Do guests ever arrive on time?

If you are planning to buy a rental home, or you're thinking about what to do with one you have just acquired, this is the place for any questions about starting out in the rentals business.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

I would have called it the ring road. Thank you for the info.:D

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Has to be said, why hospitality wants to control aspects of persons vacation as in this discussion?
Once arrived at a B&B in the Lakes only to be told we was too early. We knew that, but it was only 45mins, which is not bad having come all the way from Spain. We certainly was not going to hang around a cold and wet village until the correct time.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Martha
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Post by Martha »

Generally they are close to it. But we aren't far from the airport. I make sure that the things people really need to know are in the email and text messages, and there is a key safe. I tell them to just let themselves in...if I'm in, all well and good but I think a lot of people just like to get in and decompress a bit. So much nicer not to be tied to an arrival time too.

The thing I find I need to be more strict about is departure time as some parties really do take their time.
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
Mike&Chrissy
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Guests arriving - is this an outlier?

Post by Mike&Chrissy »

Our Christmas guests live 30 minutes away but arrived 2 1/2 hours early and wanted to use our parking! Very irritated when we said no and posted spiteful feedback
zebedee
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Post by zebedee »

I hope you posted a suitable reply!!!

Do these guests ever have a tantrum if they arrive at a hotel and their room is still being made up???
I bet not!
Mike&Chrissy
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Surely the ultimate in early arrivals?

Post by Mike&Chrissy »

I know this thread is old but I have to get this off my chest! Our Christmas guests only live about 12-15 miles away yet they arrived 2 1/2 hours early and expected to use the cottage parking. Then they returned 1/2 hour early and were irritated at not being able to come in. Consequently we were given really vicious feedback and they left the place in a mess
Ecosse
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Post by Ecosse »

CSE wrote:
Has to be said, why hospitality wants to control aspects of persons vacation as in this discussion?
Once arrived at a B&B in the Lakes only to be told we was too early. We knew that, but it was only 45mins, which is not bad having come all the way from Spain. We certainly was not going to hang around a cold and wet village until the correct time.
Because that B&B owner may only have finished changing the rooms and all the other work half an hour before you arrived and has just arrived at the skateboard park with her son, to whom she made a promise, to make up for an otherwise boring day and she knows that if she rushed back to let you in she's going to have a very disappointed son on her hands who will resent his mum for always making them feel second best over yet another stranger staying in his home that night.

This isn't a hypothetical case: this happened to my friend and her six year old at the local skateboard track yesterday. We were all chatting together while the kids burnt off all their excess energy when she received the call. She did the right thing though, and said politely said 'no'.

Your B&B owner may not have had kids to deal with, but the principle's the same: they have a right to have a life too, even if all that amounts to in high summer is a few snatched hours in the middle of the day.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

Ecosse, that was not the case.
Days before we was due we were asked for when we would arrive. We would rather have been non-committal because of things like traffic delays, maybe weather conditions. In the end we gave mid afternoon, just because she insisted on a time.
Our arrival was within the time period given as to when "reception" was open.
To be welcomed with "You are too early" is perhaps not a perfect choice of words to greet a guest is it?

PS.....Also other guests were already in the B&B, so she did not have other commitments.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Ecosse
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Post by Ecosse »

CSE wrote:Ecosse, that was not the case.
Days before we was due we were asked for when we would arrive. We would rather have been non-committal because of things like traffic delays, maybe weather conditions. In the end we gave mid afternoon, just because she insisted on a time.
Our arrival was within the time period given as to when "reception" was open.
To be welcomed with "You are too early" is perhaps not a perfect choice of words to greet a guest is it?

PS.....Also other guests were already in the B&B, so she did not have other commitments.
You have absolutely no idea whether she had other commitments and just because there were others in the B&B when you arrived doesn't mean anything. They were probably already there the night before and, as you had told her you were coming in later, she or he probably planned to fit in something else. A doctor's appointment? A quick catch up with a friend? It doesn't matter what. They have a life and they don't want to burn out. Pandering to demanding guests who think that they are the only visitors the B&B/holiday let gets each year is extremely wearing, and the busier the B&B, the worse it is... if you don't stick to your limits,you find yourself working 24/7 and completely frazzled. I'm surprised you weren't able to put yourself into this B&B owner's shoes, considering you're in the business, too.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

Sorry but you was not there. You cannot comment on what went on. If she had something to do then all she had to do is explain.
Obviously running a business we know how to do it.
We have never ever asked when our guests what time they plan to arrive.
Appointments are for the likes of dentist, doctors :lol:
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Sunbeam
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Post by Sunbeam »

I'm amazed you have never asked for an arrival time - are you are on duty 24/7 and how do you manage departing and arriving guests for the same room? Do you have a departure time?
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