Why is check-in at Ridgeline Stays 4pm, and why can't we make an exception?

Ridgeline Stays is three short-term rental cabins. I clean them between guests, and most days I am the only person who sees a cabin between one booking and the next. The 4pm check-in time is the question I am asked most, usually by a guest who has driven a long way and would like to put their bags down.

What happens between one guest leaving and the next arriving?

A turnover is not a quick tidy. Beds are stripped and remade, the kitchen is reset, bathrooms are cleaned, floors are done, the firewood is restocked and every window is checked. Linen goes out and clean linen comes in. If the previous guests left late, or left more to do than usual, the turnover takes most of the afternoon.

Three cabins can turn over on the same day. When they do, I work them in booking order, and the last cabin is finished close to 4pm. That is why 4pm is the standard and not a round number someone picked.

Why is the turnover board separate from the booking calendar?

The booking calendar shows occupancy: who is in which cabin on which nights. It cannot tell you whether a cabin is clean. The turnover board is the place I record readiness, cabin by cabin, as I finish. The two are reviewed together before anyone replies to a guest about arrival, because one answers "is it booked" and the other answers "is it ready".

Why can't we just say yes to an early arrival?

Because the cabin may not be ready, and a guest arriving into a half-finished turnover is a worse experience than a guest waiting until 4pm. My turnover note for a booking might say the cabin will not be ready until 4pm on the arrival day. When it says that, the early check-in request is declined for that booking.

The rule has one exit. If I later confirm the cabin is ready ahead of time and Avery approves the change, the guest can be told a new time. Both parts are needed. I do not promise early arrival on my own, and Avery does not approve it without my confirmation that the cabin is actually finished.

Can guests leave their bags inside while I finish?

No, and this is the one I am firmest about. A guest in the cabin during cleaning is a guest in a cabin that has not been checked. Things are moved, doors are propped open, products are out. We do not invite a guest to leave bags inside during cleaning. Arrival instructions are limited to the booked guest, and those instructions start at the time the cabin is ready.

How is an early check-in request handled, step by step?

1. The request arrives in the Ridgeline mailbox, usually a day or two before arrival.
2. The booking calendar is checked for the cabin and the dates.
3. The turnover board is checked for my readiness note on the arrival day.
4. If the note says 4pm, the reply confirms check-in from 4pm and does not promise anything earlier.
5. If I later confirm the cabin is ready early, Avery decides whether to offer a new time, and only then is the guest told.

The reply the guest receives is short and specific: the cabin is not ready until 4pm following turnover, and check-in from 4pm is confirmed. It does not say "we'll try". Trying is not something a guest can plan a drive around.

What if a guest asks the cleaner directly?

It happens. Someone arrives early, sees my car and asks. I say the same thing the mailbox says: the cabin will be ready at 4pm, and I cannot change that from the doorstep. If there is a chance it will be earlier, I update the board and let Avery make the call. I do not make the call myself, because I only know about the cabin in front of me, not about what else was promised.

What should guests do with a 4pm check-in?

Plan around it. The area around the cabins is the reason people come; a late-afternoon arrival leaves the day for the drive and the trails and the evening for settling in. If an earlier time is genuinely needed, ask in advance through the booking, so there is time for the board and the owner to be checked rather than a decision being made at the door.

Does the same rule apply to check-out?

Check-out works the same way in reverse. A late check-out eats into the turnover of the next guest, so it is not something I can offer casually. Ask through the booking, and the same two checks happen: is the cabin booked that night, and does the board show time to turn it over.

Q&A

The arrival questions we answer most often at Ridgeline Stays.

Last updated 30 September 2026.