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I’m amazed at the nerve some Airbnb guests have. Of course, I blocked him.
He also had a very interesting review from a SuperHost who has over 500 reviews.
J is an entrepreneur. He is trying hard to make a living like the rest of us in his own way. He rents homes in order to grow his business financially. Sometimes it works for him sometimes it doesn’t. It all depends on how nice we are as hosts through the process whether we give him a break and let him stay or kick him out immediately. If you live in an area where complaints are not an issue and will not close you down then all might be okay. The home was left clean thankfully because all my cleaning supplies in every room were gone. His dog helped fertilize my yard at my non pet home but at least I do not have to pay to fertilize my yard. Thanks to the advertising he did online with his vlog he has now helped to promote my space by showing by address along with all the items inside my home. If you want free advertising then J is the guest for you. He is a free spirit living the dream.
Until I read the review I was going to say that sometimes guests honestly don’t realize that they need to book the extra night but in his case, I doubt it.
He is not even pretending. He just wants it free. I think he must have had a lot of success with his techniques with hosts who love to provide early check in late check out for free.
I have had a couple of guests who booked the night before on their own and when I asked them the approximate check in time I realized they won’t be checking in into the next morning. But most who ask are free loaders unwilling to pay.
I doubt that anyone who said they gave early check-ins meant as early as the night before. I offer early check-ins whenever I can but I’m talking about 2pm at the earliest. Usually 3/330 pm. It’s not that big of a deal. Plenty of hosts have regular check-in times that early.
I’d say that it doesn’t hurt hosts for guests to ask. It does a couple of things for us. If the guest asks for a fairly reasonable time (maybe 3-4 hours early) then it’s not difficult for a host who can’t accommodate it to say just no and make an excuse/apology. It’s low stakes. But if a host can accommodate even a mere 30 minutes early then it’s easy kudos for them.
And then if a guest asks for a really unreasonable time then it’s golden, better than anything their profile or reviews would tell us. For instance, I really think it’s ideal that unreasonable fools like this one asks. I hope they ask. I want to know when I’m dealing with someone like this so that I know not to let them stay with me.
Depending on the host I guess, I would think a better way of being offered an early check-in is not to ask for it, but to do as one of my guests did when I asked for her ETA.
“My bus arrives at XX, but I know that’s too early to check in, so I’ll just find a café to hang out in until then.”
I don’t think she was actually using it as some tactic, just answering my question as to when her bus arrived, but because she made no assumptions and didn’t ask, I told her it was fine to check in early.
Maybe for you but not for me. It is an awful deal every way I look at it.
It doesn’t hurt when it is in the inquiry phase. When I get those I promptly block them. But if they ask after booking, it hurts. I have had negative reviews from guests for who I did not give early check-in (and one person explicitly stated that in the review). Now I think of it, I should try to get that review removed as a retaliatory review.
I don’t want to host any freeloaders and most of the people asking for early check-in and late check-out are freeloaders. I do my best to weed them out.
Yes, it sounds like we’re having different experiences. It’s not very common that someone actually asks. When I offer an early check-in or a late check-out 99% of guests don’t take me up on it but they appreciate it anyway. It’s a nice perk to offer, good for reviews which are good for business. And it’s a really normal and expected part of the hospitality business.
What time is your check-in? Maybe it’s too early. If you have a 3:00 check-in then you could change it to 4:00 and then be able to give early check-ins.
If it’s already 4:00 then don’t underestimate the effect of 10 or 15 minutes. I’ve been tight with turnovers, doing 2 or 3 different units in a day and it’s crazy but can still find 10 or 15 minutes to give. It doesn’t sound like much, but it is, you’re giving something, that’s what counts. You send the message, “if you’d like to check in early…”. Even a mere 10 minutes does it.
It’s a different hosting model, Tico. I live in a touristy little beach town in Mexico, leave a night between bookings and have an 11am-11pm check-in time, but have accommodated guests whose bus arrived at 9am or as late at 1am. My check out time is up to 4pm.
But many hosts do same day turnovers, with a check out time of 11am and check-in at 3pm, having to clean and restock a 3 bedroom house in a few hours, have self-check-in and never even meet their guests.
It’s more just a business, than a human interaction experience. Neither is right or wrong, it’s 2 different types of hospitality business.
Yes, I’m in the hospitality industry but I operate as a business. I have been burned by many guests so I need to protect my business so I can provide hospitality to the quality guests.
I offer early check in if they are willing to pay for the night before. Those guests are rare. Many are decent people who understand that early check in is not possible if they want a clean place. And then there are free loaders, like the guy in my original post. But I know it’s all part of being in the business.
Just a small point on the review: Dog poop is actually not a good fertilizer because dogs are carnivorous. That’s why you’re not supposed to put dog or cat poop in compost.
Wait!
We can block people making inquiries just because they make ridiculous, unreasonable requests that tell us they are nothing but trouble – even if they aren’t abusive? How do we do that?
