Is this entitled language?

61

I agree about there being effective and non-effective ways to say no. A lot of people are so wrapped up in what they need or want that they never think past that. Like it bizarrely never occurs to them that they aren’t booking a hotel with dozens or hundreds of rooms, and there may very well be guests still in the unit from the night before, so obviously they can’t check in at 8am.

Giving people a logical explanation for why you can’t accommodate some request, no matter how stupidly obvious it seems, can help them understand why their request isn’t reasonable or doable.

1 Like
62

I just say "oh I’m so sorry, we can’t do that because we need to make sure it’s scrupulously clean for you and that takes time! I think people ask for early check in only because their plane lands several hours before check in, they don’t know the city, etc. I always view them as someone nervous about being in a strange town, not some “free loader”-
I try to suggest places they can go before check in - but now that things have been so dreadfully slow for months I’d probably jump at them getting in early.

3 Likes
63

update: I requested her to book the night before but she declined. I blocked the night before so she could check in really early. I bent over backwards to be nice to her and extracted a five-star review from her.

I also rewarded her with a 1* on communication and house rules, since she caused a lot of extra work for me. I also wrote up her behavior about unreasonable expectations and not booking the night before in the review.

I gave her the option to cancel with a full refund, but she didn’t. She was overall an unprofitable guest for me because of all the extra work she caused me and having to block the night before. No damage done to my property, and reviews, so I can continue with my business. I know in this business sometimes you have to take a temporary hit for long term profitability and she was just that.

I plan not to go so hard on someone who wants an early check-in, so my risk of a bad review is minimized. Instead I will use some of the text other people have used (even though much of it is not applicable to me).

While I wish my review would give her a tough time finding other places and other hosts wouldn’t have to endure her, I know Airbnb will force other hosts to put up with her.

2 Likes