Arrival time request
Send this a day or two before arrival, after the guest is likely to know how they are traveling.
{Guest name}, what time do you expect to arrive at {Property name} on {Arrival date}?
Check-in starts at {Check-in time}. I am asking because {Why you need the time}. An approximate hour is enough. Reply in this thread when you know it, including if the plan is still loose.
When to send
Ask for an arrival time when you will do something different because of the answer. {why_you_need_the_time} should say that reason in the guest’s language of consequences: the lock code starts in a window, the parking spot is shared with a neighbor until a certain hour, or you are meeting them and you cannot wait all evening. If the code works from {checkin_time} until checkout and nobody needs to be there, you do not need this message. Extra questions with no effect teach guests to ignore the thread.
{arrival_date} and {checkin_time} belong in the note so they are not guessing which day you mean, and so they know an arrival before {checkin_time} is a request, not the plan. {guest_name} is the booker. If a co-traveler is the one driving, they can still answer in the same thread.
Do not ask for a flight number, a license plate, or a live location unless you have a specific use you would be willing to say out loud. This template asks for an hour. That is the whole request.
Timing tip
Send it one or two days before {arrival_date}, not the week the booking was made. People do not know their train until the itinerary is real. A request sent at confirmation gets a guess, and then you build a code window around a guess.
Send it after the three-day note if you use both, or fold the question into that note when you want one fewer message. Two asks for the same hour feels like surveillance. One ask, with {why_you_need_the_time} filled in, is enough.
If they already wrote “we’ll be there around 6” in an earlier message, do not send this. Reply to that hour and confirm it. A fresh template on top of an answer they already gave is how threads start to feel automated in a bad way.
Common mistakes
Demanding an exact minute is the first one. “Please confirm 16:10” is not something a person on a delayed train can promise. The template says an approximate hour is enough. Keep that sentence.
The second is a vague reason. “For our records” and “the system needs it” are not reasons a guest can picture. Fill {why_you_need_the_time} with the real constraint: “the garage door code is active from 4pm and I want to be sure you are not standing there at 2.” Specific reasons get specific answers.
The third is collecting the time and then doing nothing with it. If they say 9pm and your code expires at 8, you have to change the code or tell them immediately. Read the reply the same day. A late-night arrival that you learned about at noon should trigger the late-night message, not a surprise at the door.
If they do not know yet
Some trips are loose on purpose. The template allows a reply that the plan is still loose. If you need a time anyway, give them a deadline that matches your constraint: “If I do not hear by noon on {arrival_date}, I will set the door for {checkin_time} and you can update me later.” Put that in your own words when you edit, only if it is true. Do not invent a deadline the lock does not have.