The right way to ask for late checkout

[mica555]

@JohnF

@PitonView

if someone asked me for an 8 AM checkin

I’d say:

OK, but I’ll need to check if Mr & Mrs Gonzalez are ok with that

But for me, it would make literally no difference whether they check in at 8am or 4pm. My previous guests checked out at least two days ago, my cleaning was finished yesterday afternoon, and I did a quick walkthrough and clicked on the lamps before I left for work at 7:15 this morning.

I have never been asked for 8am, but I can certainly accommodate whatever their flight schedule requires. It costs me nothing and it gets their stay off to a peaceful start. Most of my guests are arriving after a ten-hour flight and all the customs rigamarole, and they just want to get to bed.

[Militaryhorsegal]

And the very fact that you qualified that proves my point…reasonable for one is unreasonable for another.

[Notahost]

@PitonView

That’s when you book the night before, too, and just get in really late.

Not sure how you get in real late with an 8am flight. As I said that’s an arrival not a departure.

[lawre]

Same. It was pretty mild when compared to other things guests get up to.
They used extra wood for their nice little afternoon campfire, and I was cleaning into the night thanks to the schedule change. Annoying is all. Content for the review.
My hope is that my mention of the late checkout in the review will have their next host at least asking questions before agreeing to a late checkout so that poor Babs won’t have to stand at the side of a country road for five hours waiting to be picked up. A theme will emerge…

[PitonView]

@Militaryhorsegal

reasonable for one is unreasonable for another.

Agreed. A guest that requests something unreasonable to me but reasonable to them means we probably won’t meet the rest of their expectations, and would probably be better staying somewhere else.

[JohnF]

I wasn’t being entirely serious

As we now have a buffer day between bookings early check ins aren’t really that much of an issue, it’s down to if it’s convenient for us, and sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn’t.

Asking for 8:00am though, that’s when it becomes not convenient, unless they want to pay for the preceding night of course.

I have done one 8.00am ish check in before, and the guest didn’t ask I suggested it to them. It worked for us that day, only reason.

JF

[JoshM]

If you don’t have new guests coming the say day and your cleaners are flexible, I see no reason to not allow a late checkout (same for an early checking). I mean if your place is sitting there vacant, it’ll make your guests happy and causes no harm to yourself.

I’m a new host, so maybe I have blinders on, but I’ve offered to guests that they may check in early if they prefer (again, so long as the place is clean/vacant). Seems like a nice perk.

[mica555]

@JJD

If you are arriving at 8am on a Thursday then you should…

Not sure why it’s a ‘should’

[KKC]

@JoshM

Seems like a nice perk.

Some hosts don’t like it when other hosts do things they can’t or won’t do. For example if a guest is on a trip and 3 hosts in a row let them check in early at no extra charge and 4th host says “no,” that guest might mark down the 4th host in the review. Or just argue with the host which takes their time.

Many guests, especially new ones, don’t seem to understand that every host is different. Airbnb standardizes very few things for all listings.

[mica555]

@JJD

But @Notahost, and now you, are being obtuse about the common standards and operating procedures

Not obtuse… just self-serving

[muddy]

If a guest specifically asked to check in early, I would likely say no, as guests who start out asking for special exceptions aren’t usually a good risk.

That said, I have always had a one day prep time setting, and work from home, so my stated check-in time is 11am-11pm, because that personally suits my lifestyle- I’m not an early riser andI don’t want to have to stay up until 1am to welcome a guest.

The 11-11 check in window suits almost all guests, but twice I have quite willingly made an exception.
One was a guest whose bus was arriving at 9am, said she knew that was too early to check-in and she’d just find a cafe to hang out in until 11. That attention and respect was rewarded by telling her no problem, she could check in when she arrived in town.

The other was a guest whose flight had had to turn around right after take-off due to engine trouble, and all the passengers were rebooked on a red-eye, arriving at the airport here at 6:30 am.

As it takes at least 45 minutes to deplane and get through customs and immigration, and another hour to get here from the airport, she wouldn’t be here until at least 8:15, and in fact arrived at 9. And of course she had actually booked the previous night. She also kept me informed the whole time as to her travel disruption and new arrival time.

The one who irritated me was another guest who had a flight delay, and while she kept me informed, she decided to go out for dinner and walk around town after she arrived, without letting know. I had already waited up until 11, which is when she should have gotten here if she’d come straight from the airport, but she didn’t show up until almost 1am.

So I’m quite happy to accommodate those who are respectful or have a special circumstance out of their control if I can manage it, but dislike the ones who take things for granted.

[JohnnyLounge21]

Sorry, but I consider asking for an early check-in or late-check out to STR hosts as an entitlement thing. Many will say “it doesn’t hurt to ask” but the whole concept just puts undue stress on all parties. I just don’t think it’s very kind.

When we travel, one of the reasons I’ll always add a 2-day hotel on the itinerary as part of a long vacation is so we can have more flexibility with check in/out. You can jerk the Marriott around and see what they can do for you. When we book an STR, we are signing up for their check in/out times as published. End of story.

