Guest check-out on autopilot: instructions, reminders and late check-out

How check-out works with Maurice

1. 01

   Write your instructions once

   Check-out time, where the keys go, the small things to do before leaving: you confirm them from your listing, and they apply to every booking at that property.

2. 02

   Maurice sends the reminder

   The evening before departure, the guest gets the check-out time and your instructions. Bookings from Airbnb, Booking.com and other platforms arrive automatically, with or without a PMS or channel manager.

3. 03

   It answers until the last minute

   On departure day the guest can message Maurice whenever they like: “Can I leave my bags until 4pm?”, “Where does the glass go?”, “The door won’t lock, what should I do?”.

4. 04

   It asks you only when needed

   If there’s a decision to make or something to fix, such as an unplanned late check-out or a fault, Maurice lets you know. Reply to the guest yourself, or just tell Maurice what to do.

5. 05

   It thanks the guest

   After departure the thank-you goes out, and you haven’t written a single message.

Check-out instructions: what to write, and what Airbnb no longer allows

A good check-out message is short and practical: the time, the keys and a few simple steps. On Airbnb, new rules apply to reservations booked on or after 20 November 2026: hosts generally can’t ask guests to do work a cleaner would normally do, such as stripping the bed, taking rubbish out of the property or washing and putting away dishes, and they can’t add new house rules after booking, not even by message or with a sign in the home. Every point in your instructions should match what the guest saw in the listing (Airbnb policy checked on 12 November 2026).

• Include: check-out time, where to leave the keys or how to lock up, what to switch off, where to leave used dishes and towels, how to sort rubbish into the bins provided indoors.
• Avoid: fines or penalties, cleaning chores, rules the guest didn’t see before booking.
• Offer: late check-out or luggage storage, when the cleaning schedule allows it.

Hi [Guest name],
tomorrow is departure day: check-out is by [Check-out time].

Before you leave, please:
- close the windows and switch off the lights and air conditioning;
- leave used dishes in the sink and used towels [Where];
- sort your rubbish into the bins provided indoors;
- lock the door and leave the keys [Where to leave the keys].

We’ll take care of the rest. Would you like a few more hours? Late check-out until [Time] is €[Price], if the calendar allows: just ask me here.
Safe travels!
[Host name]

With Maurice you don’t need to copy it: you enter your instructions once and Maurice uses them with every guest. More texts, from booking confirmation to the final thank-you, are in our guest message templates.

Late check-out: a paid extra, not a favour

Late check-out requests almost always come at the last minute, and the answer depends on who’s arriving next. With Maurice, late check-out is a paid extra you set up with a description and a price: the guest can add it during online check-in or ask for it in the chat during the stay, and pays by card, with the money paid straight to you.

In the property instructions you explain when it’s possible, for example “late check-out until 1pm, only after host confirmation”. Whenever it’s unclear, Maurice asks you first and you decide, so guests aren’t promised hours your cleaning turnover can’t give.

After departure: the thank-you and reviews

Once the guest has checked out, Maurice thanks them for staying. For the review, though, what matters most is what happened before: quick answers, clear instructions and problems solved during the stay, not after. That’s exactly what Maurice’s 24/7 guest messaging is for.

If you ask for a review, ask everyone, with neutral wording. Airbnb doesn’t allow reviews to be given or withheld in exchange for something of value, or guests to be pressured, and Booking.com doesn’t let properties offer incentives in exchange for reviews (rules checked on 12 November 2026).

Hi [Guest name],
thank you for staying at [Property name]. It was a pleasure to host you.

If you have a minute, an honest review on the platform you booked with helps us a lot: we read every comment, including the critical ones, and they help us improve.

Safe trip home, and hope to see you again!
[Host name]

For apartments, B&Bs and hotels in Italy

Check-out works the same way from one unit to hundreds, each with its own instructions: see Maurice for property managers. If you manage a rental in Italy remotely, no one needs to be at the door on departure day to answer questions. In a B&B or a hotel, departing guests mostly ask where to leave luggage or how to reach the station; and if the Italian tourist tax and any extras were already paid by card during online check-in, there’s nothing left to collect.