After hours guest contacts

Member since 2023 · 10 posts · 6 votes

For smaller STR operators, how do you handle after hours guest issues/contacts? It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally I get guests reaching out after I go to sleep. I’ve change my phone settings to allow calls/texts from Airbnb & Hospitable to come through. I got a contact recently from a guest that I didn’t hear until seeing it when I woke up. Just trying to get ideas to address this process issue without blowing up my costs.

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John UnderwoodPro Member

Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes

1mo

After 15 years I've never had an issue in the middle of the night.

I do maintenance and maintain my properties to reduce the chance of anything happening.

Sure something could still happen but its been nonexistent for me so far.

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Trent Reeve
Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 704 posts · 632 votes
1mo
i tell guests i monitor from 8-8. You can look at something like Hostbuddy, which will respond, but nothing happens really until you wake up. But if it is just something that needs an answer and not something specifically done, it can handle that.
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John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
1mo
After 15 years I've never had an issue in the middle of the night.
I do maintenance and maintain my properties to reduce the chance of anything happening.
Sure something could still happen but its been nonexistent for me so far.
2 Reply
- Trent Reeve
  Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 704 posts · 632 votes
  1mo
  Quote from @John Underwood:
  
  After 15 years I've never had an issue in the middle of the night.
  I do maintenance and maintain my properties to reduce the chance of anything happening.
  Sure something could still happen but its been nonexistent for me so far.
  
  i hadnt until this year. call at 330 am. group of kids came down from Atlanta to PCB for spring break. One kid was 17, his parent didnt let him go, but he snuck off anyways and told the group he was okay. Parents drove down in middle of night and used Find my iphone to go to the house and knock on it. No one answering that late in the night, so they saw the signage and called me. they wanted to call the police, but i talked them into going to waffle house until i could get someone awake. I watched the door camera as that kid walked out and took it in the ears multiple times on the way to the car.
  kid snuck off again the next night on his way back to PCB. but only time its been past 9 pm.
  1 Reply
Ken Boone
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1mo
I have been operating for 8 years with 5 properties now. Guests can call when they need me 24/7. It is absolutely rare that I get a call past 11pm - in fact like @John Underwood said, never has happened in the middle of the night.

However, if I have a guest that has a serious problem at 3am I want to know. This past week my cabin took a direct lightning hit while the guests were there. They saw an outlet cover go flying across the vaulted ceiling when it hit. The outlet was sparking. That wasn't at 3am, but if it was I would want to know at 3am.

Likewise, a few years ago on a very cold night I had a pipe burst on the 3rd floor. Again, that fortunately happened during the early evening but again if that happened at 3am I would want to know.
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Mike GrudzienPro Member
Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1mo
I put my phone on Do Not Disturb. I have a "burner phone" (left over from a different industry) that is for LTR tenants and STR guests. One late night call from a tenant in last 12 years.
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Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
1mo
Even with 60 or so units and just about 10 years doing this, I have only had issues beyond 10pm maybe 15 or so times across the board. It can happen, but honestly even if the house was on fire there is likely little you can actually do til the morning anyways. As a PM I do have 24/7 reservationist coverage and on call staff, but again rarely used.
I am personally more concerned with after hours inquiries being left unanswered. Before I had VA's (and def before AI) I remember specifically receiving a 2 week inquiry at a property I owned at 2am (coming in from Europe). I responded around 6am and they had already secured another property by then. It was a $10,000 booking and I ended up only booking 8 of the 14 nights causing about $3500 opportunity cost.
[email protected]813-563-0877
Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
Website View Page
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- Trent Reeve
  Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 704 posts · 632 votes
  1mo
  Quote from @Andrew Steffens:
  
