Overstaying Checkout Time

What percentage of your guest overstay your posted checkout time? Do they usually let you know if they’re staying past that point? Do you charge them?

15 guests. Only one overstayed by an hr. So 7%.

He was told it was 11am check out the night before. Left at noon. He was also my only third party booking. He was Indian. Probably around 25 years old (probably wrong). He was a nice guest though.

He didn’t let me know, I woke up at 11.30am and saw he was still in the room.

I didn’t charge him.

Not many stayed passed checkout time, for the ones that did they did not let me know about it, I just saw the clock and they were still at home not packing at all and sleeping. I imagine most of the guests that do not have flight or a trip to elsewhere at the same day would check out late as well because I mostly have to tell them indirectly that check out is 11am when I see them preparing to watch a movie or getting up at 10:50 when my check out time is at 11. Sometimes I just put the cleaning kit and clean linen on a table close to the bedroom at 11:05 so they know I am ready to clean and they should be out. I have back to back bookings so no time can be wasted. I am happy to let guests check in early -if I am home and done with cleaning- but late check out messes everything up.

No charge for late check out. I even wouldn’t know how to charge them.

Only my first ever Airbnb guests overstayed. That was by one hour, their excuse being that they were waiting for a relative to pick them up by car and he had been delayed. I was annoyed because I had more guests coming to the accommodation the same day. But because I was new to Airbnb I didn’t let them know as forcibly as I would now!

My guests are usually good communicators (so far) and so I usually know when new guests are arriving and often, that’s in the early evening. If that’s the case I message the current guests and say that the new ones are arriving late ‘so have a leisurely checkout. By noon will be fine’. But that’s ONLY if I an certain that the new guests won’t be here until about 7pm so I have plenty of time to get the apartment ready. Most guests come by air so I check their flight arrival times so I don’t get unpleasant surprises.

Can’t recall this ever being a problem. If I have back to back guests I tell both parties and remind them of the check out and check in times.

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I had a Thai couple check out about 45 mins late. They also took three showers per day and stained my brand new sheets with body oil. They were my 3rd set of guests ever. As I was new to hosting I didn’t say anything about any of it. Those days are loooong over ;).

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About .05 percent and then not more than an hour over. I’ve never had a problem gettting the room ready in time. I wouldn’t charge.

With 55 sets of guests (many of them have repeated stays but I don’t count them again) I’ve never had a guest stay past checkout time. I have some ask for later checkout (the night before) & when it didn’t interfere with the scheduled cleaning, I’d say yes. Otherwise I’d just explain the cleaner is coming at 11.

I’ve had 45 completed trips so far and haven’t had anyone stay late, that I am aware of. They’re always gone by the time I get home from work. Nobody has shown up early unannounced either. I’ve also only had one guest leave their luggage for the day. They didn’t ask, they just told me they were leaving it. I would have said yes if they’d asked, but the lack of asking was kind of annoying!

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I had one couple who had rented the whole house, and they did check out late, but when I got home, they were sweeping, running the vacuum, windex-ing. PLUS, they left me a cool gift and a $60 tip!

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@brooks
Can I please host them?!

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Early on it was a bit more of a problem - but now I always ‘chat’ with them about their plans ahead of time and make it clear that check-out is 11. Since then, no problems.

If they ask, and I can accommodate them, I would them stay a bit later and not charge them. I figure that, since I don’t give discounts to people who check-in very late or check-out very early, and that benefits me, I won’t charge for early check-ins/late check-outs - IF it fits into my schedule. I have a group who told me they are getting into town in the morning of their arrival - I have the calendar blocked off and will have had time to clean, so I invited them to check-in early and leave their bags. That will be one less thing to think about later in the day. Then, they can come home at any time, and I don’t have to be looking for them, wondering if they are late, and they won’t have to try to find me in the dark. win-win.

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Of the 4 groups I’ve had so far, including one repeat set, every one of them overstayed the nominal checkout time of 11 am. In my case it isn’t a big deal, because I don’t have a tight schedule, though in at least one case it was a bit irritating, because someone else was scheduled to turn up and I didn’t know when. Though fortunately he came late after they had left. I think that couple was the most extreme example - they left at approximately 2 pm.

I have a hard time imagining myself chivvying my guests out of their room, but maybe I shall eventually turn into a hardbitten surly inkeeper sort, and start rattling pans (or something) outside their door at the crack of dawn. And people will start referring to me as “mine host”.

However, alas, like @jacquo, I fear I may have the dreaded “hospitality gene”.

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Hundreds of guests in almost seven years and maybe one blatantly late check out. They were among my first guests and I was a newb. Just don’t have this problem at all. Sometimes they ask and the answer is always, “oh, I’d love to let you, but I have guests coming today and have to clean!” Even if I don’t, that is always the answer. :smile:

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Never happened yet. But I make breakfast for people so during that time we talk about their trip home and stuff, if I get a feeling they want to hang about I tell them they can leave their bags in the sitting room if they want to leave town later, but I need the room by my check out time of 11:30. Works every time :slight_smile:

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I could make a long list of wonderful things I have done at no or very low charge. BUT, hospitality goes two
ways. If someone overstays and you don’t have time to clean the room that isn’t very hospitable to the next guest is it? What if your next guest is ill and desperately needs to check in early? If late check outs don’t interfere with your business though, don’t worry about them.

Hundreds of guest later in two separate places, we’ve taken matters into our own hands. After check in, we leave a note for our guest, thanking them for staying, giving our cell numbers and other items. Amongst them…check out; if the apartment is not rented on their departure date to a same day new arrival, we offer them to check out late. “Make it an extra day”, we call it. Conversely, if the apartment has a new arrival we inform them that ‘sadly’ we can’t extend their stay.
With the first we’ve gotten such gracious thanks and extra awesome reviews (at no cost!!!).
BTW; all of this is automated on our computer and takes 2 seconds to personalize for each customer.

I have had some guest running behind because they don’t know how to properly manage their time. But I can see on camera they are rushing out the door.

I have only had one guest blatanly lie to me. I told him housekeeping would be there at 11 a.m. to prepare for guests checking in that day. Well… I am housekeeping but I don’t tell guests that. So I am watching the cameras and not sure if they already packed the car or what. I think it was at 11 the guy texted and said he was taking his kid for last minute ride on the zipline. Well that was a lie. I texted back 5 minutes later and said cars are waiting to pull in. Then all of a sudden they all come out of the house fast with all their luggage. Nobody had even loaded up yet. Then the guy has the nerve to start taking his kid on the zipline. Everyone is waiting in the car for him and he is in the yard with his kid!

I guess he just never thought I would look at the camera? And he thought housekeeping wouldn’t breathe a word? HA!

nah, you don’t have do become hardbitten OR surly - just bring it up a day or two before “what are your plans for (day of departure)? I was just wondering as I need to schedule the cleaning”. Then if they say "Oh, we’ll mosey out about 1:00, you can just chuckle and say “oh, now, I need to begin cleaning before then. How about 11, which is check-out time”.

as @KKC said, this ‘sharing community’ has to go both ways. If you’re not able to graciously shoo-out the guests, you will resent it and then become hard bitten AND surly. Protect your happiness, protect yourself. And us. We like you the way you are, un-hardbitten and un-surly. ; )

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