Guests arrive 24 hrs early -- host is worried about towels??
Mar 4, 2016 16:12:07 GMT
leny likes this
Post by High Priestess on Mar 4, 2016 16:12:07 GMT
Trenton shared on Hosting 911 March 4 2016
www.airbnb.com/groups/content/content-211842
Guests arrived at 2am before reservation
I booked an overnight guest for Friday to Saturday who said they were going to be arriving at 2am. I told them that was no problem as we have a keyless system. I just woke up to a message saying that they found their room and are already here! They arrived at 2am this morning, not 24 hours from then as convention would dictate! Thankfully we didn't have another guest in that room but we also hadn't made up the room at all! Obviously this is effectively a two night reservation since they are staying tonight as well but the money doesn't bother me. I'm more freaked out that they slept in an unmade bed with dirty towels in the bathroom. Thankfully the solo traveler guest before them was very clean but they still at least need towels. How should I handle this situation?
Trenton
Also, we do offer flexible check in. I think it's an important way that airbnb is better than a hotel. 2am the night before however, is a good deal more than "flexible" I think.
Deborah
Trenton, you should have some method in effect so that guests cannot let themselves in before check in time -- not 24 hrs early, but also not 1 hr early -- think of how serious a problem it could have been if this guest had entered the apartment when another guest was in the room sleeping! IT would have been a serious problem and you could have gotten into serious trouble with Airbnb for not doing anything to prevent that. Therefore, don't overlook the fact that this could well have happened if you don't have controls to prevent it.
What you may want to do is set up your keyless system so that the code you give to the guest to get in, does not actually work until the day and hour that they are to arrive. On most any keyless system you should be able to change the code. Just change it to something else before the guest's check in time, and then change it to the code the guest has starting at check in time.
Neither should you allow a guest who has a reservation for one day, get away with having a 2 day stay that they did not pay for. It doesn't matter if this is okay by you -- you need to think about the role you play as a part of Airbnb. If you allow this guest to get 2 days when they only paid for one, and arrive 24 hrs early, you are teaching them that this is okay and they will bring this attitude and this experience to the next place they stay as a guest and perhaps expect the same thing there.
So as a representative of the community of hosts on Airbnb, you ought to tell the guest that they made a mistake, impress upon them how serious a problem this was and how bad it would have been if they had entered the guest bedroom when someone else was asleep there. ANd then issue them a reservation change so that they will actually pay for 2 days, not for one day. As you explain to them the problem they created, you can also explain that you had not yet cleaned the room/apartment and had not provided fresh towels, and then give them new towels.
Trenton
Thanks for the reply. I totally agree with you on the keyless system. I have the schalge system with smartthings and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone - in my opinion they flatly lied about the reprogrammability. I intend to replace it but am outside the return window and it is hard to stomache a $1500 loss having to replace every lock.
I don't agree with you about making them pay for the extra night. I'm not going to charge them for sleeping on dirty sheets, nor am I going to spoil their vacation by lecturing them. I will leave a negative review. A big question for me was whether this was a true misunderstanding or intentional theft of a night's rate.
Andrew
Trenton, I can understand your reasoning for choosing not to charge the guest for their first night, even though the stunt they pulled is actually a shockingly common tactic. However, I don't find it appropriate to leave a negative review without communicating that there was a problem. Just think about it the other way around - wouldn't you hate it if a guest left you a negative review due to an issue that they hadn't reported to you during their stay?
In this case, requesting even a small and agreeable amount of compensation for the first night (say, 20% of the nightly rate) would give you a chance to find out whether the guest made an honest mistake or was just out to con you for a free night. If the guest refuses to pay, you'll have a very good cause to warn future hosts about the dodgy guests. But if they understand your perspective and agree to compensate you for their extra night - even in a small way - I don't see any reason to punish them with a bad review.
Deborah
Andrew has a good point about asking for a nominal compensation for the 1st night's stay.
I think it can be stated that, much to your surprise, guests arrived a full day early and let themselves in, without making that seem like an overtly negative statement.