  Even with 60 or so units and just about 10 years doing this, I have only had issues beyond 10pm maybe 15 or so times across the board. It can happen, but honestly even if the house was on fire there is likely little you can actually do til the morning anyways. As a PM I do have 24/7 reservationist coverage and on call staff, but again rarely used.
  I am personally more concerned with after hours inquiries being left unanswered. Before I had VA's (and def before AI) I remember specifically receiving a 2 week inquiry at a property I owned at 2am (coming in from Europe). I responded around 6am and they had already secured another property by then. It was a $10,000 booking and I ended up only booking 8 of the 14 nights causing about $3500 opportunity cost.
  I am guessing Tampa different than Panama city. we have to be able to have someone at the property within an hour of a necessary call.
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- Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
  Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
  1mo
  Quote from @Trent Reeve:
  
  Quote from @Andrew Steffens:
  
  Even with 60 or so units and just about 10 years doing this, I have only had issues beyond 10pm maybe 15 or so times across the board. It can happen, but honestly even if the house was on fire there is likely little you can actually do til the morning anyways. As a PM I do have 24/7 reservationist coverage and on call staff, but again rarely used.
  I am personally more concerned with after hours inquiries being left unanswered. Before I had VA's (and def before AI) I remember specifically receiving a 2 week inquiry at a property I owned at 2am (coming in from Europe). I responded around 6am and they had already secured another property by then. It was a $10,000 booking and I ended up only booking 8 of the 14 nights causing about $3500 opportunity cost.
  I am guessing Tampa different than Panama city. we have to be able to have someone at the property within an hour of a necessary call.
  
  Just need a phone number on file :)
  [email protected]813-563-0877
  Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
  Website View Page
  0 Reply
Lauren Kormylo
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ and Rehoboth Beach DE · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1mo
It sounds like your phone didn't ring or ping loud enough to wake you up when that guest called/texted? If it wasn't an emergency, I wouldn't worry about waiting until morning to answer them. I doubt guests even expect you to answer them at that hour, they might expect just to leave a message so you'll see it first thing in the morning.
I've never had a call in the middle of the night, but I'm out of state, and 3 hours earlier in the time zone where I am, so I have had some early morning calls. I want to be notified immediately in case of an emergency so I don't limit calls. The most likely would be a water leak, and I want to tell them where the shut off valve is right away. If your guests tend to call or text at odd hours for routine matters, tell them in your pre-stay instructions the set hours that you'll be available every day, and then say in an emergency, call anytime.
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Garrett BrownPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2024 · 502 posts · 548 votes
1mo
Hospitable has pretty good AI that can respond for you and also look into Hostbuddy. Both can help mitigate a vast majority of simple things that get asked overnight. It is rare and make sure you build solid guidebooks, etc. so guests have most info they need.
[email protected]
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Michael BaumPro Member
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
1mo
I have never gotten a call/text in the middle of the night from guests.
Like @John Underwood, we run a tight ship and keep up on maintenance to eliminate issues that would result from hard systems failure.
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Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 8k+ votes
1mo
In our 26 years of LTR, most emergency calls are NOT actual emergencies.
[email protected]248-209-6824
Logical Property Management4.9446 Reviews
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Alexis Engelking
Member since 2026 · 5 posts · 0 votes
1mo
A lot of after-hours contact is preventable - it comes from guests not knowing where to find answers, not from actual problems. Put a short operational checklist in your check-in message, not a second listing: welcome, check-in time, getting there (parking/drop-off), finding the entrance, access (codes via the platform's private message, never public posts), inside (where the Wi-Fi is, one property-specific note), quiet hours plus one essential rule, how to reach you for non-urgent issues and, separately, emergency services, and check-out time. Repeat only the essentials in the welcome guide (house expectations, local basics like nearest grocery/pharmacy/urgent care, best way to contact you). Before sending each message, verify the date, name, access instructions, Wi-Fi, and check-in window - most "they never told me" messages are a wrong detail or a missing one. You'll still get real after-hours issues; just make sure the channel for them (and for emergencies) is one line the guest can find in 5 seconds.
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