Uptic in people who say they will arrive at 3pm then end up arriving 9.5 hours later

23

I was going to say what Krista & Billy-Bob said - just don’t expect them to be on time. I always expect my guests to be late. It’s their trip, they are the guest, I am the host. They can’t walk all over us, but, we do have to remember that they are paying us for a service. It’s their vacation and it’s my job to make it as pleasant as possible, within my limits.

Maybe encourage better communication by texting them a few hours before arrival time - ask them how their trip is going, if they still have the same ETA, etc. Ask them to please keep in touch because you have a busy work/family/whatever going on so it’s helpful for you to know. Phrase it in such ways as they are helping you, they are making everything better by communicating. See how that works. If you still don’t hear anything, be more firm. Try CALLING. Some people really don’t do well with text or email, but will pick up the phone. One of my WORST communicators was one of my BEST guests and we will visit them soon! But! I had to call her - texting and emailign just were not going to work with her.

Many of my guests come by bus from NYC and you can bet they will be late. Fortunately for me I often work into the wee hours, and, my office and many of my kid’s activities are close by, so we can be flexible.

But either way, I think, it’s part of the business. Not if they totally disregard the issue, and are rude, but if it’s just transportation, unexpected delays, etc. Packing and getting ready for a trip can often take longer than we think, things come up, work deadlines must be met, kids get sick at the last minute, it’s an imperfect world. Put your game face on and offer all the kind sympathies and ‘how can I helps’ - will go far in helping your guest feel welcome, cared for, and they will enjoy their stay more.

But again, when you need to be firm, be firm.

Now!! I just had a booking that was a bit of a frustrating process, and I really didn’t think they would ever book, and when I asked about arrival time found out that their plane lands at 12:15 AM! Ugh, now that’s frustrating! But I didn’t ask, didn’t clarify, so have to live with my contract with them. Next time, I will know better!!

Good Luck!

24

Since my rooms are max 3 night stays, I see a really late arrival as a gift of a free evening…

25

What is irritating, though, is when a guest arrives late, then is MAD, that they had to wait.

Recently had a guest whom we asked to come at 2 pm. They said that would be inconvenient, and I then changed the time to 12 noon to accommodate them. I Came home early to accommodate them, and just before 12 they then message to say they still doing stuff, so will come at 2 pm. Huh?
By 2 pm they were a no show, and I dozed off, and they eventually arrived at 3 pm when I had dozed off and didn’t hear them knocking. Woke up after about 10 min and opened up for them.
They were mad at that point, and I’m thinking - I came here 2 hours early to check you in, YOU showed up 3 hours late, and you’re mad at ME?

People think this is a hotel, and we just sit around the house all day waiting for them to rock up at whatever time they please!
Annoying!

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26

We are just thinking about renting out a room with a friend and I didn’t even think about this aspect of the whole thing yet. Since it’s a spare bedroom in our home I wouldn’t want anyone to get in without meeting them first but I guess I’d not make too many plans for the day when they are supposed to check in as I know from experience that anything could go wrong and make you be late. If you travel to a foreign country even roaming can play up - happened to me - and I couldn’t get in touch with my host until I found a payphone and could call.
There are the extreme cases when they just can’t be bothered that is a different story and I’d make sure I put it in the review after they checked out.

27

@cs2015

I would ding them if it’s obviously in their control, and they aren’t trying to work with you.

That said, I travel 365 and I’ve been delayed by things out of my control more times than I can count.
I’d be seriously irritated by a host that had issues with it when it was out of my control.

If there is seriously no flexibility at all, I’d make it clear that the window is between a&b.
And confirm your guests can do that because there is no availability after that time.
No flexibility in the face of traveling from a foreign country, and I probably wouldn’t book with you.
But I’d also message first to see how you reacted to “flying in on this flight at this time, would that work”?

I can also predict fairly accurately for cities I know well, provided the plane lands on time. But if I don’t know the city, and we need to drive from the airport, where there may be a delay in immigration, it’s still just a ballpark figure.

Keycoded lock box works too, and I’ve stayed at a couple that had them.