We all know how AWFUL it is to land in Hong Kong at 6AM all exhausted with nowhere to go. You make that mistake exactly once in a lifetime. So the next time (let’s say you’re landing anywhere in Europe, which is almost always also early in the morning) you’ll be sure you 1) book a place for an extra night if you want a cheap STR or 2) book a hotel where you know you have enough clout to get an early check-in. Same thing if you want to drag your feet for a redeye home (West Coast → East) or most Asia → US flights and want a late check-out.

I’ve never asked for an early check in/out to an STR host and I never will.

[mica555]

@JohnnyLounge21

I’ve never asked for an early check in/out to an STR host and I never will.

That’s fine. It doesn’t really matter to me whether you do or don’t! It doesn’t change my policy.

[muddy]

@JohnnyLounge21

Sorry, but I consider asking for an early check-in or late-check out to STR hosts as an entitlement thing.

Asking for you to break rules like accepting pets or children if that isn’t allowed, or asking for discounts, feels like entitlement to me, but asking politely if an early or late check-out could be accommodated due to flight times, rather than personal preference, doesn’t.

And it depends on how far from the stated check-in time it is and the circumstances. A family flying with 2 children, who will be likely to be tired and cranky by the time the flight lands, the parents exhausted, who simply ask if they might check in at 3 instead of 4 seems a reasonable thing to ask.

If someone is asking to check in at 7 am, without any understanding that the previous guests may still be there, and who don’t want to pay for booking the previous night, that’s a different story.

I can understand that with your hosting set-up, involving staff that needs to be scheduled, you might not want to deal with accommodating check-ins and outs outside the windows at all, but for other hosts, it’s not such a big deal and it isn’t necessarily the red flag you view it as.

[aelilya]

All of this above is why I have a fee policy for early/late checkin/checkout. I will allow/not allow, charge/not charge as I am willing and/or able.

Having the policy allows the guest the freedom to ask (doesn’t even have to be polite ) and me the freedom to say yes or no. Or to charge or not. It just depends. BUT having the policy let’s them know “allowed” and “free” are not the norm (And should not be in my opinion as it causes issues for others, as @KKC pointed out).

What upsets me is the “can I get it for free” ask when they know the policy. That really gets me because it clearly communicates they are not the kind of guests I want.

It’s like @JJD said, I’m on-call 24x7 once they arrive. I can’t just go do whatever I want once they are there.

To the new host….host a little longer, encounter a few more guests of varying mmmm, “attitudes”, and then get back to the forum.

We aren’t bitter. Just experienced.

[muddy]

@Chris_Cooper

I’ve only just written it, so up for feedback

All that medal stuff comes across to me as silly and childish, like promising gold stars to first graders.

[aelilya]

@Chris_Cooper

You winning any medal will be much appreciated, and allow our cleaner to arrive later, and so helps us give you a later check-out. Sometimes even as late as 2pm. If you are not up for medals, we may still be able to offer a slightly late check-out (depending on cleaning schedule that day), but helping us allows us to help you!

Honestly, it feels weird. My husband books any travel we do. The best vacation I EVER had included a cook, maid, laundress and butler.

That message feels like the exact opposite and I’d wring his neck and slap him twice if he even showed it to me.

That being said, if you have a dope place with amazing pool or other amenities I’d want to chill at longer in exchange for throwing some stuff in the wash….maybe….but that better be a really nice pool!

[KKC]

@muddy

like promising gold stars to first graders.

You’d be surprised how many adults like gold stars, stickers and medals, even metaphorical ones.

[JohnnyLounge21]

@Chris_Cooper I actually find the “medal” thing light and fun! And depending on your listing, it could really work! Maybe it’s a shared space with an artist’s loft/studio? Lots of art work everywhere? Organized chaos sort of place? Guests might dig it!

However, it’s A LOT of words. Most guests will have sadly begun glazing over long before your kitschy kool medal options could even be read (let alone comprehended).

My vote is too still give it a try and see what the first dozen guests think/say. It’s worth taking a chance and maybe it’ll work.

[casailinglady]

@JohnF

@PitonView

I know a lot of hosts think anyone asking for a late check out (or early check in) is being entitled and demanding

I think many of the hosts who feel like that are subscribers to the combative style of hosting, i.e. every aspect of hosting is a constant battle between them and their guests. They often forget that we’re in the hospitality industry…

And some of that is that there are guests who push the entitlement and figure “Hey, if I ask for an 8am checkin because I’m taking a red eye, I shouldn’t have to pay for another night plus my flight the day of departure is at 8pm so I’d like to lounge by the pool of the home stay, use the facilities, all while the host is trying to clean and work their regular job. But why should I pay extra? The hotel would let me stay late for free (ummm nope, but OK)”

Seriously the last early checkin/late checkout request I got.

@KKC

@lawre

Her husband arrived at 12:30 and the two of them stayed until 5.

Wow. Just wow. I would have asked if I could take their bags to the car and pack it for them. Wow. I hope you reviewed them appropriately.