No call, no show

We just had our first no call, no show from a guest. What do you guys typically do in this case? I feel like we should message them and at least check on them? If we do, Im concerned they’d want a refund. I’m not even opposed to that, but I doubt Airbnb would choose to refund them per their TOS.

What’s your thoughts on how to handle this?

Collect the money, jump up and down, say “Yippee!” and “Next!”.
My first guest that did this I got all worried and tried contacting them and Airbnb. They had booked two weeks with an intervening vacant weekend. Turns out they were relocating for a new job and found an apartment quicker than expected. I reminded them to timely cancel the second week if they wanted any refund, but they didn’t bother.
So I got over that approach pretty quickly. Decided I’m running a business, I’m not your Mom.
I guess they only reason to contact is if it’s lengthy reservation, you think you can fill the vacant days, AND you think they’ll have a valid excuse under the new extenuating circumstances to get their money back, but I wouldn’t bother.

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Nope. They are the perfect guests. :slight_smile:

Whatever has happened to the guests, you can’t alter anything by contacting them so it’s just a waste of your time.

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Thanks for the feedback everyone. It feels weird to not at least ask. I get it’s a business, but at the same time the personal feel is what makes Airbnb better. Either way, I see how it can complicate things.

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We would do nothing at all. They are adults and made decisions. For them to pull any EC bs they would probably have to contact Air in the first 1-2 days of the booking. Contacting them has only risk associated.

How long is the booking? Maybe you can get double money out of it :slight_smile:

Well, thanks for the advice. I’m really glad I didn’t take it. It was a couple who had booked our property following their wedding. I wrote them and said, “We noticed you two didn’t check-in at all last night. We hope everything is good and that the wedding went well. While Airbnb’s policies won’t allow us to refund your stay after the fact (we would if we could) we wanted to message and make sure all is well. Sorry we missed the opportunity to host you.”

They immediately called me as they were off by a day on their booking and though they were staying tonight instead of last night. We were able to sort it out and I don’t have them showing up trying to get into the property with tonight’s guest already here.

Guess caring pays off.

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Good job, @WinsomeLoft! Now that I am full self-check-in, I would likely do as the others and let the guests sort themselves out if I didn’t see a car in the parking spot. But back when I met guests, I did send an “Are you okay?” to a guest after a few hours, and then again the next day of their two-day booking. They never showed, and did not get in touch until the next week, when they decided they wanted a refund. Blamed various nonsense things for having not shown, including a non-existent storm, but when they settled upon telling CS they had tried to reach me but couldn’t, there was proof in the messaging that I had “reached out.” They got no refund, and those were the lovely days when their scathing revenge review was removed with little fuss. Sigh.
Glad all turned out well with yours.

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It’s great to be able to come to host forums and get feedback, but in the end hosts have to do what feels right to them. I’ve never had a no-show, but if I did, I’d also message to see what was up. Maybe they got lost and didn’t have cell reception or their phone was dead, or they misplaced your number, maybe they got in a car accident, you never know.

Many hosts would tell me, I’m sure, that being concerned if my guest didn’t come home at night is silly- that they’re adults and it’s just a business relationship. But as the mom of 3 grown daughters, I can’t help but worry and if I have a single female guest in residence who seems to be AWOL; I’ve texted to say “You okay?” because I actually care. And those women have told me they appreciated it- they’re in a new place, no family or friends around to notice if they could be missing or in trouble, it makes them feel secure to realize that someone is concerned for their welfare.

And because I host solo travelers, I ask them for emergency contact info soon after they arrive. If they should happen to have a bad accident, or get super sick, or go missing, I think it’s good to know who they would like me to contact.

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Agree. I think it was last year, 2 cases Occurred of Airbnb guests going missing.

Going from memory—One was an elderly couple found alive partially in thanks to a caring host who alerted Authorities when something about their stay was “not right” (Maybe checked in, left and never returned?)

Another case was similar but I think ended badly.

I’ve checked on guests Out of concern (not a where Blank blank ARE YOU) and it was well received

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I started asking for emergency contact info when a female guest checked in, and then went off to town for the evening, saying she had friends staying at another Airbnb and they were getting together for dinner and drinks. I went to bed at some point, but when I got up in the morning, it was obvious she’d never come home. I figured they’d all had a bit to drink and she just spent the night at their place. I wasn’t really worried- she was in her mid forties and a seasoned traveller, but I texted just to make sure she was okay, since it’s a 20 minute walk to my place from town, who knows what could have happened.

Turned out my guess was right, she’d spent the night with her buddies, and I apologized for having a “mom brain” but she said she really appreciated the mom brain. Then , since I’ve never been a guest, I asked her if Airbnb asks guests for emergency contact info. She said she couldn’t remember, and checked her account, told me there was a place for that, but that she’d never filled it out.

So if something bad did happen to a guest, chances are, even Airbnb wouldn’t know who to contact. And if a guest did just disappear for days and wasn’t answering their phone or texts, it would be a relief if you had say, their brother’s number, who said, “Oh, he does that all the time. We used to worry, but we had to stop, he’s very spontaneous, never tells anyone his plans. Good of you to be concerned, but he’ll show up again at some point, you can relax.”

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It feels weird, and I agree but I wouldn’t contact them. We feel, because of the work we put in, that there is a relationship between host and guest, but in the end, it is a business. Not a friendship. I’d let it go and be happy for the “easy” rental. :+1:

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Nothing, nothing at all.

RR

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Yeah, in general we’ve had nothing but really good guests that mean well. Out of many hostings we’ve only had two bad experiences, and neither were severe. We’re actually going to allow them to stay next weekend instead and even added a day at no charge. It’s a little get away for them post wedding so we like to help out where we can. They didn’t ask for it, we just offered. We will just block those days off and go off the Airbnb grid.

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He sure would have, right in the middle of another guests stay. :rofl:

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Haha. I was actually meaning a guest who checks in, is around for a day or so, and then, without mentioning anything about going off for a few days, just isn’t in evidence at all. Of course, with a entire house rental, the host may not be at all aware of this, but it’s a bit different with a home-share.

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I live and host in a community with a community watch. At least twice a day a community watch person goes by every house. If they see a garage door open at 3 am, or multiple papers in the driveway, they call to make sure everyone is alright. So they call me, for my rental homes.

I’ve had to make it clear to our guests to tell us if they are going away for a few nights in the middle of their stay so we can put the newspaper on hold.

I see this is sorted now but I’m in the camp of those who contact the guest. Not doing so feels weird. Like I live here I’m not going to ignore the fact my guest is a no show.

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To me contacting a no show seems like it would prompt a conversation about a refund, and since the property was booked and blocked I would not be willing to refund.

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I have contacted no-shows more than once. No one ever asked me for a refund as a result of my contact. Guests have told me they were sick and decided not to travel, they had travel delays, or they spent extra time along the way doing something fun. No one has minded my contact.

I have also occasionally knocked on the bedroom door of a guest whom I know has to be somewhere at a certain time and it’s getting late. Several guests have been very appreciative, because they slept through their alarm. No one has been upset.

I also knock on their door if it’s checkout day, and it’s nearly time to leave.

I once knocked on the bathroom door when a guest fell asleep in the bathtub and was snoring. She was very glad I woke her up.

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Yeah, ours is a dedicated detached space but we have things like cameras and notifications when they unlock the door, etc. We don’t watch it like a hawk but when I went to bed around 1 AM there was still no cars nor had the door been unlocked. We have a high-tech setup for sure. We can even tell when their device joins the LAN, device type, etc.