Airbnb check-out instructions that guests actually read (and a lost property system that works)

For my first year of hosting I wrote check-out instructions like I was writing a legal document. Terms and conditions. 'Please ensure all windows are closed and locked.' 'The host accepts no responsibility for items left behind.' 'Please ensure rubbish is placed in the correct bins as per local council regulations.'

Guests read none of it. I know they didn't because they'd still leave windows open, leave bags of rubbish on the kitchen counter rather than in the bin store, and message me at 9am on check-out day asking what time they needed to be out by — despite the checkout time being in the listing, the booking confirmation, the automated reminder, and my 400-word document.

Then I rewrote it. Six bullet points, one line each, a tone that's human rather than corporate. Checkout messages from guests asking what time to leave dropped immediately. Rubbish left in the wrong place dropped from about one in five stays to perhaps one in twelve. I can't prove the change was causal — there's no control group — but I'm pretty confident the instructions that get read are more effective than the instructions that don't.

My actual check-out instructions now

I send this the night before checkout, automated via my property management software, timed to arrive at 8pm:

Thanks for staying — hope it was a good one. Quick check-out checklist for tomorrow:

• Check-out is by 10am — door locks automatically when you pull it shut
• Pop used towels in the bathroom (on the floor is fine, no need to fold)
• Leave dishes in the dishwasher and press start if it's full
• Rubbish goes in the black bin in the courtyard — through the side gate
• Let me know if anything needs attention in the property
• Check under beds and in the bathroom cabinet for anything you've left — I can forward lost items if needed

Leave a review if you've got a moment — it really helps. Safe travels!

That's it. No legal disclaimers. No 'the host accepts no responsibility'. Just six things I actually need guests to do, in plain English, with enough practical detail that they can do them without messaging me.

The check-out time question

My check-out time is 10am. I'm not flexible on this during peak season because my turnaround window before the next guest often starts at 11am. I am occasionally flexible in the off-season when I know there's no booking for three days after.

The number of guests who ask for a late check-out is roughly one in four. My answer: 'Unfortunately not today, I've got a cleaner arriving at 11am' — whether I actually do or not. 'I've got a cleaner arriving' is the correct explanation because it makes clear that a late check-out isn't a personal inconvenience to me, it's a logistics problem for a third person who has a schedule. Guests respond well to this. They don't respond well to 'company policy'.

If you do want to offer paid late check-out — and there's a reasonable argument for it during slow periods — Airbnb has a Resolution Centre mechanism for this. I've done it maybe six times. It works, but it creates admin. I've decided my time is worth more than the £20-40 per instance.

Lost property — the system

Left items are the hidden admin nightmare of short-term letting. In my first year I had no system. A charger would turn up, I'd put it in a drawer, forget which property it was from, and eventually have no idea whether it belonged to a current guest or someone from three months ago. I spent maybe four hours a year on lost property with essentially random outcomes.

Now I have a system. Here it is:

1. My cleaners photograph every left item immediately after finding it and send me the photo via WhatsApp with the property name and a note of the checkout date.

2. I check against the last booking and message the most recent guest via Airbnb: 'Hi — looks like you might have left [item] at [property]. If it's yours, let me know your address and I'll post it.' I give a 72-hour window for them to respond.

3. If they respond: I post the item. I use Royal Mail Tracked 24 for anything worth more than about £15, standard second class for smaller things like a charging cable. I charge the guest the postage cost via Airbnb Resolution Centre — not a handling fee, just actual postage. Most guests are delighted and some tip.

4. If they don't respond within 72 hours: the item goes into a box marked with the month. After 90 days, anything not claimed gets donated or binned.

That four-step system has made lost property completely manageable. I spend maybe thirty minutes a month on it now versus four hours. The key improvement was the cleaner photographing items immediately — that step alone stopped three disputes about whether I'd actually found something.

What gets left behind most

Chargers and cables: constantly. I now keep a drawer with a small collection of the most common charging cables (USB-C, Lightning, USB-A micro) and if a guest leaves one, I often just message them to say I'll keep it as a spare rather than posting it — saves everyone the faff. About half of them say yes please send it, half say keep it.

Books: regularly. I keep them. My Edinburgh flat 2 now has a pretty decent bookshelf as a result.

Toiletries: often unopened. I throw them. See my previous note about never reusing guest-left products.

Glasses and sunglasses: frequently in summer. These always get posted — they're usually expensive and people notice them missing quickly.

Children's toys: the worst. Guests always want them back and the Airbnb message thread gets frantic. I have a box of posted-back soft toys that had to make emergency journeys to addresses in Lisbon, Porto, and one in Barcelona's Gràcia that I remember because the courier attempted three times and then it came back to me. I eventually found a courier company that could redeliver to Spain for £14 and successfully reunited a small child with their stuffed rabbit. This is my career now.

The check-out experience and reviews

There's a correlation I've noticed in my review data that I can't fully attribute to check-out handling but I think is real: guests who receive a clear, friendly check-out message the evening before tend to leave better reviews of the 'overall communication' and 'host responsiveness' categories than guests who don't. The check-out interaction is often the last touch point. End it well.