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We just had a guest ask to book a 2 night stay. Sure … that’s what we do!
They wanted an early check-in. Well … sure … if we can help out, then we will do so!
They wanted to check in the night before. Ummm … what? …
We regretfully declined.
I still can’t believe it.
When you have guests believe that they have rented the listing for 24 hours. They check in at 2 pm and feel perfectly entitled to stay until 2 pm the following day…… and when you point out that checkout is at 10 am, they work out the pro rata hourly amount and request the 4 hours they feel they were cheated out of .
You know - it’s because we aren’t a hotel!
They are obviously of the “it never hurts to ask” school of thought.
As some of you know, I just don’t trust Airbnb guests often BUT I have had guests just not understand how the booking works. I take the time to explain it and that they would have to add another night. Very rarely are they trying to scam me for that one. I help them adjust their bookings and get the reservation.
While it’s funny and I have to wonder if the guest was either really naive or just trying to see what they could get away with. I hope you gave a calm explanation and told them they could book for 3 nights before declining.
Wow that’s ballsy!
We have a timed lock that doesn’t unlock their code until check in time. They rarely get here that early so it hasn’t been a huge deal.
The few that wanted earlier check in told us the time they were coming so we changed the lock code to an earlier hour for them. But sheesh, a night early!
I’ve gotten that before, they wanted to check in “around 11pm” the night before. I declined too. There was much whining about how it wasn’t fair because her boyfriend had to work late and so they didn’t want to pay for a night that they wouldn’t be able to have in its entirety in the unit. She wasn’t naive she was just bratty.
Why? This is guest is arrogant and taking advantage. Even if they were instead merely naive, this level of naivety also makes for a bad guest.
In this case, there were other legitimate grounds on which I could (and did) decline the request. I was very thankful for that, because it meant I didn’t have to engage with the guest on the issue of early check-in. My brain would probably have exploded.
I recently got an inquiry for an early check in/late check out at times of arrival/departure that my listing states means 2 additional nights’ stay. Even a hotel would charge you an additional fee or night for a 0800 arrival and a 9pm departure.
I asked for her times and told her that my listing explains the fees.
HA! HA! A “night early”. They say tomato, I say tomahto. Still means “a day” and “they pay”!
(@slavehost I’m laughing at the guest, not you)
(@slavehost I’m laughing at the guest, not you)
This is why we use a timed lock that only works for the time they’re allowed to check in and disables at checkout time.
I have the exact same setup.
I had a guest actually show up and try to enter my home like an hour before checkin…no inquiry/comm with me. I just watched quietly on the doorbell cam like 
while he stood there like an idiot entering the code over and over until he’d locked out the pad. Ha!
I also had someone pull in the drive 30 min early while I was finishing up the outside work. There was a legit miscommunication (on their part) so I let them in as I was done inside, but talk about awkward. I know I had a crazy look on my face when they pulled into my driveway, too! 
I wish we could do that. I’ve twice had to ask guests to leave when it became clear well after check-out time that they had no intention of doing so on their own. I generally give them whatever time I can before I go check how they’re doing. I don’t like to hassle people if it’s not absolutely necessary - especially families with kids, which these both were. I know how difficult it can be to get kids organized and on the road.
In the first case the parents were still drunk from the night before. Well, at least I could understand that one.
In the second case a family was still enjoying themselves (loudly) an hour after checkout time so I asked them if they knew that checkout time was 11am. They said that yes they knew that … and then they added that they didn’t mind if I wanted to start cleaning the cabin while they went for a swim. I stood there dumbfounded for a minute not really knowing what to say. Then I politely asked them to leave.
In both cases we got a terrible review. What can you do?
I had that with a guy. When he tried to check in I said it wasn’t ready and made some reference to the message I’d sent that morning. I got the distinct feeling that this guy just isn’t used to getting what he wants.
I made him wait a few minutes because, honestly, the room wasn’t quite ready. He rewarded my allowing a 2 hours early check in with a 4 star, terse language review. He’s the inspiration for guest not getting the code early and now, having a smart lock code that works beginning at check in time. The de-personalization that tech infuses into the situation is quite welcome in some circumstances.
And people wonder why we can all be a little 
at times. Well, fortunately he’s clearly not the norm for you & he “disappeared” among all your 5’s.
We don’t allow children mainly because we have a small boutique and small cafe in our home. Being on a road that is 55 mph, we felt it’s best to not allow children, for their safety. Not all parents watch their kids while on holiday and we certainly can’t watch their kids for them.
As for check out time, we post it in the room in large words “Checkout time is 11:00 AM Central Time” and if they’re still there by noon, we let them know there is someone coming so we need to get the room cleaned and sanitized. We’ve never had an issue with someone trying to take advantage by staying extended hours at a time.
Some guests are really unbelievable. A guest who came to lecture health workers in a nearby hospital for 2 days had booked 1 night long in advance. Her husband was driving her to and from the hospital. Our check-in time is 4pm and check-out time is 11am. Immediately after the acceptance of her reservation, she asked if her husband could come to rest in the morning and to prepare lunch the first day as well as to check out after lunch the following day. I said no and told her she could cancel without penalties because I couldn’t block the night before and after for a 1-night stay. She didn’t cancel but did ask me why another host in another city let them do so…
This is a big challenge for us as Airbnb hosts. Every host and every rental is different. I know when I say that I allow 3rd party bookings or give refunds if people cancel, other hosts don’t like it because they don’t have the same policy and they don’t want to get in this kind of situation. I wish all hosts would charge a pet fee if they allow pets and have a charge for every added guest for the same reason. We have to train users that every Airbnb is owner managed, not Airbnb managed, and that there are actually few uniform policies that apply to all listings.
If guests overstay, the answer is to make sure that they don’t! Most hosts send a ‘thank you for staying with us’ message the night before and include the time of checkout.
Many of us go to the rental at checkout time to start cleaning whether or not the guests have left. Remember that the contract that they have is until 11 am (or whatever your checkout time is. After that they become trespassers. Also, would your STR insurance still be valid for those people? (Ours wouldn’t except with our express permission).