A clear and simple checkout

Editor’s note: This article was published as part of the Airbnb 2023 Summer Release. Information may have changed since its publication. Learn more about our latest product release.

Checkout should require very little effort from guests and Hosts. Add your instructions in your listing, and Airbnb will automatically send them to guests the night before checkout.

You add checkout instructions similarly to how you enter standard house rules. Quickly create a checkout list by selecting from these common tasks: 

• Gather used towels
• Throw trash away
• Turn things off
• Lock up
• Return keys

You have the option to add details about each task. For example, you might specify that guests put trash in one bin and recycling in another. You can also write requests that are specific to your home, such as covering the grill after use.

Guests can access checkout instructions and house rules before they book a place. After booking, they can find checkout instructions on their Trips tab, alongside house rules, wifi info, and other important details.

Guests expect an easy checkout without any cleaning tasks, but they shouldn’t leave your place in a state that requires excessive or deep cleaning, as per ground rules for guests.

“We want to keep our checkout process as simple as possible,” says Keshav, a Host Advisory Board member in New Delhi. “The cleaner comes in and does everything that needs to be done.”

We’ll send guests an automatic reminder with your checkout time and instructions. This is sent as a push notification to your guest’s mobile device the day before checkout at 5:00 PM in the time zone where they’re staying. 

Guests need to have the Airbnb app downloaded and push notifications enabled to receive this reminder. Once they check out, guests can let you know they’ve left with a single tap or click. 

You might want to emphasize why a timely checkout is necessary. “I tell guests the cleaner will arrive at 11:00 AM to prepare the apartment for the next guests, so they understand why it’s important to leave on time,” says Joh, a Superhost in San Francisco.

A checkout card is a convenient way to send checkout information to your guests. Once you enter checkout instructions, you can add a checkout card to a quick reply or scheduled message. The card links to your instructions.

Though Airbnb will automatically send a reminder to guests the night before checkout, you’re always in control of your experience with guests. You may want to set up a scheduled message to send a checkout reminder directly to your guests’ Airbnb inbox, in case they don’t have the app downloaded or don’t have push notifications turned on.

After guests depart, they can give their Host’s communication a star rating and specify what went well or could have gone better. One option is to report “excessive checkout tasks.” Listings with repeated low ratings from unreasonable tasks may be removed from Airbnb.

Guests also choose an overall star rating for their stay. Feedback and star ratings for specific categories, like communication, don’t impact Superhost status.