Flight times and Airbnb schedules rarely coordinate, and in a new city, it can be nearly impossible to know what to do with your luggage before check-in. As a result, travelers can lose an entire day of valuable time guarding their bags instead of exploring, working, or resting after a long journey. And with the disappearance of traditional storage options at transportation hubs, it’s getting increasingly challenging to find reliable places that will hold your luggage.
When you’re staying at hotels, this issue is not really obvious. Assuming you’ve arrived too early for checkout, you can still go there and drop off your excess luggage. Then, you’re free to enjoy your day without dragging bags with you. However, this is not possible with Airbnb rentals, leading to many lost hours that could have been used more productively (i.e., walking around, eating, shopping, etc).
City breakers understandably want to cram as much sightseeing as they can before both before they check in and after they check out, preferably without carrying heavy luggage with them all the time. Thankfully, there are many solutions out there if you don’t know what to do with luggage before and Airbnb check-in or check-out.
Stasher – A sharing economy solution to luggage storage
You bet we will suggest our service first! And why wouldn’t we? After all, we are the pioneer of sharing economy luggage storage, and known as the ‘Airbnb of Luggage’, Stasher connects travellers with local shops and hotels for a very reasonable price – it costs £6 for 24h, including unlimited customer support, and insurance. Not to mention, we operate worldwide, so you can find our StashPoints all over the UK, US, Asia and Europe!
An advantage of Stasher left luggage is its convenience – booking can be done online in less than 5 minutes. There are currently 300+ locations available, so this means that potentially you can find storage right around the corner from your Airbnb! The booking process is easy and you can find out all about it in the video below.
Easy as pie, isn’t it? With Stasher, you can store your luggage for as long as you’d like, either before check-in or after check-out.
Check out our most popular locations:
- Luggage storage in London
- Luggage storage in Edinburgh
- Luggage storage in Paris
- Luggage storage in Manchester
- Luggage storage in Rome
- Luggage storage in New York
- Luggage storage in Brighton
Check out this list with all the cities we operate in.
Insider tips for Airbnb hosts: When guests ask if they can leave their luggage at your apartment, instead of getting a headache trying to figure out how to fit that into your turnover schedule, direct them to the closest luggage storage location.
If you’ve faced this problem before, you might want to check out our exclusive promotions for Airbnb hosts. By signing up for our mailing list, you’ll receive a discount code to share with your guests. Less headaches for you, a better Airbnb experience for your guests, and more 5* reviews. That’s a win-win all around!
Storing your luggage with Stasher couldn’t be easier! Download the Stasher app for Android or Apple, and you’re on your way to a free and easy trip. You can book safe, affordable, and insured luggage storage with Stasher in mere minutes. Here’s how:
- Open our handy app or use your laptop browser to go to Stasher.com.
- Enter your destination in the search bar or tap the “Near Me Now” button if you’ve already arrived.
- Choose from the list of fully vetted StashPoints, and enter your approximate drop-off and pick-up times.
- Book your storage, and you’ll receive an immediate confirmation message with directions to your luggage storage location.
- When you’re ready, head to your Stashpoint, drop off your items, and enjoy your day! It’s that simple.
There are a few other “sharing economy” luggage storage companies, but none of them can compare with Stasher’s reputation and outstanding customer service. Prestigious publications like the BBC, TechCrunch, Lonely Planet, and theguardian have all recommended Stasher to their readers. You can also check out over 42,000 verified reviews on sites like Trustpilot.
Bus and Train Station Luggage Storage
Leaving your luggage at a transportation hub used to be the easiest way to liberate yourself from the burden of hauling your bags around between transportation times and hotel schedules. However, left luggage services at bus depots and train stations have undergone a transformation for the worse.
Traditional luggage storage has become scarce and highly expensive. The facilities also have limited capacity, involve long queues, and impose additional costs for overweight or oversized items. Furthermore, transportation hub left luggage services often limit the length of time you can store your bags with them. If a transportation company offers luggage storage for ticketed passengers, they typically will only keep your bags for up to 24-48 hours.
