How Self Check In Will Give You Freedom, More Bookings And Less Cancelations

When most people start hosting on Airbnb, they welcome their guests themselves and hand over the keys in person. If you’ve done this, you’ve probably already found that meeting guests in person every time is difficult – and that’s where self-check-in comes in. No matter how experienced you are, self-check-in is a great way to make the most out of Airbnb, make extra money, and take back your time. On our blog this week, we asked KeyNest, a key exchange service with thousands of self-check-in locations worldwide, to give us four reasons why you should be offering self-check-in to your guests.

No more Estimated Arrival Time – Give your guests flexibility

Going on holiday is stressful. Your guests have probably had to deal with the stress of an airport, running late, and landing in a new country where they don’t speak the language fluently. The last thing they want is a stressful check-in and to rush to your apartment to meet you before the last check-in time. If your apartment is on the other side of the city to the airport, they might want to stop off at a restaurant on the way. Or if they’re arriving early, they’ll probably want to do a bit of exploring on their way to checking in. By offering your guests self-check-in, they can check in on their own time and cut out some of the stress of their holiday.

Don’t cancel your plans and give yourself spare time

Whether you’re an Airbnb property manager or Airbnb Co-host, running your own Airbnb business, or just renting out a spare room, Airbnb takes up a lot of your time.

Airbnb for Work requires self-check-in

Airbnb for Work is a collection of homes recognized as suitable for business travelers. These listings have their own filter on the search results page, giving you a better chance of getting bookings. Business-ready listings can also charge a higher nightly rate. This combination of more bookings and higher rates is why inclusion in Airbnb for Work is seen as important by property managers and co-hosts. However, inclusion in Airbnb for Work has some entry criteria – including self-check-in. Business travelers need the flexibility to come and go from the property without needing the host.

Last-minute cancellations vs Self-check-in

Airbnb doesn’t take it well when you cancel bookings – you need to have a 1% or lower cancellation rate to become a Superhost. This means that the vast majority of hosts won’t be able to become Superhosts if they have to cancel even once a year. If you cancel a guest’s reservation, you’ll have an automatic review on your listing’s profile indicating that you canceled, and this can’t be removed. Without self-check-in, a last-minute emergency will mean canceling the booking, getting negative feedback, and losing out on some cash. Offering self-check-in means you can always honor your reservations, even when you’re in a different city or country.