What To Do when your Airbnb guest asks for Early Check-In

[Luke Carl]

First and foremost my system is based on "Give them an inch they will take you 10 miles" which I find to be true in this business. There are many different ways to run your Airbnb. Here is how I, (Superhost with 2000 glowing 5 star reviwes), run mine! 

This is my "Early Check-In Late Check-Out" System.

Rule 1. 

My listing mentions NO Early Check-In No Late/Check Out so I am off the hook even before they book. If it's mentioned in the listing and they don't read it.... you're still at risk of a bad review so you must beat them over the head with your systems. 

Rule 2. 

The following is included in my "Confirmed Booking" message which is sent AUTOMATICALLY by my PMS (property management software) (YourPorter) to anyone that has a PAID booking.

"CHECK-IN/CHECK-OUT TIMES
Check-in is at 4pm and check-out is at 11am. While we try to go above and beyond to accommodate our guests, we cannot offer early check-ins or late departures. This is to allow our cleaning crew ample time to make sure your home is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized before and after your stay."

This eliminates nearly all of the early/late requests. 

BUT you still get the folks that don't read anything. Which leads me to....

Rule 3. 

Here's a real-life example. I have currently a high maintenance question asker about to check in for a week for the in-high-demand July 4th weekend. This is a large party that has paid a lot of money to stay in a large home on the beach. But the thing is... If they were to cancel, I could have this rebooked within 3 minutes for MORE money than they have paid.***

I re-sent the same message from above, so she now has this a second time, and she said "That's unfortunate for us" clearly displaying her dissatisfaction in our policy. 

So my message in this particular situation is.... 

"Hello! We are happy to offer you a one-time courtesy full refund but you will need to take advantage of this by today at Noon (insert time zone). Otherwise, the cancelation policy will be in effect. Thank you and travel safe!"

Works every time.  

Of course, this is to be used sparingly. I wouldn't necessarily use it on a Tuesday in February. 

I'd love to hear how you handle this with the never-ending stream of multiple personalities that are entering your property and your!

***If I could get more money... why did I book them? Well, it's not always wise to wait until the last second to book in-demand holidays. It's worth a few dollars less to book it in advance. I find the sweet spot is 4-5 weeks prior. 

"If it's repeatable, you can build a system around it and anyone can facilitate this system" - Ray Dalio 

The goal is of course to take yourself out of the business and let the business run itself. My assistant is taught all systems and handles the messages for me. 

To summarize.... If it happens more than TWO times -build a system around it so it never happens again!