Is this entitled language?

That is what I thought immediately on reading it. Sounds like someone who hasn’t English as first language- which is why some of it sounds strange/weird & curt/ formal.

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oh this is NOT rude. I’ve had way worse.
and you keep asking her to cancel, if anyone is coming off as rude, it might be you.
sorry mate.
She’s chancing it cos she probably does it all the time. Is the English a bit off? If she’s Asian/Indian she won’t leave a bad review, asking for extra is just normal, and being turned down is normal too.

I have these conversations all the time, some guests are most insistent. I’ve even had one group turn up early and told me they are waiting outside the property.

I hear that.
wine is my therapy. I don’t need to “work through” my angst, there’s no fixing this issue. A few glasses of wine, a chat with fellow hosts, and feel just fine to face another day. haha.

actually we’ve had a brilliant summer and no major issues at all, just a few minor problems, January was BME and that’s even with next week only being 50% booked at this stage.

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Wow @house_plants

I have to say I think you are massively over reacting trying to make a guest cancel a booking because she asked if she can check in with you on arrival to see if early check in is available.

And no I don’t think her responses are rude. Is she coming from a country with a different language to yours ?

And then to consider cancelling her booking yourself. Words fail me :grin:

All it needed is ’ I’m afraid early check won’t be possible on the day but on my visitor guide I have recommended some lovely cafes/restaurants/attractions you can enjoy if you arrive early and left luggage facilities are available at xxx’

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Perhaps she’s flying in and her arrival time is way before check in so she thought she would ask. Some hotels will let you check in a little earlier if the room is available so she might think it works the same way. She’s most likely new to Airbnb. Did she have any reviews?

yes, I get a huge amount of early check in requests from newbies. I know they are new but do their brains work? my farm is NOT a hotel, that’s obvious. I don’t have 100 rooms. And frankly, that’s true for ALL airbnbs. why do guests not fathom this?
dont’ answer that… far too many humans don’t actually “think” for themselves.

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Joined in 2021. One review.

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Sounds to me like English is not the individuals first language.

I know some of these guests need educating. Tye place doesn’t clean itself magically. And how do I allow someone to check in before the check out time of the guest staying the night before?

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RIGHT!. I fully agree that guests need educating. The hotel industry never really cared to do this much, instead, they took a CC and punished guests. That worked, but it didn’t alter behaviour, and we also are dealing with a different generation of people, which goes deeper than you think. for a start, 30-something millennials are often still renting, they are not homeowners. i personally love the Gen X and Boomer homeowner demo, cos they know and understand the realities of owning a property. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

Once guests found airbnb the old habits re-emerged, amplified by the entitlement we see in modern generations, and we don’t get any punitive measures. So what can we do when ABB won’t do a damn thing?

I’ve started mentioning in reviews that the guest asked for an early check-in, because I suspect this is a standard pattern from these types of people, and we need to call it out. Politely of course!(not that they care, but other hosts/guests will). Generally, I say “XYZ guest requested and enjoyed early check-in” … this might just stop them from asking for it every time.

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I think it’s more presumptuous than entitled. I’ve had these kind of people too, and I have one booked who requested checking out several hours late. That’s not gonna happen without an extra night being booked.

Some people think if you say no once, if they rephrase and repeat their request you’ll magically say yes. If they get there early, you’ve told them twice that you can’t accommodate them. Point them towards the nearest coffee shop and they can enjoy the local atmosphere.

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I agree that it sounds like non English language as much as entitled language.

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I agree 100x with @helsi.

The majority of my guests are fly-ins. Planes can land well before my check-in time of 4 pm. Almost invariably they ask me if they can check in early. I say that the previous guests will be in the apartment until 11am and then I need to clean and prepare the place.

I’ve never had a guest who hasn’t accepted that explanation. I tell them that they can leave their luggage with me if they wish and that I will text them if the apartment is ready early and suggest places to go.

Although the OP’s guest might only have one Airbnb review she might have been travelling for years and been accustomed to asking ‘just in case’.

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Thing is, house_plants is in the hospitality industry and it might not be the right thing for them. One google definition says: the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.
The initial reply saying; ‘I told her to cancel’ shows nothing of that …(perhaps the host in this case is the entitled one?). I would be quite wary of a host that gets back to me with this attitude.

Now what is the underlying problem? Why are guests asking about early Check In?

How does one get to the island? Driving? Ferry? Do guests have their own transportation? Perhaps the host needs to look at it from the perspective of the guest freshly arrived on the island.
I host in a beach area, so guests want to enjoy more time at the beach and come early. In cases where I can’t offer early check in, I have a luggage drop option or self check in.

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that was my whole intention… I wanted her to cancel because she was asking for something I do not provide… early check-in. I wanted her to conclude that this is not a host she should stay with. I have too many favorable reviews, so she might have given me the benefit of doubt.

I’m pretty sure the demands for things I do not provide will continue from her. I’m just going to keep saying not available.

She told me today she has a rental car and she will be coming from another accommodation. I suggested her to ask for a late check-out at the other place :stuck_out_tongue:

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I used to live in New Zealand, I was the representative for post graduate students-and sometimes I was called upon to help foreign students with their correspondence in English, their second language.
What I found most often was that their correspondence lacked “niceties”, such as “I am arriving in your city much earlier than the check in time listed on your site. Is there any way possible I could come earlier? And if not, can you tell me if there is a coffee shop where I could wait until check in time?”
Instead these foreign students would be brutally direct because they used the English NEEDED to convey their information, which they thought was enough-
This is my long winded way of saying the request reads like it is from a person where English is a second language or they may be using a translating app.
That’s my take!

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I read this as her asking if early checkin is available, and when you answered, “no”, she states that she can live with the “regular” checkin time. Then, after seeing it’s not available for early checkin, she just confirms that you’ll be available to check her in at the “regular” time. At least that is how I would interpret this correspondence.

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I reward people who repeatedly ask for early check-in, either show up early, or don’t check out on time with a 1 * review. I make it clear to everyone that early check-in/late check-out will not be possible. Most don’t harass once it’s clearly written to them.

If they still don’t comply, they will be rewarded with a 1* review.

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I have a guest checking in today who sends me this message at 10:30 AM.

Hello! can we do an early check in? we just landed at ABC and would be great to head there now.

No acknowledgment from the guest that the check-in time is later and how inconvenient this would be for this host and cleaning crew.

I sent him three messages previously asking about approximate check in time. He didn’t bother to respond.

Surely deserves a 1* review.

I am on the fence about this. Unless it is a ‘rule’ you listed and they are referencing the rule, then guests asking you for anything does not require mention in a review.In fact, giving them a lower star rating because they ‘asked’ is really not the way reviews are supposed to work. Just like hosts who come here and say incredulously “they said it was a wonderful stay but they gave me 4stars overall”, reviews are not for punishment… especially when asking for something is simply a request.

Also remember that while to you this is something that is annoying enough to make you think to put it in a review, there are many hosts who see guests asking for something they can provide as a plus. For my airbnb, I never have the ability to provide early etc but I certainly use the request reply as a way for the guest to feel that I am “on their side” and that they leave the interaction with a positive feeling for me as host.

You are in the hospitality business…

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Yes, absolutely. I will do what it takes to please them so they leave me a five star review!

Many times it is not a request. It is a demand. Once it is made clear, it is not available; it should stop. If it doesn’t, then it is harassment at that point.

If you want early check-in, book the night before. But these types of people rarely do that. Why should freeloaders who harass hosts, get five-star reviews?

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