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Post by sus on Nov 5, 2015 3:37:56 GMT
I am starting my third month of hosting and overall it is going great. I have had 2 guests so far stay beyond the check out time and they both happened to be days when someone was checking in that afternoon. Kind of stressful! My check in time is 3 pm and check out time is 11 am. If people request a late check out I might be able to accommodate them but to just stay over by 3 or more hours is just so inconsiderate I have a hard time relating to it. So I am wondering if Airbnb has an option anywhere to add a charge for late check outs?
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Post by queenie&ted on Nov 5, 2015 3:50:59 GMT
You could possibly include in your house rules that 'violations of check out time will incur a fee of $xx'. You would remind the guest of that at checkin, then charge them through the Resolution Center for payment. I think as long as you communicate the fee in advance, you'll be okay from an airbnb collection standpoint.
I hope you noted the late departures in each guest's review!
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Post by sus on Nov 5, 2015 3:56:04 GMT
Thank you Queenie. I might add that to my listing. I do have a security deposit. I did mention it in the first guests review and that guest did offer me $30 via Paypal for the inconvenience so I mentioned that too. The other one just left today and I have not written a review. I am missing a bed sheet (!) and am waiting to hear back from her before I write the review.
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Post by queenie&ted on Nov 5, 2015 4:53:53 GMT
It's nice to know that there are guests willing to claim responsibility for inconveniencing hosts!
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Post by High Priestess on Nov 5, 2015 14:30:30 GMT
Hi Sus Actually it is Airbnb policy that if a guest stays beyond check out time, they are responsible for paying for an entire extra day's stay. You can read this in the Airbnb terms. Like Queenie says, I suggest adding this to your house rules, that an additional fee will be incurred for staying late -- although the disadvantage of this is that it suggests that guests CAN stay late if they want, they will just have to pay a fee. I think it's best to make it clear to guests that they do not have the option of staying late.
I suggest that you send each guest an email the day before they are to depart, reminding them of check out day and check out time, indicating that they must leave no later than check out time. This is helpful as many guests forget this information. I have even had guests forget what day they are checking out -- -quite awkward when I find them still in the room at check out time, telling me they are staying ONE MORE DAY when in fact they are overdue to leave by 30 minutes or so.
If after providing them this note (and --- make sure guests are actually able to get messages you send them -- some guests have no computer or smart phone), guest is still in the room at check out time, I suggest telling them they have to leave immediately, and going right into their room and starting to clean around them and move their things. THis underscores the point. In a couple cases where I had guests who were late checking out and who were not at home at check out time, I simply went into their rooms and packed up their things and then put their things in my front hallway. (The only time I did not do this in a case of late check out, was an instance where I had forgotten to send the guest the note reminding them of check out time)
It's nice of a guest to offer to pay you extra for the inconvenience, but that would not suffice if, for instance, the guest is supposed to check out at 11am and you have another guest arriving at 1pm, and the first guest wants to stay 3 hours beyond check out time to 2pm. Because we need prep time, guests really MUST be prepared to check out on time. I will sometimes allow a guest to stay later if they are very polite in asking about it, and I have no other guest arriving that day, but not more than 1-2 hours over.
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Post by sus on Nov 5, 2015 23:41:33 GMT
Thanks so much for the info and advice. I am definitely reminding the folks that are arriving today because of short window I have to clean on the turn over day. I like your idea of a note reminding people of the check out time.
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Post by josh on Nov 6, 2015 0:23:06 GMT
I can't find the policy for late check-out. Can you provide a link?
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Post by High Priestess on Nov 6, 2015 0:39:35 GMT
This is what Airbnb states about guests who overstay in its terms and conditions, here: www.airbnb.com/terms"Overstaying without the Host's Consent
Guests agree that a confirmed reservation is merely a license granted by the Host to the Guest to enter and use the Listing for the limited duration of the confirmed reservation and in accordance with the Guest's agreement with the Host. Guests further 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 the Host and Guest. If a Guest stays past the agreed upon checkout time without the Host's consent, they no longer have a license to stay in the Listing and the Host is entitled to make the Guest leave. In addition, Guests agree that the Host can charge the Guest, for each 24 hour period that the Guest stays over the agreed period without the Host's consent, an additional nightly fee of two times the average nightly Accommodation Fee originally paid by the Guest to cover the inconvenience suffered by the Host, plus all applicable Service Fees, Taxes, and any legal expenses incurred by the Host to make the Guest leave (collectively, "Additional Sums"). Guests agree that Airbnb Payments, in its role as limited collection agent for the Host, shall charge the Guest's credit card or other payment methods it has on file to collect these Additional Sums. In addition, Airbnb Payments may recover any costs and expenses it incurs in collecting the Additional Sums by charging the Guest's credit card or other payment method on file."The language here is unclear -- I thought I recalled that hosts could charge guests who overstay even just a portion of an additional day, but one could read the above and take it to mean that hosts can charge guests twice the additional nightly fee pnly if guests stays for 24 hrs or more beyond checkout time. I'm not sure which it is, but I would suggest hosts have in their house rules that the fee applies for any portion of an additional stay that the guest overstays.
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