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Guests arrival times

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Ronda Turk

 First time poster.

I have a one room boutique space so don't have a front desk to greet guests. My problem is if guests don't let me know their arrival time I can be waiting around from our 2pm check in time until late in the evening. When I could be doing other things. It says on our listing to let us know and I ask in the confirmation email. 

I suspect people don't read the request. I sometimes ring but if its a landline in another country I cant keep making expensive calls. Sometimes texts work, but not always.

How do others deal with this issue? 

Ronda

 

 

 

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    michael beeston

    Difficult sometimes.The guests are usually on Holiday Mode and are late/stop for a coffee/Lunch/wrong directions/late plane.....whatever..out of 20 guests maybe 2 or 3 are either late or delayed.what can we do ???? I just wait until they ring or I try ringing after 1 hour waiting...difficult...BUT it has happened to Rita and I ??

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    Ronda Turk

    Thank you Michael, Mosts guests do have a good reason for being late, like late ferry sailings etc. I do believe most would let me know if they knew the inconvenience of waiting for hours. The bonus for guests who keep us informed, is they get a lovely warm fire to greet them in cooler weather.

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    michael beeston

    Hi Ronda.Yes agree most guests try to get there on time or many times ring to see if they can arrive early..if the property is available I have no problems..welcome...and I also have a small Fireplace(although not used very much in Surfers)

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    Kaiwalsh

    I have a check in time that suits me. 6-10pm. Then if I can’t be there I make sure someone is. I also send confirmation e mail and text and WhatsApp, if I see that, as it’s free, as soon as I see they’ve booked so I can catch them hopefully still on line, requesting a text from them when on way or an eta, so I can ensure somebody is at the property to give them access, and this wording usually makes them more attentive! Although of course there are times when guests cannot be contacted but you’ve covered yourself if somebody’s available during times you’ve stated.

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    Ronda Turk
    • Edited

    Thank you Kaiwalsh, I'll check out the WhatsApp. I think I'll push my check in time out to 3pm with earlier check in by arrangement. Oh, I like your "so somebody can give them access" phrase too, very clever.

     

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    M Adamopoulou

    Hi Ronda and welcome to the forum. Ten days before arrival I send guests an arrival letter asking them for their arrival time and if they have any special request.... They usually answer. On arrival day I am stand by in case something goes wrong. I wait for them and if they are late after an hour I call them asking if they have any trouble with location.

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    Gerda Bierebeeck

     Often guest do not respond to my question regarding arrival time. If the guest spreak a language i can speak than there is no problem, i call them. However i dont understand guests from Eastern Europe, calling them us useless. Wath do others do in this case?

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    Kaiwalsh
    • Edited

    Try to stick to written contact, so I can use google translation, otherwise I call Booking.com and they usually can assist, as many of their people are bilingual and can reach out to the guests even more than we can, also if they can’t get anywhere they will advise you on what to do to cover yourself. They are very helpful, and there to assist us, as when we are successful they benefit, vice versa!

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    Wayne Cahoon

    What I do is push their emailed reservations to my phone so I have their contact info handy, but with foreign visitors it's been very difficult to get in contact with them. I've found the sooner I get in touch with a guest the better chance I get a response. In 11 years of running our B&B we've had only one guest sitting on the bench waiting for us to arrive.

    Booking.com is very insensitive to the little guys that don't have a front desk manned 24/7. As best as I can tell they don't make ANY provision to ask the guests specific questions at the time of booking. In fact they prefer to ask as few questions as possible as not to make the person booking feel like they are getting the third degree integration and possibly not book through them.

    Here what I need to know from every guest.

    • Are there any food restrictions I should know about?
    • Approximately what time will you be arriving? We'll need to know when your arriving so that we can be here to show you the room as we don't have a front desk manned.
    • What is your home address State or Country? As Booking.com doesn't collect this info. I've found it a real pain in the butt having to look up their zip code or Country that is just another step we have to do when the booker can enter it in a second.

    I've had pretty good results the faster I get this email sent to them as they are still in the booking mind set.

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    Ronda Turk

    Thanks for the useful tips.  Wayne Cahoon, In the booking settings you can make each guest fill in address details, and phone number. I have this set up. Booking .com prefer, as you say, least steps possible for guests to book. I found I was getting bogus bookings or people not even sure if they would make it this far but book anyway.( I have a very generous cancelation policy.) By getting guests to fill in address details I've not had anmore bogus bookings so far.  

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    Wayne Cahoon

    Ronda,

    Booking.com isn't chasing after someone to pay or the get the correct information so I request it up front or no booking is accepted.

    This is what I receive from Booking.com.

    • Name
    • Phone #
    • Street address
    • City
    • Zip - Some times

    No State or true country. I say TRUE country as I've had it list a country based on the zip code, but if the zip code is entered in wrong then it's not usable. I NEED the other info listed on a previous posting to exclude the riff raff and give me the info I need to run my place.

