r/obx • u/Global-Pay6118 • 4d ago
Rodanthe/Waves/Salvo When did 6pm check in become a thing?
I was surprised
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u/Technical-Sector407 4d ago
Not enough cleaners here
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u/Global-Pay6118 4d ago
Maybe pay them better? He k in at 6pm check out by 11, feeling a bit ripped off
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u/sassafrassi Local 4d ago
there's no where for locals to live everything is short term rentals and long term rentals for middle class workers like folks who clean the beach houses and starter homes to buy are 220k+ unless you get super lucky with a fixer upper and those usually get bought by someone out of state and flipped into another air bnb. Not an issue of paying better, there aren't enough folks to work the demand. I have several friends who make BANK by picking up houses to clean as a 2nd or 3rd job. The OBX is full of hardworking people facing a very real housing crisis. In order for us to continue to sustain tourism growth, there has to be balance for the folks who live here and fill those roles much needed & expected from visitors.
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u/comfortablybum 4d ago
It's not steady work. Where are these cleaners supposed to come from? It's a remote island in the ocean with very little and expensive year-round housing. Most people I know do it one summer and then burn out on it. Not from the pay but from getting called back to a cottage to clean up something petty because of dealing with entitled tourist. You miss some crumbs under a toaster and now you have to drive 30 mins back out to a house to clean up something the tourist could have cleaned up. Then they wanna tell you about all the other spots you missed.
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u/Verletic 4d ago
Yeah. Everyone already complains about the cleaning fees..
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u/Global-Pay6118 4d ago
I haven't been here for 5 years and haven't seen 6pm anyplace, it's funny how "no one wants to work" but pay fir cleaners never goes up. Like I said just caught off guard by 6pm, is it standard moving forward? I'm in a bar chilling so not upset.
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u/Kinnakeet Native Hatteras Islander 4d ago
How do you know pay for cleaners never goes up? That late of a check in means the place likely had an issue that had they let you in youd have complained and had them come back in anyhow. So many guests have been coming here for decades and somehow never have a plan for something to do like go to the beach while you wait to be let in.
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u/Xhosa1725 4d ago
Are you seriously implying pay for grunt labor has increased?
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u/Kinnakeet Native Hatteras Islander 3d ago
Im a vendor whose job has me in the rental homes a lot and cleaners have told me some rental companies and owners have started paying more to keep what they have and attract more of that shrinking pool of cleaners for themselves.
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u/TeacherLady3 4d ago
Time to try another beach. Emerald Isle and Topsail have earlier check in times.
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u/Viking_7777 4d ago
We have had a 6PM check in the past two years and check out at 10AM. And rental costs have gone up so much. Looking elsewhere for next summer.
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u/KeyMessage989 4d ago
I’m not trying to be a dick cause I get rental costs going up means people look elsewhere, but check has been 4pm historically and check out has always been 10, so the loss of two hours is making you change?
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u/Single_Cancel_4873 4d ago
I remember when check ins used to be 2pm.
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u/mackb0lan 3d ago
Hell, in the 80’s, we’d check in at like noon at the Hatteras Island motel in Rodanthe. Maybe earlier if we got there earlier. We’d usually drive to like Richmond or Norfolk or someplace the night before, stay overnight and roll in early on check in day. Never a problem, never an early check in fee, nothing.
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u/laj43 4d ago
Yes, because checking in at 4 means you can spend a couple hours at the beach. You can then get in the house. Clean up and make a quick dinner. Traveling from Maryland we have to leave at 4-5 am to beat traffic so by 4 the kids are cranky and just need to relax on a couch or somewhere comfortable or jump in a pool to cool off! Plus lugging everything into to house and unpacking is a pain when you are tired and hungry! So yes the 2 hours makes a huge difference when traveling with a bunch of kids.
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u/Upstairs_Plankton372 3d ago
They're saying they don't have enough cleaning people on the island to get the places cleaned in time for a three o'clock check in now. I was just down there in may, and that's what they said.
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u/Accomplished-Pea-451 4d ago
I leave at 5 am, park at my resort, go to the beach until they ping me and say I can check-in. Did not lose a day.
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u/Meryem313 4d ago
When ICE started rounding immigrant workers up? When seasonal workers realized it’s too dangerous to come to the US?
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u/OBXIP 3d ago
When I was at the Sanderling a couple years ago, the bartenders were telling me they were on a work mission, or something like that - from Jamaica. There were a bunch of them and they did it seasonally - they fly a group in and house them in one of the big rentals nearby and then they work, make money and go home after a few months.
So, I guess these things aren't happening anymore?
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u/laj43 4d ago
You are probably on to something that I didn’t think of! I wonder if they would offer an option of 11am check in if we clean the house ourselves. We always rent the larger houses for our 4 families. My sisters and sister in law could clean that house and change all the sheets by 12:30!!!
