I don’t have tourists so this isn’t an issue for me but it I did have tourists I would seriously considering buying some sort of locking storage device that my guests could rent. From the tourist side of the issue I’m very sympathetic. It’s a real pain to take your luggage with you or to another location that might not be at all convenient.
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I have 90% tourists and because of international flight paths and schedules, most international flights leave Melbourne between 9pm and the wee hours of the morning. I have had many guests have the forsight to book that extra night and leave around 8pm, others have a car rental and take their bags and for the in the car at checkout, they can take their luggage and store it at the main transit bus station in the city where you get the bus to airport anyway. I am 30 metres from the tram to the city and they got the bag here so I feel no obligation to hold it. I do allow late check out for free though if people ask me either in advance when booking at least a week or I like them (lol) and I don’t have guests coming that day or the next but I always confirm the late check out in ABB messages so I am covered. If they are painful, Sayonara at 10, ‘so sorry the cleaner is coming.’
We just got REAMED for this in our latest review. We had a group of of people visiting from France, there are about 1000 nonstops to/from Barcelona every day on almost every carrier, they booked a very early flight on their arrival day and a very late flight on their check out day. The first day I did my typical we charge XX for early check in (which I even took off a bit bc they were ‘only’ checking in at 12). Then at 21:00 the day before check out they messaged asking if they could leave their luggage until 15:00, check out it 11:00. Well it took me a few hours to respond, because it was NEW YEARS EVE! They sent a follow up, ‘did you get out message’…at that point I was over it. I politely responded that unfortunately bc of liability reasons you can not leave you luggage without a changing your check out to the next day, bc ABB liability does not cover you and me after the stated check out time. This is actually true. Well they blasted me in the review, giving 5 stars for everything except Communication, Arrival, and one other area. Luckily the review was in French, so I’m not too worried.
We have learned over the last 7 year of hosting, ‘leaving luggage’ does not mean just popping in and getting said luggage. It means using the loo, taking a rest on the couch/bed, maybe making a cup a tea, or having a beer. My stance is now NO, absolutely, NO WAY. You are more than happy to book another night at full price, I may even give you a slight discount, but NO WAY can you just leave luggage.
Picking up wine and getting off soap box.
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I’ve often thought that if I wasn’t able to look after guests’ luggage in my own apartment then I would fit a deck box like one of these somewhere outside with a keypad padlock.
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Interesting discussion. I’ve run into this issue more than once, as detailed in a couple of places on this site.
I’m actually thinking of constructing a box rather like the one that @jaquo just linked to, though I’m not familiar with the term “deck box”. Presumably some nautical thing. Though I’ll have mine custom made. There’s a place at the foot of the stairs leading to my guest room where I can keep it, but there is not much space, so the measurements will have to be quite precise.
I’m not sure yet what I’ll do with it, but we don’t currently have anything that could be called a storage box, certainly not anything that could be used to store luggage in.
I was initially thinking of making it of aluminium (I like aluminium), but it’s possible that aluminium is not a suitable material for constructing such a box. Other alternatives include iron/steel or wood. But we’ve historically had termite problems here, so I’m not keen on wood. In theory plastic (UPVC?) is an option, but I don’t know where I could get a large plastic box custom made. I also don’t know if it would strong enough. Though https://www.amazon.com/Lifetime-60012-Extra-Large-Deck/dp/B0030GG2GC/ is made of plastic, for example, so it’s possible.
Like @jaquo, I initially thought of putting a keypad padlock (or combination lock) on the box, but I don’t know how hard that would be. And there’s not a large variety of high-tech keypad locks available here, or combination locks. So I was leaning in the direction of using a key lock box.
One of my people thought that letting guests have unrestricted storage access after they left was risky. Possible scenarios. They could come back “later” and leave anything there - think drugs. And/or leave stuff there for a week while they tour India. The drug possibility is hard to guard against, but for people who are about to leave the country (not uncommon here) it’s unlikely they’re going to leave stuff here for any length of time. And one can always verify this by asking to see their tickets/boarding passes. But it might be worth having the box just for guests who want to stop by early to leave their bags. Though I don’t know if one should encourage that.
Like many other places (as reported by people here) it’s extremely difficult to find places to leave luggage in Bombay. So there is certainly a need for this kind of service.
Thoughts?
I don’t have any useful thoughts on the material for your proposed lockbox but I do think it is an excellent aim to provide this service. I am lucky that I’m able to allow luggage drop-off/pick-up and guests really do appreciate it enormously. On the subject of security, I tend to go with statistics. Really, what are the odds that your Airbnb guests are going to stash drugs/contraband there? Very very low odds, I would say. Possibly the same odds as a psychopath axe-murderer booking your place? And you’re willing to bet on that by being a host…
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I had a guest who cancelled his second day of a two day reservation because they were going to head on home after the football game. They forgot about their little dog they brought! I offered to keep him in the house in a kennel but they said he would bark incessantly. I could keep him outside in our fenced yard but the barking would still be a problem.
