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I’m considering that. I’d like to do what you do but 9/10 times I try to do nice “freebie” things & people keep on taking. They would ask for an hour. I’d say sure, no problem, even when it meant changing up my schedule. Then they’d turn right around and ask for another. And even another. So I finally I made the fee policy.
I was feeling taken advantage of so I decided to set some boundaries in the form of fees, really to discourage them from asking at all. My 15 minute free buffer suits me and you can guess why I don’t advertise the buffer?! I’ll be thinking about removing the policy altogether.
New traveler or just pushing the boundaries because people who would normally stay at a hotel and would have to cool their heels in the lobby think “AirBnB is different and it’s a house so I’m entitled…”
I see a lot of behaviors that wouldn’t fly for what travelers consider “real businesses,” ie hotels, motels. I just point out that while this is fun it’s also a business. And my home.
Yup. Communication no more than a 3. House rules no more than a 3.
Your home, your business. Why get pushed around? Woman up!
I would have told him to find a coffee shop until 3.
Yup. Shared listing, code programmed 15 minutes before they walk in and they don’t know what it is until then.
Love it! I’ve just gotten one of those and I don’t want the guests - entire families will want to use the pool and party at my house (it’s nicer than the neighbor’s)
This happened to a friend when she was in her late 30s. Got taken by a con artist she did meet and later found out he was a scammer. Horrible. All the money from the divorce gone in a heartbeat because she was lonely and he was a predator.
Just. Say. No. No freebies. No early checkin with a fee mentioned in your listing. ONLY early check in if you can do it and then say “there’s a fee.”
Recently had a guest say they read the HR and then said “We’re checking in at 2,” when my first message clearly states check in/check out times and requests confirmation. Guest finally communicated that they had a family event at 4 and since it was a Saturday I allowed it. Turns out their poor communication had to to with dying parent and tense family situation and they were grateful I could help them out.
This quote. That’s it. Right there. I want to be a blessing to people. I’m not just in it for the money…there’re other things I can do for decent $ that do not involve cleaning other peoples dirty linens and toilets/nasty messes (nothing wrong with it…hard, honest work!).
But when you can have a positive impact on people, in even the littlest way, like you did… it’s wonderful. I think that not so much because of how I feel when I do it, but how I feel when it’s done for me. Gratitude. Humility. Brotherly/sisterly love even. Kindness is a good thing. I do it when I can…w/o being a doormat!
I don’t give it if they ask, I give it when its available and easy for me.
I just pulled a pre approval today, she had asked for a late check out on Sunday because not arriving until tomorrow morning I said yes and pre approved. This morning she asked for a discount I responded with a one word no and pulled the pre approval. She cannot IB same day for me.
We’re in the hospitality business. Which is different than being a “doormat of kindness” to people who will push the boundaries and say “I know check in is in 4 hours but I need to get in now” because they’re entitled jerks.
Exactly. Because I leave a day between bookings, check-in time is 11am-11pm.
This has worked for every guest I’ve had but one. Her bus was arriving in town at 9am. When I asked for eta, she wrote “I get in at 9, but I know that’s too early for check-in, so I’ll just find a cafe to hang out in til then.”
I told her that if she’d prefer to check-in when she arrived, that wasn’t a problem, the room would be ready for her. She was grateful.
I have thought about letting the guests know if I’m ready for their arrival earlier. But I already have an eta plan from them, and I am sure knowledge of early possibility will just confuse them and they will likely be at least 1/2 hour later than they originally thought.
That’s how we do it too. I don’t want to deal with a fee or the extra obligation that comes with it.
I’m sorry @aelilya , but I think that having the fee exist at all implies that the apartment is ready before check-in and therefore encourages people to show up early. Not that it’s okay and I am sorry you had to deal with that ass but that the fee puts the idea into people’s heads.
