Housekeeper just called that guests belongings are strewn all over and they haven’t checked out- they are still skiing on the mountain. I called them and they thought they had booked for two nights- they definitely only booked for one. We have another guest coming tonight and the housekeeper is scrambling to get it ready before their check in. They apologized and are on their way to get their things but, would this constitute asking for am additional charge? I dont know how they could think they booked for 2 nights and not one, they just have thought they got a great deal!
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You can charge them for the additional time they are there, beyond checkout at a higher rate (see Airbnb Help for details). Really depends how long they are going to be and whether you think it was a genuine error.
How late are they going to be ? You can call airbnb and get permission to pack up their stuff if it is impacting on you turning around the property.
And you can charge them for extra cleaning time that you are invoiced over and above by your cleaner to come back and clean.
I always message guests the night before to remind them about check out times and routines to help minimise the risk of this happening.
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Eh. You could. I’m not sure it’s worth doing, though.
You might be entitled to charge a per-hour penalty, especially if you can show their overstay cost you more, in cleaner’s time or pushing back the incoming guests’ arrival.
But so long as it didn’t have that bad an effect, I’d give the benefit of the doubt that it was an honest mistake and let it go. Bonus: no risk that after trying to assess a charge, Air doesn’t support you and the guest leaves a retaliatory bad review over a $30-50 charge.
Here’s the applicable policy:
8.2.2 You agree to leave the Accommodation no later than the checkout time that the Host specifies in the Listing or such other time as mutually agreed upon between you and the Host. If you stay past the agreed upon checkout time without the Host’s consent (“Overstay”), you no longer have a license to stay in the Accommodation and the Host is entitled to make you leave in a manner consistent with applicable law. In addition, you agree to pay, if requested by the Host, for each twenty-four (24) hour period (or any portion thereof) that you Overstay, an additional nightly fee of up to two (2) times the average nightly Listing Fee originally paid by you to cover the inconvenience suffered by the Host, plus all applicable Guest Fees, Taxes, and any legal expenses incurred by the Host to make you leave (collectively, “Overstay Fees”). Overstay Fees for late checkouts on the checkout date that do not impact upcoming bookings may be limited to the additional costs incurred by the Host as a result of such Overstay. If you Overstay at an Accommodation, you authorize Airbnb (via Airbnb Payments) to charge you to collect Overstay Fees. A Security Deposit, if required by a Host, may be applied to any Overstay Fees due for a Guest’s Overstay.
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I would also graciously let it go if I thought it was an honest mistake.
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Yep I was leaning towards that route, just wanted to check with the community
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I wouldn’t think this necessary for an overnight only…
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You can wait until reviews are completed to request this (since it is not a damage claim) and avoid that risk and still get compensated fairly.
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Sadly it is, I have lots of one night stays and have learnt from experience 
Clearly you overestimate your fellow humans.
I like to offer late checkout for a fee so they get the checkout message 2 hours before checkout everytime.
RR
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I always message the night before about checkout, I thank them, tell them what needs to be done when and when check out time is. I also remind them about the leaving a review and how Airbnb’s review system works.
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I’ve had this happen a few times. Sometimes it works in your favor - they add on a night if you have it available but usually it’s a mess for everyone involved. I wouldn’t charge for it. It’s a great opportunity to be a super gracious host and get a great review for it.
I eventually started noting the number of nights in my confirmation message and it hasn’t happened since. “Thanks for booking! We look forward to hosting you for one night on Dec 14…”. Well, a couple of times people have written back saying “oh, we need 2 nights” but it’s early on and easy enough to add it then. I’m not sure how or why it happens but it’s not uncommon for some reason.
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I do this too and I also start taking cleaning materials and fresh linens to the doors of the rentals at just after check out time. The way our layout is, guests are bound to see me if they’ve overstayed. (I have also been known to barge in there with a vacuum cleaner or whatever).
Opinions vary a lot about charging for late check out. I never have but I only offer it if I know that the incoming guests are arriving late. Don’t you have to put it in your listing if you’re going to charge?
No. As @Allison_H quoted, there are overstay charges in the TOS.
Thank you for the clarification. 
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I know it is but would think it wouldn’t be…really weird to check a guest on and then turn around sending them a message about goodbye…
Oh, of all hosts here, I think I overestimate guests the least, based on my experiences so far.
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I have benefitted a couple times doing this since I implemented my pricing policy of increasing the shoulder nights by $15 (now $20), those next shoulder nights by $10 (now $15), those next shoulder nights by $5 (now $10) and the next shoulder nights now by $5.
I do it just to pay me for my time to fit turnovers in for back to back (or close to each other) bookings. Occasionally it ends up being for the booker…in which case I then go and increase the remaining shoulder nights afterwards by $5 to catch up.
I would think no because AirBnB already has a policy (double rate) and then you have the freedom to adjust what late check out fee you want to charge that particular guest on that particular day and based on how long they want to stay. Also then you can deny it without issue as well.
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I know how they do it. You likely do, too, but just in case, here is the explanation I got from a similarly confused guest:
“The reservation says Dec 13-14, so I thought I had two nights.”
(And the best deal on earth…)
But, yes, they do get confused. You can charge them if you like, @Kate_Barry - you are certainly within your rights as they did inconvenience you and your cleaners.
My grey area is that I have the cushion of a day between guests. If I can handle the extra night, I just do as the others and make the adjustment so I get paid accordingly.
If you think they might be repeat guests, you might decide to forgive them. It really can be an honest mistake, and they might make it up to you in another way. I just had that happen here.
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I think it was an honest mistake, yet still frustrating because I sent them many messages through Airbnb that they never responded to or checked. They said they were too busy at work to read them…They did say they would book with us again so I am going to let it go for now since no harm no foul
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Hey @Kate_Barry, sometimes if I’m not getting any response from a guest and need them to respond, I will send them an email asking them to check their messages on Airbnb. I have a gmail account specifically for this reason. I do a “signature” at the bottom and says that the “emails are not monitored so please reply on the Airbnb system” - I do that to avoid having the conversation switch to off-platform. Sending the email always works right away for me.
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