Fortunately, the next guests wanted to check their bags in early so they could attend the football game.
The 2nd guest let the 1st guest leave their dog in the apartment in a kennel during the game and the 2nd guests got to check in early and leave their bags. Both parties left happy.
Plus the little dog was cute, cute, cute and I love dogs so I asked if I could take their dog for a walk and potty mid-game.
I wouldn’t do this for everyone, but the 1st guest was a regular and the 2nd ones were returning alumni.
I love happy endings.
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If so, that’s an advantage that you can offer over other accommodation? Could that be a USP?
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Deck boxes are heavy duty plastic that come flat packed and you assemble them. Most people use them to store outdoor sports equipment or garden furniture cushions so they stay dry when not in use. It might be a better if you found one online instead of trying to get one made. They are locakable and sturdy, mine is 16 years old?
I’d suggest charging a nominal fee per day and have a 2 day limit, or ask a huge amount for any days after 2, this would deter those who would leave it for weeks. I’d expect the box would pay for itself after a few months.
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Hi @faheem. My recollection is that your main dwelling and the attached guest accommodations are within a compound with a perimeter wall and manned by a gatekeeper. I have a romanticized vision of it being like the walled compounds of China (think, The Good Earth/Pearl S. Buck) with the gate entrance being a good distance from the entrance to the dwelling(?).
If this is the case, is there space for such a shed to be placed along the wall somewhere near where the gatekeeper is posted? It’s not to have him guard or manage the luggage shed but for the convenience of the guest to drop-off/pick up luggage from that point rather than entering the living quarters.
Wouldn’t having the storage shed under the stairs to the guest quarters prompt guests to want to use the facilities while they are there to drop off/pick up their luggage?
(I took a dinner break and came back to new posts and it appears the storage container is more of a Rubbermaid type box, so I’m waa-ay off base. Sorry, ignore me.)
I tell people to use Schwartz Travel on 37th Street. Greyhound used to take luggage even if you weren’t a ticketed rider, but they’ve now discontinued the luggage storage service.
At most train stations or populair places there are lockers for luggage. We always advice our guests to store it there, so they can enjoy the city one more day and then they do not have to go all the way back, to collect the luggage. Most guests does not see it then as a rejection, but as a smart tip that saves them time. Win Win…
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Do you know what the prices are for that service? Here in DC Union Station has a service but it is terribly expensive - over $20 an hour for a large bag.
I’m also a bit out of the city so it doesn’t often happen that people want to leave bags after check-out. Dropping off early is easy, as they can leave their bags in my living room and they don’t go into the guests space.
Once I charged because they wanted to leave their bags for over a week as they traveled the US - and it was a huge pain because I was running errands on the day of pick-up and they weren’t communicating their schedule well. I was glad I charged.
Left luggage services here in London are £8 for 24 hours. Not particularly expensive.
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It really depends on your setup. I have a keypad deadbolt, which I highly recommend, so if a guest asks to leave their luggage for a few hours it doesn’t impact me at all. They are out, I can do any necessary cleaning or whatever needs to be done, and they just step in the door at some point to get the luggage.
I would not let them leave luggage if they needed to keep a key to do it. Unless maybe I had a way to secure just a foyer (if I had a foyer) so that they could leave their luggage in there and drop the key, but no longer be able to get into the main apartment/house after checkout.
Another possibility is building or buying a small shed or even a large lockable box that you could put somewhere on the property and give them the combo. Make sure in your house rules they are told that you bear no liability for lost or stolen luggage, and the locked place is provided as a convenience should they choose to use it at their own risk.
But basically, I would say, DO NOT ALLOW IT if it creates any kind of inconvenience to you after check-out time. For me, if I had to wait around (or really, even see) the guest after check-out time, I would not allow it. But I think it’s good hosting to accommodate this if you can. Many visitors do not have cars and they might have an 8pm flight out, and literally nowhere to put their stuff. I can sympathize with that.
That is very cool. I did not even know that existed. (I am in the U.S.)
You have left luggage in the US too 
I had a guest “accidentally” post a couple of small gifts to my home instead of to their mother who lives in the same village. She was very nice about it, and apologetic and asked if I wouldn’t mind dropping them off at her mums. I tried 4 times and no one was ever home. Plus it is some kind of old age peoples place with no letter box and electronic entry system.
I still have the stupid things in the house. Its only a book and some weird plastic egg poaching things… but wth.
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a friend host of mine overheard her guest on check out day talking about how she might stay another night and my friend was like lololol no. BOOKED SRY.
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You reminded me of Alton Brown’s video about unitaskers. Here’s your laugh for the day everyone. Warning: dirty jokes.
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