How to review a guest that didn’t respect check in rules

21

Cindy thanks for your kind thoughtful and constructive answer!

In fact, I find 95% of flights are on time! We almost never have an airline delay. I know exactly how long it takes to rent cars at the different companies and can estimate 90%-100% of the time the exact moment people will show up in front of the door.

Of course if there is a storm or strike or unplanned delay we roll with it that’s part of the business.

As a precision the person yesterday KNEW about the arrival policy, did NOT have a last minute flight delay. He told me the wrong flight arrival info (told me his DEPARTING time was his ARRIVING time - note to self - always get screenshot of itinerary from now on not just guest saying what time), and expressed criticism over the fact that he would have to pay an extra fee if he was just 30 minutes over the cutoff time (which he was never going to be anyway, unless he could magically teletransport from the airplane seat to my apartment door). As it was he was not 30 minutes over cutoff time but 4 hours.

My frustration is more about having control over my property, if I clearly state check in rules for example because the code keypad shuts off at 8pm for security reasons in the building, I don’t see why I can’t share that with guests and expect them to read, understand, and respect this fact. They are told this in the booking message when they instant book, up to them to choose someplace else to stay if they don’t want the extra fee! If they arrive after 8, door is locked, must pay someone to meet them, at a price higher than what they are paying for that night’s stay. Full stop.

I have had people decide not to come to my apartment because they are on a flight that arrives too late. That’s fine.

So thanks for your kind comments, and moral of the story is I have to find a property manager nearby and really try to find an emergency solution for leaving the key somewhere in case of outliers like yesterday.

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22

As I said - you know your individual situation and you do what suits. Truely- we are not unfriendly, just blunt until we have an understanding of your situation.

23

Hhhhmmm, I am thinking if the building keypad shuts down at 8 p.m., a couple of tweaks might work –

Tell guests this fact … and that if they aren’t there by 8 p.m., they will need to check into a hotel, and recommend one for them. And they won’t get a refund. And further, any flights landing after a certain hour, that makes it dicey to get to your unit by 8 p.m., you recommend they book this hotel and then come to your place the following afternoon.

Only other thing I can think of is to hire your check-in person from another unit within the building, someone who needs some cash. That’s assuming this AirBNB is a permitted use in your building and a resident would be amenable.

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24

Well said.

202020202020

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25

Thank you for creative thinking and thoughtful answer!

Yes I will be more clear about why the cutoff time exists. I can just imagine though someone arriving at 8:05 and having to check into a hotel, how is that going to go down?!

And yes the one decision I have made since yesterdays drama, my post and the first abrasive answer I got, was that I have to change property managers and find someone close by and an alternate solution for emergencies.

Thanks for that, I love imagining telling someone who’s fligh arrived at 7 and who for some reason thought they would be there by 8, who didn’t read or look at any of my infographics or pictograms explaining the arrival and check in, that they can go to a hotel and I’m not reimbursing them. Ha!

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You might lose customers who can’t check in during your time. That’s fine with me! I’d rather they not come then have a repeat of yesterday.

27

I don’t know your definition of friendly, but this does certainly not fit mine.

28

My usual thing is to put myself in the guests shoes.
Are they a new user?
Do they “get” Airbnb?
As it is becoming better known, Airbnb accommodation is being considered as an alternate to a hotel, do you keep a hotel up to date unless you are going to be very, very late?
Every host does it in their own way and I see some good suggestions for you.

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29

@lililou1 in your shoes I would have a self check in for up to 7 p.m. (allows for arrival delays).

And say up front in your listing that this is what it is and those who want to arrive later (say up to 11 p.m.) are able to do so, but there will be a call out charge for someone to check them in. You can then send them a special offer or separate charge.

For emergencies have a local co-host who can get to your place easily.

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30

Helsi has an excellent suggestion! That way, you don’t get the “but I was just 5 minutes late “ but you can waive the fee if they arrive before it’s too late and make them happy.

Just be sure to tell them the late arrival fee will not be waived for events beyond their control, such as traffic or flight delays.

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31

After reading all this then perhaps do not offer after hours check in. If they cannot make it by X time they must check in next day?

RR

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32

You are most welcome.

I learned with my somewhat parallel problem – guests staying past 11 a.m. checkout – that I had to be VERY CLEAR that they need to be on the OTHER side of the front door at 11:00:00:00 per the atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado, and 1 second past that time is, to me, the same as 12 hours. And they will be charged $25 for being late. Any other approach gets taken advantage of – ANY other. Too many times guests would look at the checkout time as a “suggestion” as to when they would kinda sorta begin to think about getting out of bed and taking a looooong shower or two and then loll around packing up.

Believe me, if you say “doors shut @ 8 p.m.,” that will focus your guests’ minds.

P.S. You can say it regrettably and nicely, i.e., “Because our building’s keypad locks down at 8 p.m., and we cannot alter this situation, late arrivals cannot be admitted and will have to go at their own expense to the Hotel Layabout for their first night. You can check in the next morning at 7 a.m. (or whatever) when the building again becomes accessible.”

P.P.S. How do folks go to dinner and return in your part of the world ??!

