The answer to the question – should you contact guests mid-stay is almost always no!
And for the benefit of those who speak different variations of English, this question could also mean: “should I reach out to my guests mid-stay” or as below – should I message my guests during their Airbnb stay”.
This question was posed on social media recently and this was the feedback:
The answer is almost universally ‘no’ with a couple of caveats (below).
Would you want someone to check in on you during your stay?
I would say this is highly unlikely. It might feel like you’re being watched. And if there’s nothing to be suspicious about, then why do this?
However, there are some caveats:
Exceptions to the “Check-up” Rule!
- If you have a reason to be suspicious about people hosting parties then this may be a reason to check up on people.
- If you suspect illegal or immoral activity, especially drug taking, particularly if you have expressly forbidden this in your house rules.
- If you have a person (or a family) staying longer that you get to know, it’s sometimes nice to socialize with them. But only sometimes! However I have gotten to know many people like this, but this is maybe 20 people/groups out of 1000+ stays.
- If you have longer staying guests (for say 3-4 months) then you might legitimately contact them for periodic cleans for example
Further Points to consider
- If you do contact guests during their stay, then use the Airbnb App (or the booking.com app) so there is a record of the communication.
Further Reading
Airbnb has a good article on its website about guest communication. You can read this here.
