It helps if you know a little about their journey – for example, if you know they planned to leave London at 2pm, you can estimate an arrival time, and allow for any road problems you may hear on the radio. And don’ t be afraid to call them if they are late- it’ s better than waiting and wondering.
It is so easy simply to take a booking, getting the address and charging a deposit very efficiently, but forgetting to arrange an arrival time. You could literally be waiting, if you are really unlucky, from lunchtime to midnight if you have no expected arrival time and no means to contact the guests. At such times, running your B & B begins to lose its glister!
Above all, ALWAYS charge a non-refundable deposit. No deposit, no booking – and once they have paid( say) £ 25, they are less likely not to turn up( though it’ s not infallible – we have had no-shows who had paid a deposit).
They should always be aware of your cancellation terms too, as they may well( for instance) be liable to pay the first night – ie more than their deposit – if they don’ t turn up. You may think that there is no chance of getting anyone to honour this, but we have done so on a number of occasions when let down by guests. Be firm and reasonable.
Calling guests the day before they are due often helps – you can remind them about arrival arrangements, and they will have up to date information about their travel plans and estimated arrival time.
Another important point is to give them clear directions as to how to find your B & B – either send a map and directions, or make sure they are aware of your location page on your website and advise them that they may find it useful to print it and bring it with them.
All simple things – but they can make a very real difference to your quality of life. Lay clear ground rules and be pro-active, and you will spend less of your life listening for the doorbell!
It is worth repeating here that“ rules” about arrival, departure and breakfast times are an absolute must. We were writing just now about“ rules” about bookings( minimum durations etc.), where commercial judgement requires flexibility. However the“ rules” about simple housekeeping matters like arrival, breakfast and checkout times must be clear, and must be communicated to every guest.
We are not suggestion that you rigidly apply these rules blindly to every guest – of course not. But a couple of examples will illustrate the value of rules: 1) You state that arrivals can be between 4pm and 6pm; a guest is coming to a wedding and asks to arrive at 12.30pm and change. If you can be around at 12.30 and the room will be ready, fine – agreeing an exact arrival time is the ideal. That does not make the rule irrelevant, because without it people would arrive between 10.00am and midnight( or even later). This is no exaggeration – we’ ve had arrivals at 10.00am, and at after midnight!