Another thing to consider is that you cannot rely on the previous guest who said they will be leaving at 6 a.m. Sure…they may have a flight to catch so there is a 99% chance they will be out of the door on time. But if they change plans for any reason, then they are still entitled to the regular check out time that they paid for.
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Just remember that you are not covered by the Host Guarantee outside of you posted check-in to check-out times for the reservation… Early check-ins are at your own risk.
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I’m with Jaquo that if I can accommodate something easy, in my case groceries fall into that category, I will gladly do it. I have never had an issue with guests paypal’ing my the money.
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Oftentimes the request is not to ‘go shopping’ for them per se, just to pick up a few things, to hold them over till they get sleep and then be able to go themselves and shop at length. That is cool. Major shopping? Why I have them buy their own, who knows what people like and don’t.
Once I had flexible hours, no more.
Actually they do at my place if they ask in advance. So yes for the woman coming Saturday morning I have blocked off Friday. She is coming in early in the morning sleeping in the day and leaving Sat night. Now if I were booked every night I might not do this but since there is a less than 50% chance the room will be booked on Friday I accepted her request.
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I’m assuming this is for the reason Magwitch mentioned below
Sorry fellow hosts.
So many risks, what’s one more?
That’s fine and dandy if you don’t have guests checking out the same day. I’m usually fully booked so I am not going to inconvenience my current guests check-out because somebody thinks they are so special they deserve to arrive when they want. It’s nice that you can afford to block off the day before and forfeit that income. I can’t.
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If one wants to take that risk, that’s up to them. I don’t think most people read the fine print of the guarantees, etc. So, since I read through it the other day, I figured it would be something worth mentioning.
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It is true that I can afford it. I’m retired with a pension. Depending on airbnb income would be too risky for me. 
Cabinhost…me as well. Call me cheap or whatever, but the way I think about it is that the guests have bought a certain amount of time from me. Why shoudk I give away what I have to sell!!!
If I went to a ski resort,my lift ticket gives me time on the slopes from 8 to 4. Why should I storm in there and demand they let me in early?
Know what I mean? I am with Cabinhost. Even if the flat is ready, my check in time is 4pm. I now have guests trained not to even dream of asking if they can come early. 
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I don’t think it is cheap at all. If I had noticed a pattern of guests leaving glowing reviews, etc. for me allowing a very early check in (no same day check out) then maybe my view would be different.
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Before accepting a booking request I ask guests to confirm they have read the entire listing description, house rules, and check in/check out times. Plants the seed in their head…lol
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Clearly something i need to start doing 
And there you have it friends. If checkin or check out favors resulted in glowing reviews, we sure as hell haven’t seen them.
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Looks like we’re lining up here into Softies vs Toughies … it must be obvious here that I’m the Queen of the Softies but luckily I’m married to a T so he prevents me lying down so guests can walk all over me and we usually end up with a sensible compromise.
On the whole I’m with @jaquo and @azreala here and probably would pick up groceries if asked nicely, but since I provide a breakfast basket for guest’s first day and tell them this, the question shouldn’t arise.
This thread has made me think further about check-in times though. I think my listing says it’s flexible and I notice we’ve had a lot of people arriving at 10 or 11am as flights from Northern Europe are cheaper in the early morning. I always have a day between guests for cleaning and I recognise I’m lucky to be able to do that, but we’re now going to put a 3 pm check-in and say in the pre arrival email “If you have an early flight, please let us know and we’ll see if we can accommodate you” At least they won’t then be taking it for granted! See, Tough Gurus, I’m learning!
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I’m definitely with the gentle refusers here…
The thing is, by making these demands she’s stealing your opportunity to be generous… I like to operate with the ‘promise less, deliver more’ mindset - I know guests will arrive tired, so I like to ‘gift’ some small items so they can relax when they arrive without rushing out to shop for groceries - teas, coffee, some fresh milk, a small loaf (or couple of buns/crumpets/croissants, some jam, and either a small collection of biscuits or wee cakes. This is beyond my listed offer, and guests are always delighted, though it costs me very little. If I were to respond to a request like you’ve received, it takes that opportunity to ‘gift’ away, and makes the dynamic less about hospitality (which we all appreciate - giving it as well as receiving it) and more about ‘service’ which has a very different feel, and a new precedent for what then becomes expected. You’ll not be able to ‘over-deliver’ because the demands are so high.
Sorry this is a bit of an essay, but I think v carefully about the ‘message’ behind our business, and sharing, and dislike the sense of entitlement of some people who can’t see beyond their own demands.
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If you enjoy then of course. But in my 15 months experience of hosting people don’t really appreciate what is done extra for them. Even more they give lower stars not even thinking twice. Only once i had a couple who paid me for a ride though i was happy to drive them as it was on my way anyway.
I think to shop for groceries request was unreasonable.
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completely agree with you!
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50% is a lot. So you basically giving a guest a day for free, since you cant really rent the day before because of early check in. I am also flexible but i only let guests check in early if there is noone in their room. SO, they never know until that morning. What puzzles me is when they arrive early and REALLY SURPRISED that they cant check in right away. O, we thought we can come right away at 7 am since our flight comes in early, or cruise. It did not happen often but few times they just show up at the door, and are shocked that there are other people in their room.
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