about not entering my deck, missed the welcome e-mail that couldn’t be clearer about where to enter, failed to follow the prominent yard sign that points to their door, and the final sign that says “ENTERING PRIVATE AREA. Airbnb guest entrance is at the front”. One idiot was like “oh, well I thought we checked in here”.
Lock your door! These people are out of order but it could be even worse! Talk your guests through your check in procedure in advance so there’s no room for their disrespectful imagination.
Do not give tours or let people view in advance. This is against Airbnb policy. What if there were a burglary?
I know you are right, Ken! It’s just that this is a family home, with teenagers coming and going all the time, in a safe neighbourhood, and usually if I’m home through the day, the front door is kept unlocked
I’m not especially worried about safety, it’s just the principle of the thing And I can moan here and nowhere else . I just find it odd that guests, who are strangers until we are introduced, think it’s fine to wander in because they have booked to stay. It’s not something I would do!!!
Not possible! I could lock the front door obviously, but we are a town house on a suburban street with a little English front garden then the front door
No I wouldn’t just walk into a stranger’s home either. However guests can have different perceptions of boundaries. I am on the Englishman’s Home is his Castle end of the spectrum. Others are more mi casa es su casa.
Give your teenagers keys, or even have one on a string in the daytime, but don’t leave the front door so anyone can walk in. I live in a low crime area too, but we’re never too far away from somewhere less so …
I started a thread on here about an early guest who did self check in without permission to my family home by following my other guest in whilst I was out, helping himself to a key, going out and not even messaging me! I arrived back in good time for our arranged check in and was horrified to find he had been and gone. Presumably he’d had to open our bedroom doors to find his room! Other hosts on here didn’t seem to get what the problem was.
That’s why we lock our bedroom door too. I don’t trust people to stay out of our private spaces. We may get a lock for our laundry room too because it is also off limits.
To be honest in that case even if I had locks on all my family’s bedrooms I would still feel invaded by his going in my house without permission. The arrangement was to meet for check in and he didn’t even bother to message me to say he was early. I have no regrets about asking him to find somewhere else to stay, he was inappropriate and my trust had been breached.
Yes, that is completely unacceptable. We had a situation once where the guest would not respond to messages asking when they were arriving and finally while I was upstairs I got a message saying ‘I can’t open the door’ and came down to find the woman trying to open the locked door. Some people just don’t understand the concept of a homestay and think they’re checking into a hotel.
I keep my front door closed until 2pm, or sometimes I have it open and then close it around noon just to re-open at 2pm because I don’t want guests arriving early. I’ve never had anyone just come right in, usually they say " Hello" really loudly through the screen if I’m not near the door. Try adding a line instructing them to knock on the door when they arrive in your reservation confirmation email. The saved response feature is great for setting up a standard template and if you need to you can add a few personalization touches. A few days before guest arrival I send out a quick reminder on check-in window, abbreviated directions, and parking instructions. If guests haven’t told me what time they plan to arrive this is the time when I ask (again) what time they are arriving so I can greet them. It is all saved so it takes a matter of minutes.
Guys, I just had someone arrive 30 minutes early and open the door. This has never happened! The forum curse! So I told him he was early and that there was a nice park across the street he could take a stroll through while I finished the room. ( 2 towels were damp so they were spinning in the dryer) I offered them to leave the luggage in the foyer too. Maybe he was one of the people that has opened your doors?!?!
And I can moan here and nowhere else 
