Anyone else noticing an increase in extremely early check-in requests?

[JD Martin]

Our normal check in hours for our vacation house is any time after 4 PM. Typically, our caretakers and cleaners will have everything ready by 2-3 PM or so on a back-to-back, and on a non back-to-back the caretakers will check the property the day the guests check out and arrange the cleaners accordingly. If it's only light cleaning, and no bad food debris or piles of wet towels, etc, they may have the cleaners come the following day depending on the schedule.

Over the last maybe 6 months I have started to notice an increase in the number of guests asking for extremely early check ins. I'm not talking about an hour or two or even 3, I'm talking anywhere from 6-10 AM. Naturally, on back-to-backs, we can't even remotely accommodate this, but how are others dealing with these requests outside of a back-to-back? We've always been flexible on early check-ins and if the house is ready just let them go ahead and check in early. That said, even on a non back-to-back, our caretakers will always check the house the day of check-in to make sure nothing has gone wrong from the time of cleaning until the day of next guest check in. These super early requests are inconvenient to say the least for our caretakers. More than that, based on my experience with the guests that make such requests, I'm starting to suspect that it is becoming a way of extending a vacation for free.

I personally find these super early requests unreasonable, even if the house is empty already. What are your experiences?

[Mike Grudzien]

If not a same day turn-over, I always offer my guests a: "No Charge Early Check-in".  I spin it like they're getting something extra.