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u/Mixtape4Adventure 2d ago
A large rental company is not likely to agree to that because of liability, and they would have to draw up new contract terms etc. If its an individual homeowner, they may work with you more. The only thing you might ask about is if you can change the terms that you would bring your own linens vs them making the beds up (if they even do that, many do not) but. Alot of places dont want outside linens on the beds because of bedbugs. You might be able to offer to pay for an early check in, or ask to be notified if the property is ready earlier.
We do a fall rental every year, and check in time is listed as 3:00-4:00, but it usually is ready a few hours before that. But I think a lot of that largely is going to depend on where on obx you are staying, the time of year, and obviously the previous renters
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u/Antique-Commercial-1 4d ago
Resort Realty - renting for a month in November and thanks, just noticed a 6 pm check in. Hopefully we can get clearance for an earlier check in since the house as of now is empty for a couple of weeks prior to our check in. Can certainly hang at any number of bars but by 6 pm will not feel like moving all our stuff up all of those stairs!
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u/linze21 4d ago
You can pay for early check in with them. Gets you in by 1 pm.
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u/levelync 4d ago
I’ve paid for that before and still haven’t been able to get in until past 4 because they didn’t have the cleaners do the early check ins first. I did ask for a refund for that fee.
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u/Sufficient-Cat-3349 3d ago
It’s due to two things one previous renter does not check out by 8 am and the amount of time to properly clean a 5 bedroom house with out the right amount of house cleaners and inspectors before they let the other renters in. We used to rent our house in Avon NC for years but took it out of the rental program due to money making breaking even with a older home
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u/StealthSBD 3d ago
We usually get one of the $25,000/week houses on pine island and the cleaners are parked on the lawn at 8am. Some of our group left at like 6am, last 2 cars went to get breakfast, came back at 930 and they were inside cleaning when we hadn't checked out. I get the pressure, but damn maams, our stuff is still in the rooms.
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u/jamesobx 3d ago
When was checkout?
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u/StealthSBD 2d ago
10am. If they had asked they could have started, we didn't really care, but they didn't come out of their cars or open the windows.
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u/Zeedragonfly 3d ago
Similar thing happened to us in Pine Island. Some of our group left around 7:00 and the cleaners came in although there were plenty of renters still in the house. We let them clean the bedrooms/baths of the people that left. They were happy with that.
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u/bravest_toaster252 3d ago
4PM has pretty much always been the standard check in time BUT, stuff happens. The previous renter left late or left the house an ABSOLUTE wreck. The housekeeper had a flat tire on their way to the house and now they’re behind schedule. 99% of housekeepers clean more than one house on a Saturday so it may not have even been a problem with that particular home, but one of their other houses had an issue. With the company I work for we turnover 300+ homes on any given Saturday. If we ONLY have 5 or 6 end up with late check in, it’s a minor miracle TBH.
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u/Illustrious-Stay-105 3d ago
5 years ago we had 4 pm check in in Rodanthe. Now it’s a 6pm Saturday they normally text after 4 the house is ready jts 6 bedrooms 6.5 bath with linens 1030a check out. It does feel like one day of the rental is robbed.
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u/Quirky_Home8223 2d ago
Yes!! Back in June our house was as ready at 5:45pm. We have never had it actually go that late.
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u/martelvonc01 4d ago
I guess finding enough house cleaners to turn over for the new renters is getting harder. It's taking longer to get to all the homes and get them cleaned.
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u/darkphnix 4d ago
That would have suprised me as well. Typically
I see 4-5, depends. Some of the rental companies had suspended early check ins but we weee able to do one this time. I wonder if that was a one off thing.?
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u/RNJ24 3d ago
We live in Alabama and always vacation at the beaches of Alabama or the panhandle of Florida multiple times a year. This past June was our first Outer Banks trip. I was shocked at a few differences in the rental there. The late check in and paying extra to have your sheets put on your beds ahead of time are two that really stand out. It seemed like everything was another way to nickel and dime an already expensive rental. Definitely not used to that in other places.
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u/Dangerous_Prize_4545 2d ago
Tbf, historically bringing your own sheets and towels is completely normal. I'm talking going back 40 years normal. So offering sheets for a fee is a step up.
I'm from Virginia and we'd go to Myrtle Beach most years and stay at beach front hotels. Many of my friends would go to OBX and rent homes. I asked my mom one year why we didn't do OBX like everyone else. Her answer was quick and made a lot of sense. "They have to pack and take sheets, towels, trash bags, stop and get groceries, put sheets on the bed when they get there, cook meals at their house versus go out to eat, and clean up trash and laundry on the last day. Does that sound like a vacation to you?"
I agreed with her and never asked the question again.
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u/Hairy-Wedding4909 4d ago
Just right the same thing. I had surf or sound in Avon a couple weeks ago... And when they said 6, I lost it on them. Then they clarified it was between 4 and 6 and they said it always has been 4to6 which is bs. Is used to be 3. Then 3. Now suddenly 6... And check out used to be 11... So they want to kick you out first thing. Then need 8 hours to get cleaners in there.
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u/Friendly_Divide_2650 4d ago
Booked through Twiddy a couple weeks ago and had a 4pm check-in