Sorry to hear about the reprogrammable lock that turns out not to be reprogrammable. That's an example of why I try to remember to always test things I buy while I am within the return window.
www.airbnb.com/groups/content/content-211842
Guests arrived at 2am before reservation
I booked an overnight guest for Friday to Saturday who said they were going to be arriving at 2am. I told them that was no problem as we have a keyless system. I just woke up to a message saying that they found their room and are already here! They arrived at 2am this morning, not 24 hours from then as convention would dictate! Thankfully we didn't have another guest in that room but we also hadn't made up the room at all! Obviously this is effectively a two night reservation since they are staying tonight as well but the money doesn't bother me. I'm more freaked out that they slept in an unmade bed with dirty towels in the bathroom. Thankfully the solo traveler guest before them was very clean but they still at least need towels. How should I handle this situation?
Trenton
Also, we do offer flexible check in. I think it's an important way that airbnb is better than a hotel. 2am the night before however, is a good deal more than "flexible" I think.
Deborah
Trenton, you should have some method in effect so that guests cannot let themselves in before check in time -- not 24 hrs early, but also not 1 hr early -- think of how serious a problem it could have been if this guest had entered the apartment when another guest was in the room sleeping! IT would have been a serious problem and you could have gotten into serious trouble with Airbnb for not doing anything to prevent that. Therefore, don't overlook the fact that this could well have happened if you don't have controls to prevent it.
What you may want to do is set up your keyless system so that the code you give to the guest to get in, does not actually work until the day and hour that they are to arrive. On most any keyless system you should be able to change the code. Just change it to something else before the guest's check in time, and then change it to the code the guest has starting at check in time.
Neither should you allow a guest who has a reservation for one day, get away with having a 2 day stay that they did not pay for. It doesn't matter if this is okay by you -- you need to think about the role you play as a part of Airbnb. If you allow this guest to get 2 days when they only paid for one, and arrive 24 hrs early, you are teaching them that this is okay and they will bring this attitude and this experience to the next place they stay as a guest and perhaps expect the same thing there.
So as a representative of the community of hosts on Airbnb, you ought to tell the guest that they made a mistake, impress upon them how serious a problem this was and how bad it would have been if they had entered the guest bedroom when someone else was asleep there. ANd then issue them a reservation change so that they will actually pay for 2 days, not for one day. As you explain to them the problem they created, you can also explain that you had not yet cleaned the room/apartment and had not provided fresh towels, and then give them new towels.
Trenton
Thanks for the reply. I totally agree with you on the keyless system. I have the schalge system with smartthings and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone - in my opinion they flatly lied about the reprogrammability. I intend to replace it but am outside the return window and it is hard to stomache a $1500 loss having to replace every lock.
I don't agree with you about making them pay for the extra night. I'm not going to charge them for sleeping on dirty sheets, nor am I going to spoil their vacation by lecturing them. I will leave a negative review. A big question for me was whether this was a true misunderstanding or intentional theft of a night's rate.
Andrew
Trenton, I can understand your reasoning for choosing not to charge the guest for their first night, even though the stunt they pulled is actually a shockingly common tactic. However, I don't find it appropriate to leave a negative review without communicating that there was a problem. Just think about it the other way around - wouldn't you hate it if a guest left you a negative review due to an issue that they hadn't reported to you during their stay?
In this case, requesting even a small and agreeable amount of compensation for the first night (say, 20% of the nightly rate) would give you a chance to find out whether the guest made an honest mistake or was just out to con you for a free night. If the guest refuses to pay, you'll have a very good cause to warn future hosts about the dodgy guests. But if they understand your perspective and agree to compensate you for their extra night - even in a small way - I don't see any reason to punish them with a bad review.
Deborah
Andrew has a good point about asking for a nominal compensation for the 1st night's stay.
I think it can be stated that, much to your surprise, guests arrived a full day early and let themselves in, without making that seem like an overtly negative statement.
Sorry to hear about the reprogrammable lock that turns out not to be reprogrammable. That's an example of why I try to remember to always test things I buy while I am within the return window.