Guest tells me today that she is arriving at 2am!

[Andria-M-0]

How do I handle a late arrival guest? 

I can't believe the entitlement of some people. She's paying less than $50 for a room and wants to arrive at 2am! She never mentioned this once when booking. If I cancel, it looks bad and my superhost goes away, right? This is BS.

HELP.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

You should always confirm the check and check out time with your guest - even if they don;t mention it. Some hosts are happy with late check in - others not so.

What does it say on your listing at present? I assume you have a timeframe mentioned?

Best thing to do is contact AirBnB and explain to them that you are not prepared to accept such a late check in and you would like them to find her alternative accommodation.

Whatever you do, don't cancel as you will be penalised and you lose superhost status for a year.

[Andria-M-0]

Yes, I was worried about my superhost status. I have changed my check-in details to be EVEN MORE specific and have even added a late check-in/check-out fee (I don't know how I would make them pay this, however - thoughts?). And I do check in with my guests, this is the only reason I found out about the late check-in. I'm just shocked that someone would do this. It's a room in my home, not a hotel after all. Crazy.

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

@Andria-M-0 We've had guests arrive late. They can let themselves in, and we greet them in the morning. While it's nice to be up and at the house when they check in, it's not a huge deal if we miss each other...everyone has their own schedules...planes can run late, etc.

[Andria-M-0]

I get it, but I'm a single woman living alone. And these guests don't have any recommendations from other airbnb hosts. And the plane isn't arriving late in this case, she just screwed up in multiple ways (didn't GPS, etc) and waited until I asked her arrival time to tell me.

[Clare0]

@Andria-M-0 Well, it seems you have a choice:  Either tell the guest that you don't accept 2am checkins in which case she can find another place to sleep or you can set your alarm clock for 2am so as to be ready to check her in.  Unless the guest has a really good reason for arriving so late, I would say no.  We are not hotels with 24 hour front desk service. 

If she wants, she can amend her reservation to start a day later which you would need to agree to.  

[Andria-M-0]

I have asked her for $50 fee for late check-in (she ignored it, but sent me a "sorry for the inconvenience" message). I have also talked to airbnb and she suggested I change the reservation. "Luckily," it was for two nights so I asked to reduce it to one night which would keep my superhost status. She can accept it or not. We shall see. If she doesn't accept, then airbnb said they would work with me. 

We always learn something, yes?

[Deborah1]

I think sometimes new guests just don't understand how it all works and think it is like a hotel. When I mentioned on a guest's review that she did not communicate her change in arrival time and arrived much later than I expected, she sent a message saying that she was upset by my review and thought she was doing me a favor but giving me an estimated arrival time at all since you don't need to do that at hotels.

You might want to consider a code box. I have one so it would be possible for someone to check in late without me waiting up. (not ideal since I am sure that I would wake up since it is a small house and I am a light sleeper.)

Hope all goes well.

[Andria-M-0]

The guest and I have resolved things. I have considered keyed code locks for my doors. However, I'm a single woman living alone so I prefer to meet people, especially when they are new to airbnb and haven't been vetted by other hosts. It's all an adventure. Thank you for responding.

[Helen3]

Hi Andria

Going forward ....this might help.

Before confirmation of a booking I always confirm with guests their check in and check out times. That way you don't have to accept anyone who has check in times that don't work for you and say if they want to arrive at 09.00 a.m and your check in is say 5 p.m. you can either look at charging an early check in or decline the booking. Similarly if they want to arrive in the early hours, you can declinet their booking.

Glad to hear you got things sorted out.

[Linda108]

I am glad it all got sorted out for you.  I, too, am a single woman and do not want anyone coming into my house without my greeting them.  I have a large dog and I always communicate that it is imperative that I introduce the guest to the dog.  Now, my dog is a real pussycat (Greyhound) and is absolutely not a danger to anyone, but everyone respects my wish to provide introductions.

Sounds like there is not much more you could have done in this case, however.