We enter their codes into the keypad manually when we are ready for the guests or at 4:00, whichever comes first . I’ve never had anyone show up early and try to get in, but it surely sounds a little amusing to watch. One guest contacted me from their car in our parking lot asking if it was possible to get in early. They were very polite but were our 5th guests ever, long before we were ever once ready early so off they went to the museum!
The guests who give me an ETA of exactly the check-in time are the ones I try to be ready early for because I am guessing they are getting to town earlier but being polite to say it is the check-in time because no one arrives to town exactly at check-in time.
Exactly, even if they think they are on time, gps says they are on time, I think they are on time etc, etc . Doesn’t matter, they Have To Meet me 1 mile away, so I do need a realistic time frame and am flexible:)
This. If someone politely asked for early check-in, they might get a couple hours (free) if I know the day before. But: see above!! They think they want it, then discover a nice beach and are late…
Thank you, @JJD! Here’s exactly what is communicated to the guest when they receive their code “When available, Early Check-In is offered at $20/hr billed in hourly increments only, due upon approval & non-refundable. Please try to make requests by 9 pm the evening before so we may do our best to accommodate you.”
I wouldn’t think this would cause someone to automatically assume it’s ready early, but clearly, this gentleman got that idea. I am leaning more toward it be a novice error w/ him, like @casailinglady noted, thinking AirBnB is “different” than with a hotel.
I will try removing all early check-in information from the messages for now and see what happens. I will also indicate we will be ready to receive guests at the checkin time and the access code will not work before that time.
Thanks for all the great feedback & opinions everyone!
My checkin time is 3:00 p.m. I don’t offer early check in but if I a guest requests it and I’ve been able to prepare the apartment the day before, then I will normally allow the guests to checkin in a few hours earlier.
Note despite some profuse thanks I don’t think an earlier check-in has ever resulted in a nice comment in a review.
That’s a very good point. I hadn’t considered it. Maybe I should refuse early checkins even if it’s possible or as others have said ask for a small payment even though it doesn’t cost me anything.
I know! I offer to pick my guests up at the bus station, as it’s only a 5 minute drive for me, and my house is really hard to find. I also offer to drive them back with their luggage when they leave. It’s no big deal to me, I usually combine it with a trip to the convenience store for something I might need.
But I don’t offer it in my listing, as I don’t want to be in trouble if it’s not possible, i.e. my car might be at the mechanic’s.
But a few of my guests have mentioned in the review how nice it was of me to pick them up and drive them back.
When someone asks me for an early check in my canned response is I will text them when the cabin is ready. When they ask for late check out I tell them the housekeeper sets her own schedule based on my check out time and I do not ask her to change as she juggles child care. I did just say yes to a late check out when the guest was arriving a day late but cancelled the pre approval when she asked for a discount.
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Wow, yikes. You really should consider some kind of lockbox or system at the stay that you can easily control and re-key remotely, with some non-electronic emergency 2ndary option.
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We check-in guests in person directly at the stay. But we do have a lockbox, if needed, and will soon install a keyless system.
This works best for us and our location, because of locked gate, steep windy road, no gps etc.
So far, in 2.5 years, no problems at all. If we expected them all to get here on their own, I am sure 60% would have ended up in a gully, lost, at least 1/2 mile off. Guests really appreciate not having to worry at all about finding us or getting in. Personalized serrrvice!
Can totally relate. Unless they take a taxi or Uber from the airport, I pick almost all my guests up at the bus station, a very short drive from my house. If they do take a taxi, I usually end up on the phone with the driver, because they can never find my house.
I’ve had a few guests decline a pick up, saying they’d actually prefer to walk the 20 minutes, that it would feel good after sitting on a plane and a bus for hours, and they’ve managed to find my place with the hand-drawn map I send them and some written directions, but they almost always turn in to the property right behind mine, as the entrance to there is right before mine.
Luckily my dog barks when anyone gets within 50 metres of my place, so I can go out and direct them into my gate, instead of the neighbor’s.