    I don't know if it's changed, but in the past I would receive C/C's without a 3 digit code. I've learned to demand a code and then I pre-autherize it before I accept it or it'll be rejected IF it didn't come in the original booking. 

    Some lessons have been hard learned.

    Wayne TGH B&B Owner

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    M Adamopoulou

    Hi Ronda-Turk useful info you gave us.  Where exactly  in booking settings you can make each guest fill in address details.  How do you  set up this? Having contact with guests from the very moment they make reservation helps reducing cancellations and getting to knowing your guests better.

    Thank you Ronda for the input and have a nice evening.

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    Ronda Turk

    M Adamopoulou, In your booking.com page. go to  'Property' at the top. From the pull down menu select 'Policies'  Scroll down the page to 'Guest information' here you can edit your preferences. 

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    M Adamopoulou

    Ronda Turk thank you very much for instructions.
    Take care....

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    Wayne Cahoon

    Rhonda,

    In the Property > Policies > Guest Requirements > Edit > "Do you want guests to enter their home address when booking" question DOESN'T work fully as the Town information is not reported to me when I get a booking. Also see Guest Information, there is a question there that asks "Can guests book without providing address details?" but as I said before, NO, NONE, NADA city information is relayed to me when a booking comes in.

     

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    michael beeston

    Hi everyone..I have just attached booking from booking.com  and it shows ALL information I require............Rhonda/Wayne..does this help ???

    1. The booking from booking.com has all details that I need/Address/phone number/credit card details/name/amount of guests.

    2. I have already taken the 30% deposit (immediately even though the booking is for 2019 !!) by my credit card machine and relayed the info to the client.

    3.Since starting the 30% deposit we have negligible cancellations..............it works well as I believe the guest has already paid 30% deposit....SO why waste time chasing for a better deal ?? elsewhere.

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    michael beeston

    sideways..sorry ...anyway ti shows all details..hope this helps.........Michael.

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    michael beeston

    5 days before the guests arrive I charge the balance and when they arrive it is PAID. !!!.Cool.

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    Ronda Turk

    Thank you Micheal.

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    michael beeston

    Hope it is of some help Ronda.....Thks.

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    pibomarco

    Self check in for "late" arrivals. Works well :) 

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    Alasma

    Very useful tips from you guys.
    We have just introduced self check in at our 2 locations. Once payment for rent and deposit is clear . We ask our guests to send us photo ID and then send them a details with locker code. Also some pictures and small video.
    It's really help ful . It save time for waiting and paying out to staff.
    As we don't have a main desk and our apartments are located in different locations. So can't be every where most of the time.
    Booking.com staff try their best to call international guests to find out about check in time but mostly guests don't reply to incoming calls to avoid charges.
    So we use self check in service and staff can meet them later on if required.
    I find it helpful specially when guests book on the door step of apartment. We don't use this service for local bookings and group booking to avoid any incidents.

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    David Graham01

    I have a keypad lock in front door
    I send them the code
    I also have my phone number on a plaque on the door beside the lock
    No waiting at all

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    Jack Alty

    Yes, they don't read. Sometimes they don't answer e-mails, telephone calls as well.
    Bit of waiting for the keys to the property (at least couple of hours) teach them to read and answer e-mails.

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    Francoise

    I always send them a message 2 days before their arrival date to request the arrival time. I also have a keybox and I give them the code a few hours before their arrival if they come late at night. When they arrive in the afternoon I ask them to text me when they are 10 minutes away from the apartment because I like to welcome them, I want to know who is in my apartment.

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    michael beeston

    Hello Francoise........Although we do not have a key box , I do a similar thing that you do....................and I very much like to see who the guests are that are staying at the property, and have a chat with them (its always good)

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    Kerrie Cox

    I am also quite small and only have two rooms. I usually greet guests and provide a treat from our kitchen. If I know I will not be available all afternoon, I will normally send an email through Booking.com to ask them to let me know what time they may be arriving, so I can ensure that I am onsite to greet them.  I then provide them with directions on how they can enter their accommodation. We have pin codes not he door so they can enter without keys which makes it so much easier.  I will normally text guests the morning they are due to arrive to ask their expected time of arrival. Overseas guests, I need to rely on Booking.com email system and hope they check it prior to arriving.  Generally these methods work.  We live onsite and don't have a front desk, so I will send instructions if I know there is a chance that I will not be here at their expected arrival time.

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    michael beeston

    Hello Kerrie.......Thats the way.we are all different and if it works for you then that is even better....,,good news.

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    Carrawobitty Rural Retreat

    As we're situated on 100 acres, it's good to know a ruff time to expect guest so we're not away from the house.

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    Debbie

    When the reservation is received, in the note section request a check in time and note. Check ins after

    lets say 9pm will receive an email with self check in instructions. Please make sure you have access to your registered email.

    If you can, place a realtor lock box on the door with key inside and room #. They can access thru the lock box and check in , in the am to sign paper work or what have you.

    Should  you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call me and give then hours to call and # to contact....

    always make sure you have a valid email address, place it back on them..Works great for us.....

     

     

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