Should I Let My Airbnb Guests Check Out Late?

Airbnb has grown in popularity over the last decade with holidaymakers going on the site to find their next short term rental. It proves an easy and reliable way to find somewhere to stay at an affordable rate. Whether you want to go on a break for a week or looking at a more extended stay of a month, you get the flexibility to choose the length of your stay. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that vacation rental owners are rushing to list their property on Airbnb. It reassures them that they will get paid properly and allows them to be viewed by a much wider audience.

When you are listing your property on Airbnb, there will be a number of important decisions you will have to make. For instance, you will have to decide on the number of guests allowed to stay on the property at one time. Also, you will need to consider if you will let pets stay at your Airbnb. These are all decisions that need to be made before you list your property on the popular site. Another big decision is the check in and check out times for the property. You want to state clearly what time the guests have to leave, so you can have a smooth transition to the next guests. However, you might want to let guests check out late. A guest will likely ask you if they can check out late at one time. Whether this is because they want to travel home later or their transportation is delayed, it’s a possibility it will come up. Therefore, you need to know what to do in this situation. Here is your guide on checking out late so you can make the right decision with your property. 

What is the general time for check out?

The first thing you need to know is the check out time you would usually have on your Airbnb property. When you first list the property, it’s important to add this to your listing. After all, guests need to plan out their holiday according to the check in and check out times. They will need to have time to pack as well as work out where they go next. Generally, most hosts put the Airbnb checkout time as around 11 am as this is the default time on the system. This gives the guest enough time to get ready for the day and pack without rushing them out the door. However, this also allows you plenty of time to get the Airbnb ready for the new guests. After all, cleaning and maintenance are important in between guests. And if you have new guests arriving the same day, there will be a short turnaround time.

The positives to allowing the guest to check out late

Before you decide to let guests have a later check out time, you need to weigh up the positives and negatives. Here are some of the positives to saying yes to the guest checking out later.

Increasing your guest’s happiness levels 

You want guests to have a positive experience when booking your property. Ultimately this will lead to excellent reviews and good feedback when talking to others which will lead to further bookings. Therefore, you want to ensure their needs are met when booking the property. So agreeing to let them stay for longer is going to lead to happier guests. After all, whether they need to get a later train or don’t want to rush with young children, you are helping to grant their wish. Therefore, they are more likely to book again in the future and will hopefully leave you with a better review when they go. 
 

The ability to earn more money

Another reason why you could agree to let guests check out late is that you can charge an extra fee for this. The surcharge for checking out late would be added to the nightly rate when the guest books. The platform does give you the option of adding a later check out time or you might want to set your own such as a ‘per hour; fee or a certain percentage depending on how long they want to stay extra. This fee will not only give you extra money but it also covers any additional cleaning costs you may have to pay for the shorter cleaning time.

Reduces the possibility of them taking advantage

If you do agree to let them stay longer than the normal check out time, the agreement has been made and you both know where you stand. You know the exact time they will leave the property and they will stick to it as you have agreed to it. If you say no, there is a possibility they might take advantage and stay longer anyway. Therefore, you might find issues when the cleaning company turns up and they are still there. You might also find that if you have said no they might leave it in an untidy condition so that you have more work to clean it for the next person.

The negatives to letting guests stay longer

So we have discussed why you might want to say yes to guests. Now we are going to look at some of the negatives to agreeing to a later check out.

The possibility of cleaning issues

When you decide on a specific check out time, you will likely have considered the amount of time needed for cleaning. After all, if you have guests arriving that afternoon, the cleaning needs to be done in a quick turnaround. Therefore, if you decide to let a guest stay longer, you are cutting that time down significantly. You will have to rush around to get the place cleaned in a short amount of time. And if you use a company for the cleaning, they might end up charging you extra if they do not have the normal amount of time to clean the job. So you could lose some of your profit if you have to pay the cleaning company more than normal.

Your next guests could be affected 

You will have a set check in time for your property on Airbnb. Therefore, your guests will want to arrive at that time to check in to their property. If you have your old guests still hanging around when the new people arrive, you will immediately have a bad relationship with the new guests. After all, they might have travelled far to stay on your property and will want to get settled. Additionally, you might have to contact them to ask to come later if your guest has requested to stay longer. 

They might stay even longer than the new time

If you do agree to the new time, you might find that they think you will be lenient with any extra time they do stay. But then this could affect the new guests as well as your cleaning time. Therefore, it’s worth ensuring you message them reminding them of the check out time before they arrive. Whether you do this through email or phone, it will remind them that you are expecting them to leave by that time. 

Final tips if you do let your Airbnb guests check out late 

If you do agree to let them check out later than normal, here are some tips to ensure it works out for the best.

Don’t advertise on your listing you do offer late check out 

If you start putting it on the listing that you offer late check out, a lot of guests will want to do this. While you don’t mind sorting this out occasionally, you don’t want to have to deal with all your guests staying late. It will end up costing you more and will put you through inconvenience. Therefore, wait until the guest asks you if it’s a possibility. Also, you could always offer it to guests if they have emailed asking for more information. Telling them you could offer this could make the difference between booking and not booking the accommodation.

Add this time to all further correspondence 

If you have agreed to a later check out time, you need to make sure this is added to all further correspondence with the guest. From their booking confirmation to their house rules, make sure it’s set out clearly so that there is no dispute later about exactly what time you both have agreed for them to check out. It’s reassurance for you both that this is the plan so neither of you can have a dispute at a later date. 

Consider keyless entry

If you are going to offer a check out time that is not the normal time, you could consider going keyless with the entry. That way, they can let themselves in and out without the worry of the key. After all, the new check out time might be inconvenient for you, especially if you are back not long after for the new guests. And since the pandemic, a lot of people prefer keyless check in. So this is a good option which will allow your guests to check out much easier after their stay.