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I couldn’t agree more with you. I “lost” three hours work in the garden on Saturday because someone wouldn’t tell me when they hoped to arrive; that’s all I want to know as I can’t hear the door bell from the garden, (I had one of those remote bells, which I promptly left/lost in a flower bed…) so I had to shower before 5 pm, then wait in the house for them to arrive. Yes, I can do other more mundane stuff, but it’s summer and I have a polytunnel going up; much more exciting! They eventually arrived at 8 pm, by which time we had decamped to the pub next door. We then had the palaver of bringing four bikes through the garage, with Her Ladyship’s new carbon fibre bike needing to be parked in the garage in case of rain. Not knowing this, we had not cleared space, so it ended up on top of an old bath full of tools. She then spots the cat baskets, and asks me if the cats have access to the garage. I was so pissed off by now, with a poker smile I told her that yes, they sleep in the garage and George The Cat loves a good bike ride at night. Her parents cracked up laughing; she didn’t… No review yet.
This isn’t a problem for my Airbnb but it is for my dog hosting. Clients aren’t clear about when they are arriving and I’m sure they think it’s no issue at all. They don’t realize that all the dogs need to be put away from the door and if it’s early in the morning or late at night I put them away in the garage so they don’t disturb the airbnb guests.
But then I’d lose that in a flower bed! I don’t actually have a smart phone as such anymore. I have a Nokia 300 and a small android tablet which both bark at me when a booking comes through, and I can hear them both from our bedroom. Mr Joan is now looking for a smart phone door bell app… What have you started?!
I like the Ring doorbell because I get a motion alert as soon as the guests enter the front gate and before the door bell is even pressed.
It chimes both in the house and on my smart phone. I also take my phone outside during check in hours when I’m trying to get some back yard work done while waiting for a guest.
I’m sure there are other smart doorbells on the market with similar features - this is just what I have.
“Don’t hang around all day” Great advice! 2 of the last 4 guests have stayed indoors most days all day. This gets intrusive in shared areas and I have a workshop downstairs where I can make a lot of noise but never know if they are napping, but the main thing is that the rooms are heated by gas which is not exactly free. I would not even mind that but over the periods in question the weather was sunny, the rooms face north so they heated up and there was no need to run any heating let alone all day! One party heated the rooms so much they in fact heated the entire house through closed doors - took 2 days to cool down again! Not much you can do about it short of inserting gas taps into the lines so the gas could be turned off but that would undoubtedly lead to review issues! Hmmm maybe we could go to a penny in the gas meter like we had in UK except there we banged the penny in with a hammer, broke the coin-door open and thereafter recycled the same penny!
This is so funny! I can’t hear the doorbell from my backyard either! Even more funny about losing the remote bell. In the last month or so I’ve lost 2 pairs of my readers/glasses in the bushes! At least this is where I assume they are. Of course I can’t find them without my glasses, oh the irony.
I had to Google Polytunnel, wow looks like a lot of gardening ahead for you! What will you be growing?
Also had to google palaver, great new word to add to my vocabulary, ha! My garage is a disaster area. I would have thrown her a tarp and told her, sorry, no garage access as my insurance company deems it hazardous for guests.
Classic! George probably likes sinking his nails into that shiny carbon fibre frame to steady him on his nightly rides. @JamJerrupSunset update us on your guest adventures!
If a guests gives me an arrival time, and he will stick to that, there is no need for updates.
When a guests tells me they will be there around 15:00, I do not need to send me a message at 9:00 that he will be there in 6 hours, at 10:00 he still needs about 5 hours, at 11:00 that he is only 4 hours away, at 12:00 that is is just 3 hours to go, at 13:00 that everything is according to plan and he will be there at 15:00, At 14:00 just 60 minutes to go, 14:15 three quarters of an hour away, 14:30 half an hour we be there, 14:15 15 minutes to go, 14:55 5 minutes, 15:00 Were here!.
The last one is the worst… no need to message you arrived… I can see that!
Imagine that it is changeover day during peak season, and 8 groups arriving and leaving, all doing this.
If a guest, can make their ETA, there is no need for extra communication.
I literally get this all the time, I now reply ‘great ring the doorbell’. It’s literally the massive bell on the door, and pictured in my checkin instructions. Sheesh
Im curious as to what rules on dogs? Do you mean some hosts and their own rules?
