Hi @Max3364, This is a very common situation with lake houses, but you need to handle it carefully to protect your property and stay aligned with Airbnb’s policies. According to Airbnb’s Ground Rules for Guests, travelers are required to respect the approved number of guests on the reservation and must get permission before bringing any day visitors over. Furthermore, Airbnb has a strict, permanent Community Disturbance Policy that completely bans disruptive gatherings and unapproved parties. The best approach here is to balance hospitality with strict boundary setting. Here is a natural, professional way to reply to the booker:
Hi Booker Name, Thank you for asking beforehand! We love that your grandson wants to enjoy the lake house, but for safety, local regulations, and insurance compliance, we have a strict policy regarding visitors. We can only permit day visitors if they are explicitly approved in advance, stay well within our maximum property occupancy, and leave before quiet hours (Insert your quiet hours, e.g., 10 PM). Additionally, no disruptive gatherings or parties are permitted under any circumstances. Could you please let me know exactly how many friends he is planning to invite over and on which day? Once we have those details, we can see if we can accommodate them.
And if you ask me why the safest route is, it establishes a Paper Trail by keeping this conversation entirely inside the Airbnb messaging thread gives you full backing from customer support if you need to cancel the reservation later due to a policy violation. Also it protects Your Insurance & Liability since most short-term rental insurance policies only cover the explicitly registered guests on the booking. If an unregistered friend gets hurt on your dock or on the property, it creates a massive liability issue. And it also prevents the "Accidental Party" by forcing them to give you an exact number and a strict timeline right now, you eliminate the risk of a small hangout turning into a massive lake party. If they push back or refuse to give you an exact headcount, you have every right to decline the request or ask them to cancel the booking. Safety first. Also I’ve attached some link which could help:
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3512#:~:text=We%20expect%20guests%20in%20our,In%20this%20article
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3345#:~:text=here%20to%20help-,What's%20not%20allowed,Excessive%...
