This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I know this topic has been asked a lot, but as a somewhat new host, I’m just wondering if I’m expecting too much. Honestly to me, it seems fair that if you’re entrusting your home to a stranger, there should be a minimum of communication required. With automatic lock seem to take all personal hosting away. Heres a couple examples.
Guest checks in, we know because they all seem to log on to internet immediately, and xfinity notifies me each time someone logs online for the first time. I wait a bit, and message the guest to make sure they arrived safely and found property as expected and let them know Im always available. No response until 2 days later.
Guest instant books, despite my request for information, just sends message " its just me" or “thank you” or nothing at all.
Even hotels ask for a minimum of information, where is common courtesy or basic communication. How do other hosts deal with this?
It helps if you are there to personally greet your guests, show them around, and hand them the wifi access information. Establishing personal contact IMHO is important. Otherwise you’re a non-entity. At LEAST make them ask you what the computer access codes are!
I do not care, I do not need to know why you are coming, I do not need to “vet” you. All I need is a valid credit card and a pulse (at check in) . I do not care if you even show up or not. I do not require that you are verified, or if you have prior reviews.
In 3 years I have not had a “bad” guest. Some are more messy, some towels have been stained and some guests I would not have back.
I hate non-communicators. There’s no valid excuse for not responding for 2 days to a host’s nice message asking if the guest has checked in okay and to let the guests know you’re available if they need anything. It takes all of 1 minute to say, Yes, all good, thank you.
I agree with Ken, IB and self-check-in make this sort of guest non-response more likely. The host just becomes some faceless entity to these self-absorbed, no manners types.
As you have already seen, you will get rather different views and answers. Our stay is in our house with a separate entrance. We have used IB but that was pre-C. Like @KenH, we do believe in communication between booking and check-in.
For us, there are various reasons. In no order:
Hospitality (“thank you for choosing us. Please let us know if we can assist in “places to go / things to do””)
Validate size and composition of booking party (we do not allow young children)
Get names, ages and addresses for ALL guests
Validate the guest has reviewed house rules, etc
When possible, we do check-ins in person. It’s mostly hospitality. Pointing out certain amenities and features including our guidebook. It allows us to see possible red flags - so far lucky there. It probably helps that our stay is for 1-3 people and we live on site.
The day after check-in, we send out a short “just touching base to see if you have everything you need, and if you may have any questions or would like recommendations on restaurants, etc”.
Our guests are just as varied as people in an in -person setting. Some say nothing and other chat endlessly. The only time I comment is if a guest is relatively new to Airbnb. We meet our guests in person. I would tell someone that they will get more reservation acceptances and better reviews if they communicate just a little more when they inquire or instant book.
This situation with me seems to happen more with elderly folks but it’s NOT because they’re being inconsiderate. They’re not very tech savy, probably like me, despise the tiny keyboards on cellphones. I wouldn’t worry about.
This is a tough one for me because I do think every host has different expectations when it comes to communication. My husband and I are frequent Airbnb guests as well as hosts. Unfortunately where we live in Colorado, many of the rentals in ski towns are corporate-owned, where communication is sparse, especially on the app. They’ll send us an email with the check-in instructions and will prompt us to call a front desk number if we need anything and that’s about it. So I can understand guests who come from that may just not understand the difference between a small business and a large property management company.
Also, I think guests have certain expectations depending on the type of stay. Our listing is a completely separate apartment and we note on the listing that we prefer not to interact with guests in person - those who book with us typically want a hands-off experience and simply want to go about their business while they are here.
I will say though - I really struggle with leaving reviews when there is little communication from a guest. Especially if they just left the space ‘okay’; nothing to complain about but nothing special either. I often feel like I don’t have enough information to give a thorough and honest review!
For me it’s been the opposite. The millenials who’ve grown up in the texting era tend to send 5 word messages when they request to book, like “Arriving at noon”, or “Looking forward to coming”, when I haven’t even accepted their booking yet.
But when I reply in a friendly, chatty manner, with a few questions to determine if they’ve actually read the listing info, they come back with much more forthcoming messages, so it’s not so bad.
I really don’t care why they’re coming and as most of our guests are BDC I’m not sure they’d appreciate being interrogated pre check in.
If I don’t get an ETA by mid evening the night before check in, I’ll either call or WhatsApp them. Here in Spain, the latter almost always seems to work, especially when I tell them that if they don’t give an ETA then they may have to hang about to get the keys. A bit of a fib, but it works for us.
That said, we’re not in home hosts, and if we were, we’d have a very different outlook.
Honestly, I feel much differently about it now than I did when I first started hosting. I’m not sure if having more experience has just given more confidence in people or if I’m just burned-out and don’t care so much, but I really now appreciate the guests who are independent and to the point, e.g., “thanks, that sounds great!” over the ones who want to be chatty. I get an equal amount of one-liners and multi-paragraph chatty-cathys and I know how to cater to each of them, but now prefer the former for the…lack of extra work
Honestly, I am the same. I don’t really need to know why you are coming. Of course, I would feel better if they told me but I also don’t tell a hotel what I am there for. So I don’t expect the guest to tell me either.
I also don’t care about communication with guests. I don’t need to know why they are coming here and if I’m staying somewhere, I don’t particularly want to be asked why I’m in the area. I don’t need to know the names of their companion. I don’t need anything except the stay dates.
It’s a business transaction after all. The guest is paying me for accommodation for a few days and that’s that.
For hosts who want more communication, it’s a good idea to make sure that the guests know why you need the information. For example, if your local authority needs the names of all guests prior to the stay, say so. If your STR insurance requires that you need specific information, say so.
I also find that it’s a good idea to communicate with the guest the way they prefer (text, phone, email) keeping only important details on the app. Some don’t like adding yet another app to their phone every time they buy, order or rent something.
On arrival day all I need is for them to call/text when they’re about 15 minutes away. Because I meet & greet (masked and distanced) they don’t get their door code until they get here.
Why is that I wonder? I’m always interested in regional differences probably because I’ve hosted in two places, several thousand miles apart.
I’m having a similar issue except they have not checked in yet. I do not allow instant booking. I have reached out twice - once as a response to their booking request (asked some questions) and also I text them to establish local communication when they arrive. They have not responded to either. This is a first for me.
Am i overthinking?
I agree it’s a business transaction, I think I just want to know everything is good in order to prevent problems. I’m trying to loosen up, really everyone has been pretty good, other than one group of guys, which I expected.
