Follow the science and opt for a later check out time.

Ok. Let’s get geeky here for a minute. In social science research, there’s a concept called the peak-end rule pioneered by the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman. Here’s how he explains it: “The peak-end rule is a psychological heuristic in which people judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak (i.e. its most intense point) and at its end, rather than based on the total sum or average of every moment of the experience.”

Vacations are one of the most classic examples social scientists use to describe the peak-end rule. When you ask folks how their latest vacation was (ahem…say through a series of automated emails from Airbnb), their overall memory of the trip will be disproportionately influenced by the most intense moment and their final moment of the trip.

As a host, you have less control over a vacation’s peak. That most intense moment will likely be different for each guest. But you do have a lot of control over the end. By offering a later check out time (and easy-to-follow check out instructions), you can set guests up for a relaxing, alarm-free final morning. And that positive experience will come to mind when they go to leave a review several days later.