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Hi @jaquo,
Well, it sounds like you’ve got a system that works for you. I guess I’ll have to experiment. I’m expecting the guests at some point, not sure when. It’s 9 pm now. I just texted them at 8.30 pm and they replied asking for the exact address. 
Let’s hope they get here before 1 am.
In no time at all I shall be a battle-hardened veteran like you guys, trading war stories.
You will @faheem
I suspect that almost every host is different and so is every rental.
I hope your guests will be with you soon!
Well, they finally got here (at 10.45 pm). They seem pleasant enough, and polite. I hope those aren’t famous last words (fingers crossed).
Hi guys,
Fairly new to hosting - to be more exact: i’m currently waiting on the 2nd guest…
This girl (and a +1) booked 1 night, ETA 3-5PM. Perfect.
After booking, 2-3 days before arrival asked if early checkin was possible. Since my girlfriend mostly works from home, i answered that anything after 10am is ok, as long as she gives a headsup so my girlfriend can plan around.
Then, silence.
Even after i sent 3-4 messages through airbnb and sms, nothing.
Until today at 7, telling me that they would arrive around 11, if that was OK. Again, i’m new, so want to accomodate, and reply that 11 is OK. 15 minutes later i get the message that they will arrive ‘around 12’.
I don’t understand what is going through her head, believing that this is how things work…
Why not get a hotel??
The only think I can say is - most guests aren’t like that (in my experience). Sadly, though, some just don’t understand. I had one guest due at 7:00 pm - contacted me at 7:30 to say it would be 11:00 pm. What clods. I put it down to the price of doing business and renew my gratitude for the nicer guests - and mention in the review that they were not respectful of my time.
Good Luck Hosting!
Umm… Show me where I signed up for that? It might be part of your “business model” but it isn’t part of mine. Hotels have 24 hour check in (well, some do!) Let these guests avail themselves of that business model - it might suit them better.
Edit: just realised that this is a resurrected thread and I’m reply to a comment from last year…
Well… you were wishy washy about the check in time so you made it sound like it was completely open and no big deal when they got there. To prevent this in the future have a FIRM check in time and STICK TO IT.
Every single time I encounter one of these request for special accommodation (early arrival), one side of me says ‘sure’, the other side says ‘wish I could, but can’t’, the latter one is winning now every single time.
Seems you are right, and for most people that is actually quite fine.
So i’ve updated the houserules to a more narrow timeslot (2-8pm), and mention we can be flexible in check in times if confirmed atleast 1 day in advance…
Think of your room like a 24 hour clock. If you charge $24 a night, and you let them in six hours early, you are basically giving away 6 dollars of your rental fee. Just say no. They a re only asking because they think if you are a pushover they can get more than what they paid for. This is a business. I don’t go in a restaurant and demand a free plate of fries because I bought a steak.
Why?? Don’t even put the idea in their head! Why do you want to offer being more flexible unless asked during the inquiry process?
You don’t need to advertise being “flexible” in order to gain bookings. It will just cause you heartache. If you want to make an exception fine…but there is no reason to advertise this.
do you have a rule re use of common areas? In your place, I’d have told her she was too late for checking in. She knew the rules. It sounds like you have good ratings, people like this could affect other guests and thus make their stay worthy of a lower rating. It’s hard dealing with overly entitled folks.
I agree. It’s still wishy washy. Come up with a firm check in time and stick to it! I would find that confusing.
I have to deal with people being late all the time and I have no idea how to fix it … now in trying this message, that Im sending to every one one week before arrival - what do you think? Does anyone have similar experiences?
Hi
First I’d like to stress the importance of you being on time, when you check inn - or call Grith on +4550481206
If you do not do this, she may have to leave and you may not be able to get into the apartment for several hours!
On a happier note, i’d like to share with you 2 links that may make your planing of your trip easier:
http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen-tourist
Hope you have a great stay!
Regards Jacob
I’m sorry to hear about your badly behaved guests
I don’t know if this would help at all. I always agree a specific one hour window with guests for their arrival and confirm check out by 11 a.m. before a booking is confirmed. I remind guests that this is my home and I work so won’t be able to agree either an earlier check in time in the morning or a late night/early hours check in.
I mention there are some hosts that offer this, so if this is important for them they would be better booking with these hosts
I never allow guests to self check - as first impressions are important and I don’t want to be woken up in the early hours. As I walk them around I remind them of the house rules - particularly in terms of using the kitchen, bathroom and late night noise.
I also say I know that sometimes bedding can get stained so leave a spare set in the bedroom and let them know they can change the bedding if something happens but please to leave the stained bedding in a laundry basket in the hallway as soon as it happens, so that I can try and get any stains out.
The day before I confirm joining instructions, remind them of the agreed check in time. If a guest needs to change this by a few hours (within my agreed check in times) I am happy to be flexible.
Fingers crossed (and I know I will regret saying this) I have never had a guest not check in within the required check in time agree, left my place in a mess, not follow my rules, or tried to treat me like a maid.
I do that.
“I reply with check in is until 22:00. If you arrive later, we will not be able to check you in before 08:00 the next morning.”
Surprisingly, people suddenly so manage to be there in time.
Yep. You certainly can put your foot down. The secret is to play dumb. It’s not about being nasty, it’s about not being taken advantage of - you have every right to value your sleep and set a cutoff time.
In your communications with them, ask them what their arrival time will be (and state your times) as you will need to arrange an appointment time for someone to be there to let them in.
Three important points there: you remind them of the available times, you call it an “appointment” (which mentally, they will now know they cannot “miss”) and you indicate that if they are late you will not be there and they will be locked out. They do not know any better than to trust these things and they will not be offended at these three requirements.
No, you do not have to let them in if they intend to arrive at 11.30 or whatever even if they say “thank you for understanding” or “it can’t be helped” - they are being intentionally inconsiderate and didn’t care about you when they did this - so do you want to care about such rude people? You can simply apologise that checkin closes at 10pm and mention that it’s on your listing. AirBnB will NOT ding you if the customer is in the wrong and it was clearly stated. It’s then your decision whether you stick to your guns or give in. I think I’d be tempted not to give in, and suggest that the guest might have to get in contact with AirBnB to make some other arrangement for their first night. But obviously, if it’s an unavoidable problem on the day then things might be different.
And you might need to text the guest at close of checkout time if they haven’t arrived, asking where they are - and if they’re more than 30 minutes away, advise them that check in is closed and they’ll need to contact AirBnB. Now there’s a test of how brave we all are 
Try this:
“Please let me know the time you’ll be arriving. We don’t live at the property, so we need to arrange an appointment time so that someone will be there to let you in.” This tells them that someone is not standing around waiting. Guests who give you a time but then don’t appear on time often do not realise that someone is waiting.
We do live on the property, but we don’t like to wait by the front door endlessly. We have made it a house rule that you have to tell us what time you are arriving. We have an email sent from Airbnb with every booking asking for the arrival time. We ask via the Airbnb email system if the guest still hasn’t told us what time they are arriving. We still have many guests who don’t tell us. Our current guests are some of the most frustrating. They told us that they would arrive at 3:00 P.M. which is our earliest check in time. They arrived at noon which is our check out time. The front door was open as our prior guests were leaving. The current guests barged their way in because they wanted to leave their luggage. Then of course they needed to use the bathroom and get drinks of water.
I do the exact same thing and it works just fine. It took me a while to realize I didn’t have to meet and greet in person. I wonder if GoodbyeSandy could figure out something similar. Sure takes the stress out of arrivals.