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I’m relatively inexperienced and I have just learned a big lesson. Basically I have been super flexible with people checking in and I don’t have a huge check-in procedure other than to sit down and chat with them for a minute and kind of take their measure. Then I usually give them a tour of the house. And that’s about it.
What I recently learned is that being so flexible about check-in times is a huge mistake. I had a guest come in from Baltimore who was clearly here to party with friends which is totally cool. However this dude did not show up until about 4 in the morning and I realized then how important it is to me to meet these people. Because I noticed that I could not sleep until this dude was already here and in bed or whatever. Additionally he brought a different bed partner home with him each night. I don’t care what people do in bed but I don’t know these people and I didn’t agree to have them in my house.
Also do you give keys to your house out to people? I don’t give keys to people because I don’t feel comfortable with it. I might get one of those coded thingies so I don’t have to worry about it. Just trying to figure out if I’m alone in this and perhaps being unreasonable or if others feel this way too about giving out keys to their home.
There are certainly many options for keyless entries, and I know many of the posters here use cameras as well.
We bought a keypad entry at Home Depot for about $100. It can be programmed to have up to 8 unique codes. Installation was pretty easy.
Whenever a new guest books, my husband adds their phone number to the door code (7 digits). It’s something they don’t have to memorize, and as soon as they leave we deactivate that number. Since the lock takes multiple codes, each guest can have their own. Our personal code is our anniversary, which is a fantastic way to get my husband to remember it!
We love love love this lock. It’s so much better than a key lock even for everyday use, and there’s no chance of getting locked out by accident.
We probably wouldn’t have accepted a booking from this guy in the first place to be honest. Absolutely nothing wrong with partying but maybe the guy’s needs would have been better served by a hotel. We’re pretty lucky that most people who visit our area are here for outdoorsy tourism so they are generally pretty reliable and we have no problem with giving them a key.
I used to give out keys. Now I have a digital lock but I sometimes don’t give the code and give them keys instead. I used to have self check in guests late at night but yeah it was much harder to sleep when I knew they’d be coming through the house. Now they have their own entrance.
Put it in your house rules that no one but the registered guests are allowed. I charge for two people and it sounds like you don’t. Picking up random local people and having them in your house with possible access to your keys is a terrible idea. I’d be changing my rules and the locks if I were you. You need a check in window of time that only gets violated in case of emergencies.
Yeah I have now added a window of time for check-in. And now I will also add the bit about the only people staying in my house or those who are registered guests. Live and learn.
We always try to get a feel for why potential guests are visiting the area. If they haven’t volunteerd the information in their initial enquiry, we ask them for a bit more information before we accept.
@Geddy3, do people actually tell you things like, “I’m going to my college room mate’s weekend long bachelor party. Since I’m still single, I plan on hooking up with a different bimbo every night and bringing her back to your place.”
Well, you know what Chloe, no they don’t. But they do say things like, “My sister and I are visiting Cornwall from Germany as part of a tour around the South of England and we’re planning to walk a section of the coast path”, or “we’re really looking forward to visiting the art galleries in St Ives” etc etc. So you can kind of make an educated guess as to what your guest is going to be like. It’s not fool proof of course, but if we got an enquiry from a young single man who didn’t mention any particular reason for visiting the area I’d be a little wary.
I’m in agreement with both of you. My takeaway is to ask questions to get an idea if I can. Not everything can be foreseen however, even if you talk to them. As another poster once said, buyers are liars.
@Geddy3, It’s certainly good to vet guests that way, and I do it too. Most of my guests give me an idea about their visit when they make contact, so that’s good. I just worry that someday someone is going to tell me they’re having a quiet girls only mani pedi weekend with only their closest friends, when indeed they plan on hosting a glitter filled sex rave or something, and I’ll fall for it.
Yes live and learn. Many hosts start out being easygoing and flexible and then eventually get burned.
You seriously cannot want this type of guest so put a stop to people thinking they can act this way. If you don’t say something and lay down boundaries they will do whatever the heck they want.
Take charge! Is is your home and your peace of mind.
I’ve heard from several people on this forum that a woman had inquired as a professional girl wanting a quiet girl’s weekend with a friend. And when they left all the evidence was a hooker and had several “friends” stay.
Yes, we had been very flexible until we had a guest that was young, single, went to a wedding, hooked up and had him eat breakfast with us the next morning. Then after the weekend high jinks, she took her sweet time to leave, even though I had mentioned that we had new people coming and she could see that I was trying to clean up the place. I tried not to be a b!tch, but I had to be firm and blatantly tell her she had to go. That’s all you need. That one person to force you to come up with rules and check-in/out times.
My party girl Jennifer was probably not a hooker even though described herself as a quiet professional looking for sun. Yeah right. . She did bring extra people over. I had to stop their party and tell the guy to go home. But aside from that she was still a bad bad guest. The worst four days of my life.
