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You can just be firm and say, sorry, I really cannot take responsibility for the bags after check out. Let them get a locker at the airport. I allowed the pushy guest from NY to do this once… as I mentioned here before. They left scuff marks on my lanai with their bag wheels, didn’t return the snorkel gear “in an hour” as promised and actually wanted to use the bathroom and check the room… SIX ENTIRE HOURS after they were supposed to be GONE!!!
And that’s the thing to remember. Check out means YOU LEAVE!!! Sayonara, Au Revoir, A hui hou (til we meet again in Hawaiian) or as it is more commonly known:
GOODBYE!!! and if you have also been extra trouble, GOOD RIDDANCE!!!
Obviously they ask because they want to avoid a trip to the airport or train station and then return to the city; they may have 2 or 3 hours before the flight/train so want to take one last look around.
I started telling them they are welcome to leave luggage in the downstairs hall where we put our bikes, and just give them the entrance key that I ask them to leave in the mailbox.
That leaves it up to them if they want to risk it. (not really much of a risk, its just me and my upstairs neighbour)
That still risks you losing the keys and is one more thing to think about…and one more thing not to be done with. I don’t know… Dealing with shleping and storage of your stuff is part of traveling. You know? I mean… those are all considerations when you travel. I have told guests they could leave it in the carport but I can’t be responsible for watching it. I also have male cats around who would love to give an upright item like that a nice long territory spray.
Even though you can “say” you are not responsible, they could always come back at a later date and say, “My luggage was ripped off while at Elizabeth’s place!” Maybe leave it in a review. I dunno. You are being too nice. I sometimes feel guilty about things, and then remember that this is a business deal. They are PAYING me in exchange for something. Once the exchange period is over (i.e., check out) then it’s over. It’s not a hotel with a lobby where someone’s on duty 24/7 and where leaving luggage after check out is normal.
One more thought on doing extras for guests… such as lending out items I normally wouldn’t. Two days ago, my latest guests saw my umbrellas hanging in the carport and asked if they could borrow them for the sun, even though we have a beach umbrella available. “We’ll take good care of them!”
Well upon check out they said they had promptly lost them, and of course offering to pay for them… I liked these guests and didn’t want to collect on their deposit, so I asked for $5 because the umbrellas were old… The point being… just one more thing I now have to do…buy a new umbrella. By doing a small favor for a guest… it seems to backfire on me, almost every time! Maybe I am getting super burned out on guests.
Lol. Iona is so right. It’s important to close the deal at check out time. Especially if it’s an irritating guest you cannot wait to get rid of. You don’t want to give them an inch, because they’ll expect a mile and then bash you on a review over it.
That said, if I really connect with a guest and don’t mind, I have no problem with granting extra favors like allowing them to leave luggage in the foyer if they have a late flight. It all comes down to what kind of favors I am in the mood to grant and how pleasant the guest has been. If you give out shopping bags, umbrellas, etc. just be prepared never to see them again, and then you won’t be disappointed.
If it’s a bad guest, I go with Kona’s advice and let them know so sorry, but I have to prepare for the next guest and then point out that there are public lockers at airports, etc.
Btw, I should point out that I work full time and so I never do a back-to-back check out/check in on a weekday, because I just don’t have time. So, I suppose I have a little more room to be flexible than others. It depends on your wiggle room and how much you are willing to wiggle depending on the guest. When it comes down to it, yes, it is a business, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the getting-to-meet-new people aspect.
Can absolutely sympathise with the fact that cruise ship passengers do seem to be the most demanding.
We once had a couple coming from a cruise ask if they could check in around 10am, we couldn’t accommodate this as we had other guests checking out at 11am - we rent an entire apartment. We then needed to clean the place and therefore they couldn’t check in until 2pm - an hour earlier than our standard time. This was all explained prior to booking and they said it was fine.
Well - on the day of the booking, they turned up at around 10.30am, our existing guests let them in and the made them selves at home straight away - luckily our departing guests were very understanding. The just sat around while the cleaning was completed and then had the cheek to email me to say they were disappointed they had to wait to have a shower until after the cleaning was completed as the cleaner hadn’t brought fresh towels up first!
Luckily though, the majority of our guests have been great.
Although one group did call and ask if we could provide a bowl that was suitable for peanuts as we didn’t have any appropriate ones in the kitchen - still no idea what an appropriate peanut bowl is.
Early check-inns and check-outs are a classicak request, and the answer is no, not possible, sorry! But last summer we had an elderly lady with a brand new smart phone. She wantet med to explain her how a smart phone and the internet are working. My son helped her a lot. As a thank you for that we got the badest rewiew of the whole season.
I had a guest arrive an hour early then agreed when he was already checking in three hours earlier than my check in at the time. i answered the door in my robe having just gotten out of the shower and the guest and his friend were standing there. He just wanted to drop his bag off before heading out. I was taken by surprise and just wanted to get them out of the house due to my state of undress. I did not have a second key ready as my other guest was getting ready to leave that I gave him the key off my key ring. Later that day I picked up my keyring forgetting I had given him my key. I ended up having to climb through a window when I got home and broke a futon as I slithered down the window lake a snake and landed on the futon. The window is about 20cm high and wide. LOL
I live next door to my studio so this would NOT happen and I have gotten thicked skin after our now 29th guest. I dread the cruise ship folks and make sure that I notify them of things to do with the luggage in the car in Miami since the port of Miami is in downtown and why not get a Wynwood artistic walls in while you are there when none of the tourist are about.
Do you not have any tourists centre close by that guests can use?
I’m so glad we do! I now send them there (only 8mins walk away so they cant complain). Also many of our museums and tourist attractions also have luggage facilities, so they can dump their bags there while they tour!
It’s probably worth checking out what you have in your area.