Security can also be an issue with station luggage lockers. Many lockers don’t have personnel to oversee the locker areas, and some station lockers are even located outside of the station, where anybody can have 24-hour access. While many storage areas use video cameras for surveillance, some criminals remain undeterred. Cameras can help the police catch the thief, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get your items back.
There are left luggage facilities or lockers at most cities’ main train stations. They range from relatively affordable to ludicrously expensive as they charge by the hour or by bag size. Something to bear in mind is that most train stations only have a limited number of lockers, resulting in long queues or insufficient storage space.
Something worth considering is that not all Airbnbs are located in the proximity of a train station. Moreover, while travelers eventually need to head there to catch a train, they usually want to do a last bit of sightseeing before leaving – spending their last few hours around a train station is not generally ideal.
Hotel, Hostel, and Airbnb Luggage Storage
Hotels are among the places that will hold your luggage if they have extra space. But, unfortunately, this method is usually informal. Most bellhops are more than happy to store your bags in exchange for a tip, even if you’re not staying at the hotel. However, there is no way to ensure that your bags will be safe, and tipping hotel staff can cost an arm and a leg if you have several items to store. Some larger hotels provide formal baggage storage, but you’ll have to pay a fee, especially for post-checkout storage or oversized items.
Hostels often provide luggage storage for both guests and travelers staying elsewhere. Storage prices may be reasonable, but security is highly variable in hostels. We recommend carrying a sturdy lock if you store your bags in a hostel luggage locker. Access can also be problematic, especially if you have a late night or early morning train, bus, or airline departure.
Some Airbnb hosts offer luggage storage before check-in and after check-out times, but this is rarely the case. Airbnb hosts typically have high turnover and need to prepare rooms quickly between clients. Furthermore, most Airbnbs simply don’t have space to store your bags.
Airport Left Luggage Services
Most airports in the United States have discontinued their left luggage services after 9-11, and many other countries have fallen suit due to security concerns. However, depending on the airline, you may be able to check your bags up to 6 hours earlier than your flight.
Your best bet is to contact the company directly to learn more about their luggage policies. If the airline does provide baggage storage, you’ll most likely have to stay within size and weight limits or risk paying hefty fees for oversized items.
Free storage at Museums
Many museums have eliminated their cloakrooms and luggage lockers. However, some still have facilities where you can store small items like coats, umbrellas, cameras, and purses during your visit. But keep in mind that museum left luggage storage is often full during peak times. You could spend up to a half hour waiting for your turn to drop off your items only to find out that there is no more space left.
Ask your host
If none of these is available, the last resort is just to store the bags in your Airbnb. You could always ask your host about it, but that’s unlikely to happen. As many will tell you, Airbnbs are not hotels and hosts are not required to offer a luggage storage service. If a guest asks to leave their luggage with you after checking out, they are under no obligation to organize it for them.
Insider tips for Airbnb hosts: Managing guests’ luggage after or before check-out can be a logistical nightmare. You have to be available to meet guests for a much larger window of time each day, which is not always possible unless you already have a very flexible schedule. Moreover, when guests give an approximate pick-up time it’s usually off a bit – they arrive either far earlier or later.
Still, the whole point of being an Airbnb host is to make sure travellers have the best possible experience. And let’s be frank, you want those 5* star reviews so as to attract more guests and build your reputation on the platform. Another way of dealing with this issue without having to be personally present while they pick up or drop off their bags would be to install a keypad, which many Airbnb hosts already use regardless of left luggage.
Store your luggage with Stasher!
Hopefully, this guide has given you a better idea of what to do with your luggage before check-in and after check-out at your Airbnb. Stasher’s network has grown to include over 3000 trusted luggage storage locations in more than 600 cities around the globe. You can be sure to find convenient and secure luggage storage at your next destination. So, open up your Stasher app or head over to our website, book your luggage storage, and enjoy a hassle-free stay at your Airbnb!
