What a free early check-in costs you
A guest lands at 9 AM and your check-in time is 3 PM. The guest writes from the airport with two tired children. You want to help, so you say yes and call your cleaner.
Now your cleaner rushes, and the bed may not be ready at the time you promised. The guest arrives to a closed door or a wet floor. A kind yes became the first complaint of the stay.
A fee changes this. It pays for the extra work, and it makes a guest choose the hours that truly matter.
What Airbnb says about early check-in fees
Airbnb has a page for guests called Request an early check-in time. One heading on it reads "Hosts may charge extra for early check-in." The page names one reason: a host may "need to hire additional cleaners."
So a fee is normal on Airbnb. Guests are told to send their exact arrival time, which also helps you. You can decide from a real time, not a guess.
Check the unit before you answer
Open your calendar before you reply. Did another guest stay the night before? If so, your cleaner needs that morning, and an early check-in may be a no.
If the unit was empty the night before, the unit may be ready already. Those are your easy sales. Check that the cleaning is done, and then say yes.
How to set your early check-in fee
Start with what the hours cost you. Add the cleaner's extra time and any night you must leave empty. Then make a short list of arrival times, with a price for each one.
An early morning arrival should cost more than one hour before check-in. Use a flat amount for each time, or take a share of the nightly rate. A guest who arrives a full day early needs another night, so charge the price of a night.
Decide how far ahead you sell it, and how close to arrival you stop. Your cleaner needs a clear plan for the day.
What to write to the guest
Give the time and the price together. For an Airbnb guest, send the Resolution Center link for the booking. Copy this and fill in the brackets:
Message to copy
Hi [name], yes, your unit can be ready at [time]. An early check-in costs [price]. To pay, open this Airbnb link and choose Send money, then Extra services: [Resolution Center link]. We will send your entry steps when the payment arrives.
When the unit is not free
Give the reason and one useful thing to do. A guest with a plan is calmer than a guest with a no.
Message to copy
Hi [name], another guest is leaving that morning, so our cleaner needs the unit until [time]. You can leave your bags at [place] and we will write as soon as it is ready.
After the guest pays
Check that the money arrived, then give the entry steps. Airbnb guests pay inside Airbnb, and our help page shows how Airbnb guests pay. Next, write the new arrival time where your cleaner reads it. The same steps work for a late checkout.
How TravelPal does this for you
When you turn it on, TravelPal offers early check-in on Guesty bookings in the chat, at your price. It checks the cleaning between guests first. If another guest checks out of the unit that day, it refuses. You set how far ahead the offers start and how close to arrival they stop.
After the sale, TravelPal moves the planned arrival time in Guesty, so your team sees the real time. If an early arrival needs the night before free, it can hold that night on your Guesty calendar. Read more about selling early check-in, or see all the paid extras.
Sources
- Request an early check-in time airbnb.com