Rooms booked vs rooms used

[Suzanne779]

I have a private floor in my home that  I rent out,  it has 2 double bedrooms, a full bathroom and a sitting room, mini fridge, kettle, tea and coffee. I also offer free off road parking with electric gate.

 I charge £55 a night for 1 double room for 2 people sharing . It has a double bed and single bed. My listing says if two people want a room each then please book for 3 people, I  charge £20 a night per person after the first 2.

So 2 double rooms for 2 people is £75 which I think is a bargain.

A man and his 13 year old daughter arrived, he booked for 2 adults and gave no more information so I didn’t know if a couple were coming or friends. I made up the double bed and the single bed.

The man said he wanted a separate room for his daughter so I explained that he had only booked 1 room based on 2 people sharing as is explained in my listing. I told him it’s no problem if he wants another room and that it’s £20 a night. He agreed and said it’s reasonable. They took the second bedroom and had a wonderful holiday. When he was leaving I asked him about paying for the second room and that I would put the request in with Airbnb.

He said he booked for 2 people and doesn’t see why he should have to pay extra, he’s refusing to pay and left my property.

 It’s very upsetting as I had double the amount of work and cleaning and new people checking in to both rooms on the same day.

This guest agreed to paying for the extra room, stayed 4 nights and enjoyed the rooms, at no time during his stay did he state he was not happy. He has had the rooms for £26.50 each a night. I do not charge extra for cleaning costs 

there are no hidden extras.

where do I stand ?

we are in the Beacons National Park Wales

[Helen3]

Personally I would have sent the request straight away for the additional payment and made it clear to the guest that the payment needed to be made before making up the second bedroom @Suzanne779 

You can pursue the payment through Airbnb (presume you have it in writing that the guest agreed the additional payment) 

do leave an honest review to warn other hosts considering this guest.

[Suzanne779]

@Helen3 The room was already made up and locked. I opened up the room to show him and he liked it, he agreed to pay £20 a night for the room. I never thought he would do this to me, he had an expensive car and 2 mountain bikes worth thousands he made out the cost was not an issue. My listing has been active for 6 years never had this problem before.

[Kia272]

@Suzanne779  I believe you could set up two listings:

One with 2 guests max, at a certain price. You would need to have the ability to close and lock the second bedroom if you do this. 

The other, with up to 4 guests, leaving both bedrooms available. 

You would have to link the calendars so that you won't get double-booked.

I'm not able to explain how to do this because I've never had the need, but it's a fairly common solution for people with multiple rooms who can rent different configurations up to a whole house. 

Some other hosts will likely pop up and explain that if you're interested. 

As @Helen3 said, you should have requested the funds right away. You are running a business, and have to deal with money matters in a professional way. 

That guy was crappy and deceptive to respond the way he did, and then take off without paying. Hopefully you'll get better guests in the future. Good luck. 

[Marie8425]

@Suzanne779 

Yes, you don't want to request the incorrect number of guests that puts you in an awkward position of basically charging for a third guest that didn't exist.  

You set up two separate listings for 1 private bedroom each.  You link the calendars so if someone wants two rooms they can see both available and book 2 rooms.  That will actually be fairer to you because you can charge a more normal room rate to cover your expenses and maybe set up a discount if both rooms are taken together.

[Debra300]

@Suzanne779,

I have similar set up for one bedroom bungalow with a US king bed in the main bedroom and an office that can be converted into a second bedroom for a $20 USD per night extra person fee.  This amount basically only covers the additional electricity cost of running the AC in the room (local kw rates are about double-quadruple those in more developed countries).  When the room isn't rented as a bedroom, the linen and pillows are removed from the mattress and it is encased in a black mattress storage bag and AC's thermostat is disconnected.

The listing description states:

"***This cozy house is ideally suited for one or two persons. For an additional fee, the office can be converted into a bedroom with a twin bed and air conditioning. Enter three guests on the reservation for this option.***"

I also added details in one of the office photos:  

There have been a couple of guests (native English speakers) who have tried to feign ignorance and say they didn't know there was an additional cost for a second bedroom (unlikely).  The choice is up to the guest, but payment is required before we make the bed and connect the AC's thermostat.