Minor Vent: 1am arrival?

[debk]

I just got an email from a Swedish guest saying she'll be arriving at 1am.

We've been emailing back/forth and she knows we meet guests with the keys at the house to answer last minute questions and give them a quick neighborhood tour (café, butcher, shortcut to Lisbon's main plaza, etc). In this last email, she graciously explained that we could re-schedule the intro tour that we offer to do at check-in -- and which the guestbook comments say is a "must do" -- for the following morning. Which doesn't work with my schedule at all...

And then she closed with a perky "Thanks for your indulgence!"

Check-in is at 4pm. We're very flexible and I've no problem meeting people at 10pm or even 11pm. But 1:00 am???

I haven't yet decided whether to meet her at the house at 1am or just leave a key under the mat. Problem is, I'll stay awake worrying if I don't know she arrived safely. The house is on a private lane (i.e., not on most maps) and Portuguese streets are notoriously difficult to navigate in daylight.

Honestly, am I having an off day or am I correct in thinking that a woman who doesn't speak Portuguese shouldn't be trying to find a house in a medieval section (ie, the taxi can't even reach the door to the house due to narrow, crooked one-way jumbled lanes) of a major European city after midnight??

I don't care how safe the neighborhood is (it is), nor how charming the lanes are in the daylight (they are)... I just keep having visions of her totally lost, dragging her luggage down the wrong street... Being late October, it'll probably be raining, too! Hey, perhaps this is what is meant by Extreme Travel?
debk

[Fraise]

No Deb, you are not being unreasonable. She should stay in a hotel overnight and arrange a rendez vous with you when it's convenient for you! 4pm arrival is normal, being flexible is great, we all try to be, after all we are owners who care,up to 10pm is good of you, I have done that too BUT after that time is ridiculous. It will have to be the next day.

[enid]

This is incredible - to expect to be met at this hour is not on! It's not my client but it's made me mad!!!!!

[Hells Bells]

I agree,that time of night is not convenient at all. I wouldn't expect our keyholder to meet anyone at that time, although there would always be an exception, such as guests stuck in a snowstorm somewhere (this happened last winter, but they arrived by 10pm).

[debk]

You are all wonderful. I was struggling to draft a response and bopped over here to see what words of wisdom might await.

The problem is that I can't come up with a nice way to say "pay for a hotel on top of what you've already paid for the house." So I'm leaning towards a key under the mat for her and a good night's sleep for myself... that's how owners who don't personally hand over keys do it, right? (Although they probably don't have a pre-commitment to a 4-5pm arrival time. That's what I find so irritating.)

No doubt some protein will help, so I'm off for lunch but will certainly check back here before clicking that "send" button.

Thank you so very much for the help. Long live the LHM team!
debk

[Hells Bells]

I think you've got it about right Deb, leaving a key somewhere sounds the best option to keep things trouble-free with your guest.
Perhaps we all need to add a note about late arrivals to our booking conditions?

[la vache!]

A key under the mat is fine. I don't think anyone would expect (or probably want!) the meet and greet routine at that time of night. As you say, most owners don't live in the vicinity and leave a key for them. Even though I live on site, I'm not so fanatic about being here for the arrival these days - if I'm going out I just leave the key under a flower pot and go and knock on the door to check everything is OK when I get back.

[Hanorah]

We installed a key safe this year which is really handy for late arrivals or those with unexpected delays. My inlaws are very happy with this new addition.

[Hells Bells]

I'm considering doing that myself, once the site has been properly landscaped,as there should be access to my terrace then, and we could put the box on the wall there. I don't really want to hang it outside the communal front door, and it locks automatically, so we can't put it inside.

[debk]

Actually, we have key safes at all the houses in case someone locks themselves out and we're too far away/busy to go over and let them in.

Unfortunately, I don't think this guest will be able to use it in the middle of the night. It's purposely installed where a bright light doesn't shine on it and, being black in color, she'll never figure it out in the darkness. I could tell her to bring a flashlight but that would probably freak out the neighbors.

Under the mat is safe enough. But I do highly recommend those keysafes!

If anyone in Spain or Portugal wants one, I can connect you with an authorized rep for these countries.
debk

[CostaBlanca]

I just got an email from a Swedish guest saying she'll be arriving at 1am.

I haven't yet decided whether to meet her at the house at 1am or just leave a key under the mat. Problem is, I'll stay awake worrying if I don't know she arrived safely.

Deb,
When I had my late arrival arriving 11pm ish during the Summer, I agreed to meet them initially due to the reason you stated above. The villa is a rather difficult place to find. However I recieved a call about 10.45pm saying that they were kinda of lost in Valencia. I gave them instructions on how to get back to the motorway. At 12.30am when they still hadn´t turned up (I couldn´t contact them by phone), I gave up, left a key and went home. At 1.15am, I received the inevitable phonecall, they could not find the house. 10 mins on the phone giving instructions, they finally arrived. (During the day, they would have seen the house). The reason why it had taken them so long to arrive - wait for it - they had stopped to get a bite to eat en route. Not best pleased! Now I tell guests that they should book their flights to arrive before 9pm - otherwise I will be leaving a key.

Maria

[Guest3]

I agree with the others Deb. I wouldn't want to stay up till 1am or longer (what if the flight is delayed?) waiting for guests to arrive early parts of the morning.

Key under the door mat or flower pot is the only option! Hope they find your place at that time of the morning without having to disturb you and your family. To find our villa a map is a 'must have' and even in broad daylight it can be tricky if someone is not good at map reading!

[Big Sis..]

Hi DebK

This does seem a bit of a pain to you but had you considered sending the keys????? on this one occasion[Im sure theyre not the only set you have].

As were not in Spain I always have to[by registered mail of course]a few weeks before
I know its not ideal but it could be an option.......
also VERY explicit instructions on how to find the place and the area around it, that would have to do until you could meet up with them............
You could leave other instructions in the house saying what you would normally tell them at the introduction meeting.....

Just a thought....

[debk]

Hey, Ros -

The problem isn't getting a key to the guest... it's finding the house itself. Once they do that, the keys are waiting.

Crystal says it well:

To find our villa a map is a 'must have' and even in broad daylight it can be tricky if someone is not good at map reading!

Guess I'll sleep with a phone under the pillow. Question is, should I turn it on or not? Just kidding!
debk

[paolo]

I'm with the guests! Their flight gets them to the house at 1am, that's unfortunate but they don't make the airline schedules. My house is hard to find too (no street names, no house numbers) so I write a detailed description, and I also send two hand-drawn maps, and a photo of the house in the context of the street to show what they are looking for.

I should think anyone who doesn't mind being up at 1am in a foreign city will be able to find their way. I'd leave the phone on, but silent ringing mode.