33

Think everyone missed the part she said the code works until 8pm and then it has to be a fob/key. So as long as they have the fob they can come back anytime

34

How about this: Late check in can be accomplished with enough advance notice as I will have to send you a door key, the deposit for the key will be $500
Then mail a key. This assumes the guests are flying in and not a local looking to rob you, of course you will know this because you will have the address to mail key.

RR

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35

I agree with you. In this race to be like hotels, Airbnb has built some expectations that don’t work with the realities of many hosts. You have good reason for charging a late check-in fee.

The biggest problem I see here is the distance of your property manager. I’d find an after-hours person who is much closer to your property. Is there a neighbor who’d do this for a fee?

Another thought, which brings up one of my worst travel days…bear with me a minute :wink:
I’d booked a hotel in Barcelona, arriving via Ryan air to an airport far outside the city. (Didn’t realize it was THAT far!) They bussed us into town, and I woke from a nap as we were entering city center. Fearing I’d missed my stop, I got off at the next in a bit of a rush, leaving behind one of my bags. On a Sunday afternoon. In Spain.

Which means NOTHING is open.

I finally found a place I could buy a phone card (this is before cell phones had international options) to figure out where the bus would stop next. I managed to make my way to the bus depot, explaining in my broken Spanish that “he olvidado mi bolsa”, or something along those lines.

I carried all my gear to the subway, navigated multiple line changes and finally emerged above ground to a torrential downpour. It’s now after 8pm, I’m walking uphill in the rain in a rather deserted, unwelcoming area, loaded down with a suitcase, backpack and box of French wines. (Did I say I’d left my bag on the bus? What I meant was wine. I spent 3 hours retrieving 2 bottles of french wine I’d later share with my parents.)

Finally, I see the sign for the hotel (a looong way up the hill). It was like manna from heaven. I trudged up the hill, soaked, repeating the mantra “hot shower. bed.”

Only to be met by a sign “For after-hours check-in please go to (hotel a 20 min taxi ride away)”. I sat down on the curb for a minute and cried. Really.

Then walked my dumb ass back down the hill to the only place I’d seen open: an internet cafe. Kind folks helped me summon a taxi that took me across town to collect a key. Around 11pm I finally made it into my hotel room and took an exceedingly long, hot, bath.

So you could do that. You could make them do the legwork of collecting a key. (It’s sort of a stupidity tax for failing to read the terms of their booking). But if you make your guests cry in frustration your check-in rating could suffer!

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36

I’d like to hope I fall somewhere between “it’s my goddamned house” and “I sat on the curb for a minute and cried” in my policies. This seems like an extreme punishment for “not reading the terms” and if any guest ever suffered through something like this due to my policies I’d be extremely contrite. I can only hope with connectivity increasing at a rapid pace that people won’t have to go through this in the future.

On my trip to Costa Rica our plane circled San Jose about 2 hours before giving up and landing in Liberia, a 4 hour bus ride away. Once we landed we messaged our friends who arrived earlier in the day and they told the front desk we wouldn’t be in until 2 or 3 am. I don’t know if someone would have been waiting up for us otherwise. And we had 4 rooms for 8 people, I don’t know if one pissed person would have met their standard for manning the desk late at night. It’s certainly something to consider when planning budget travel.

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37

I agree that is a great hard and fast rule to put in the listing, and people will figure out the logistics on their own if they know it isn’t flexible. Every year I go to the BVI’s and have to take a ferry from the USVI’s to get there. That ferry runs until a certain time and if you don’t make the last ferry, you’re stuck and there is nobody to whine to for exceptions. You can bet our group of 10 figures out our travel plans accordingly!

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38

@lililou1
To answer your initial question I’d write something like this:

I would not recommend X. He booked the apartment knowing that his flight was arriving much later than the checkin cut-off. He lied saying the flight was arriving earlier so he can keep the reservation and denied paying any late checkin fees. He was a major inconvenience to the property manager who waited for 4 hrs on site.

1* for communication and house rules.

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39

Hi
Sorry to hear about your check-in problems - communication with guests can be problematic at times can’t it and it must have been frustrating for you and your property manager to be left hanging when your guest delayed his arrival!

You might have a couple of options (as someone else has suggested), find a property manager closer to your property? An hour is quite a trek if problems such as this arise.

Key safe’s and smart locks are so much easier when it comes to self check-in, but you say you aren’t allowed a key safebox and there’s no way to install a smart lock at that particular property? Maybe you could consider a smart box at a nearby location? I’m pretty sure Keycafe let you exchange keys and fobs through a smartbox near your property (think there are lots of locations) - you use an app to facilitate it. Have a look anyway, might be useful?

As for the review it might be tricky to go for something negative as you had already waived the fee for a late arrival?

Good luck with your hosting anyway, fingers crossed you won’t get too many latecomers in the future!

40

Let’s try to think out-of-the-box and come up with a crazy idea :wink:. Consider it my little brain storm that might inspire you:

Do you know one or two taxi drivers you can totally trust? Can’t you include a taxi ride in your rate (=“Free taxi to our place!”), and make the taxi driver responsable for handing over the keys?

I don’t know if this could be an option where you are, but it’s my 5 cents :upside_down_face:.

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