I am willing to bet most dog lovers do read a hosts specific rules om their animal more likely than if there is early checkin but I would ne curious to know what these listings may state.
I am petfriendly and actually have a specific pet agreement to be signed that I set up so guests know what to expect.
None of my rules involve never leaving your dog alone. I do state that dogs with separation anxiety or chewing tendencies will need to be crated while they are out and that this cannot exceed 4 hours. And a whole bunch of other stuff!lol…but nothing about not leaving them in the suite alone. To the OP: Please let us know! Thanks!
Bahahahhahaha! This is hilarious. I especially want to do this when I have scrambled around to get things ready for them an hour early, and they write at 3:30 that it’s okay, they’ll actually be here at 4:30. Of course, 4:30 comes and goes–crickets. Then, just as we’ve sat down to dinner and lift our forks…
“WE’RE HERE!!!”
It’s not a huge one, but is designed specifically for very windy areas, like the top of my garden where the wind whips in from the English Channel/White Cliffs. I hope to use it for growing flowers from seed and bringing on cuttings (usually nicked from friends’ gardens…) rather than crowding out all my windowsills in the house. I inadvertently started doing wedding flowers a couple of years ago, after a friend was jilted three weeks before the Big Day. I was growing sweet peas for his fiancee and ended up supplying them them to a local venue over the summer wedding season. The weather has been so extreme this year, I lost the bloody lot after planting them out, and don’t have many other options either; six events cancelled…
George is so soporific, he’d forget to dig in, and would probably fall off! Now Sophie, that’s another matter entirely…
I too occasionally use Airbnb as a guest when I travel and find it a great way to learn how to be a better host. I now truly read the full listing and reviews knowing how that makes a difference to the experience.
I’ve had guests arrive and complain about steps when the cover picture shows the house - steps included and mentions that one bedroom is on the second floor, up a full flight of steps. Having a good full description - narrative and pics really helps.
My current experience is a description of an “Entire House” with 3 bedrooms, 2 beds. Then the price says one bedroom one guest $xx, when I inquire about the second bedroom/second bed/additional guest, I get a response about one bedroom one couple. This went back and forth 5 messages so I just sent a note saying I would find another place.
Note: I found it curious that a person identifying themselves as an Airbnb rep. weighted in at the end to say the house is not available to me without ever getting an answer to the question of 2 guests / 2 bedrooms/ 2 beds.
Oh, well, keep moving.
I get it! We are in two different situations. I’m not waiting on big numbers of groups like that. It sounds like a full time job dealing with all the coordination. I work from home (day job) and I really plan my day around guests arrival. That would mean ONE group of guests, not eight. I see your point. I’m flexible, but if they change their plans by say 30 minutes I want to know. I have lot’s that I can do, including popping over to the grocery store which is a 3 minute drive. Waiting for guests irritates me. If they are just knocking around town and and going to be late, that’s fine. Tell me.
Yes @Emily I have a doorbell too. It’s LOUD. Everyone rings it but guests. Why? Some walk in when it’s unlocked and others just stand there…
This made me laugh! I’ve had guests arrive an hour and a half early, and virtually pull the (fake) antique bell off the wall in a rage when I didn’t miraculously appear to let them in, then rattle and kick the door so loudly, people in the pub next door came to see what was happening. I was having a shower and could see/hear it all from the window… They were actually very nice people but maybe Martians.
I’ve had several people just walk into the kitchen, others phone to say they have arrived, others to ask “shall I park here”. How the hell should I know? I don’t know where you are; it’s dark.
great new word to add to my vocabulary, ha! My garage is a disaster area. I would have thrown her a tarp and told her, sorry, no garage access as my insurance company deems it hazardous for guests.
on the door, and pictured in my checkin instructions. Sheesh
We are in two different situations. I’m not waiting on big numbers of groups like that. It sounds like a full time job dealing with all the coordination. I work from home (day job) and I really plan my day around guests arrival. That would mean ONE group of guests, not eight. I see your point. I’m flexible, but if they change their plans by say 30 minutes I want to know. I have lot’s that I can do, including popping over to the grocery store which is a 3 minute drive. Waiting for guests irritates me. If they are just knocking around town and and going to be late, that’s fine. Tell me.