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28

When I accept guests coming in on an international flight, I’m prepared for massive delays. When people are flying in from the other side of the planet and have been traveling and delayed for the past 24+ hours, I feel nothing but complete sympathy. I’ve had guests that looked like they were going to collapse by the time they got to the door.

But I agree with others – go with keyless clocks and lockboxes if delayed guests are aggravating. I’m sure most guests would much rather deal with a lockbox rather than a host, anyway.

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29

The latest arrival I ever had was about one am. Flights from the East Coast to Kona are the only ones that get in that late and the guest will always keep me apprised of it. They also have to get a car and drive an hour to the middle of nowhere where I am located! :slight_smile: I can hear and seeing them coming so I always go out and greet them and show them where to park. They are always grateful to see me walking up with a flashlight. Also I do this because my dog will bark and if I pick her up and carry her with me when I greet the guest there won’t be a real ruckus!

Like someone else said, a late arrival is like getting a free gift. They paid to be here at 4 but don’t arrive until 10, 11 or 12 at the latest, and as long as I know about it I’m ok with it because Kona is a special destination. But more often than not they are here right at 4pm.

PS. In the really rare event where I don’t want to get up to greet a late arrival, the door is unlocked and the key is on the table, and I tell the guest in the docs that a quiet late arrival is appreciated.

30

When I write to confirm check in I say:

“please let us know your approx check in time so we can be sure someone is here to let you in”
“and please communicate in advance any extreme delays”

ALWAYS works, no one wants to be left standing on the street waiting for you.
Put it back in their hands; Let the be the ones to worry, not you!

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31

We say pretty much exactly the same thing, and we’ve only had one set of guests (out of 30+) that severely disappointed us (and I happened to be sick that day and just wanted to crawl into bed - they were six hours late with no notice, and not even a rational explanation). In fact, I’ve been really surprised at how punctual many of our guests have been - I totally understand that things happen, traffic can be bad, flights can be late, and tourists can simply get distracted by some site they hadn’t planned on visiting. No problem, as long as we know. When a guest has been unusually punctual, I always mention that in the review.

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32

I do this also, and just add that Check In time is 4 so they are not tempted to think I’m allowing them to text me whatever time they’d care to check in. Lots of flights to Kona get here late and I’m accommodating. Just text me the approximate time if it will be significantly after 4PM.

33

I have solved this problem by saying check-in must be by 11pm. If they arrive after midnight they have to pay a $10 “Late fee” for the inconvenience of keeping me up. I figure if it bugs them that much they’ll look elsewhere for one of those 24-hour check-in places.

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34

Let us know if it negatively impacts booking rate or if you have late arrivals that decline to pay the extra fee.

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36

How is it worded in your House Rules? I have wanted to do this since I started. I get several late arrivals a month. One told me he would be there at X and then decided to stop and now meet friends for dinner after X without telling me or responding to me.
Christmas Eve Eve I had a SuperHost with no reviews as a Guest who wanted early check-in and I told her only if it is not booked and if I was able to let her in this early she would need to check out that early on a Christmas morning. Asked her if this would work for her and got no response until check-in morning when I told her I could still accommodate 3pm if she wanted but couldn’t do 11am as I had a Guest book and didn’t need to leave until noon. Fast forward to her changinging it even later a couple more times and then changing it back to an earlier time which by that time I could no longer accommodate because I made holiday shopping plans for before her check in instead of after. So she messages me TELLING me she will be there in 30 minutes and wants to know how to get in. I tell her I cannot accommodate this early change because of all the late changes I accommodate. She arrived and rings my nest camera doorbell and proceeds to curse at me because I should be able to let her in any time after 3pm, regardless of what she had asked for throughout the day. Not to mention that she complained about the 3 dogs she’d been driving with that she never informed me of or paid the pet fees for. Needless to say Airbnb wanted me to say I would no longer host her and cancel. No Way! Ms SuperHost ended up cancelling, but not before remaining in my driveway waiting on me, refusing to vacate until the latest agreed upon (And reconfirmed in camera) then swore at my 6’7” neighbor who I asked to come over due to the incident. Unbelievable what people will do…especially from a SuperHost.