This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
We also change the codes once a month, we try and do it around the first of the month so we remember. However, we did recently find that with one of them we hadn’t been removing the old codes, so that was a bit silly!
I have a smart one on my home that only allows them to check in at the agreed time and locks them out after checkout. It also links directly into the Airbnb system so the code is generated automatically and sent to the guest as soon as a booking is confirmed.
My check-in is 3pm. If my house is ready and I’m available, I generally message my incoming guests around 1pm and tell them they can check-in early as long as they let me know when they arrive so I can meet them and give a tour. So far, not one guest has arrived early even though some expected to.
I also message my guests at 9am on day of check-out with a reminder of the 11am check-out time, instructions on what to do for check-out, and also asking them to let me know ASAP if they need a late checkout. About half have replied within an hour asking if they can stay a little longer. I ask them how much extra time they need and I always approve if it’s before 1pm.
I have set preparation time for my listing to 1 day, so a short turnover isn’t a problem. My hope is that the gesture positively influences reviews.
Yes there are the bad communicators. However when it happens to us we have discovered that
Sometimes guests can use AirBnB on their desktop computer ok but are not very good at it when they are on the road and working from their mobiles.
When we get sent a message by a guest we also get an SMS as well as the email. Replies by SMS to the guest do not reach them.
We have a lot of international guests and sometimes they haven’t got roaming happening on their phones or a local SIM.
… just saying
Yes, there can be many reasons why guests don’t get in touch and rarely are those reasons anything malicious or negligent. As hosts we can message them on the platform, text them directly, email or phone them. We have every means of communication available to us. If we call guests and there’s a problem getting through then the chances are that they won’t get texts or platform messages either. Some hosts seem to only call their guests as a last resort though for some reason. It’s sometimes the only way to get to them and it’s a great opportunity to connect before you meet.
It’s because we want a record of everything in writing so if there is an issue we can use it as documentation.
If there’s no other way of contacting a guest and I have to call them, I summarise the conversation on the platform:
Further to our phone conversation today, I am confirming that you agreed to…
For me, that’s better than no communication at all.
Always a good idea. …
Hi there,
I would say 85% of our guests have WhatsApp which is a very convenient way to message or call them, may be more convenient than via Airbnb during their voyage. That said, very few guests from mainland China have WhatsApp, but almost all of them have WeChat, because it seems to be difficult to get a smooth connexion on WhatsApp in mainland China whereas most guests from Hong Kong have WhatsApp.
Yes WhatsApp would be more convenient for most international travellers. The trade-off is that AirBnB Support cannot see those conversations if an issue arises requiring AirBnB intervention.
True. But I have the habit of screenshotting any texts, WhatsApp messages and so on, just in case…
Guests are worse on booking.com, show up when they want and would say 50% dont ever respond to messages. If booking take your money, you have to wait 5 weeks to get paid. If you take the money about 50% have declined cards, bloody nightmare. You cannot review bad guests, anyone can show up at your property and they dont give a shit if a guest destroys or damages your property. Read their terms and conditions as they change them.
And cancelling is damn near impossible - could not reach a guest, they could not reach the guest…can I cancel…NOPE! Was a no show and false credit card
My first booking on Booking.com was from 2 Nigerians with absolutely no indication of being real people (could only find an obscure reference to one of them online) who wanted to stay for 5 weeks in the height of summer season. There was NO way to set max. stays, only minimum. It seemed like an organized scam to show up, drive me crazy and demand to be sent to the Four Seasons at my expense. Which Booking requires you to do.
I called Booking.com and asked to have them canceled and to remove my account altogether. It seemed extremely high-risk for in-home hosts. The ToS calls you to put up a guest who doesn’t work out at a hotel at your expense.
Illegal in most European countries to ask for or take photos of ID cards and passports.
You can consult the document and write down the info but you cannot take a photo. Privacy laws.
Of course nobody respects this. But that’s the law.
Can anybody advise if I can cancel if the reserved guest does not provide a proper photo? I already asked her to add a photo and she never replied but added a photo of her back view walking a horse ( yes a horse’s ass as well as her own…)
It could be funny but there are all the signsthat she is going to be a difficult guest so I’d like to cancel and avoid the hassle.
Th aka in advance for your thoughts .
I’ve had lots of guests with no photo or a photo of a pet or a baby or a flower… the guests were never any problem.
What are the signs that she’d be a difficult guest?
You can cancel penalty free due to being uncomfortable with the guest of on IB. Otherwise you will be penalized. Might be worth it though given the guest’s response to your request.
Sounds like my kind of guest, send her to me. LOL.
Yes, why would you cancel based on no clear picture? What can you tell from the picture that would make any difference?
RR