Additional Guest - Additional charge or refuse?

[Mita127]

Hi everyone! First time post, long time lurker here 🙂 Sorry for the long post! (Previous posts about additional guests were mainly on entire properties rather than a room in my case. Some background: I have a 2 bed 2 bathroom flat, and I Airbnb out the second bedroom and bathroom - here's my link just in case: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/44039080?source_impression_id=p3_1660306101_B3KjtcL%2FiC4vlPkA The flat is spacious and the room is a double but since I also live here, I personally feel comfortable with just the one guest, which is on the listing i.e. the number of guests is limited to one and there's no option to add to this, and no additional guest charges. 

I have one guest staying with me for a month, he has been here for almost 12 days so he is about a third of the way through his month long stay. He is a recent graduate, and while he is polite and pleasant, he is somewhat "undomesticated" and has not paid attention to the house rules (e.g. cleaning after oneself in the kitchen, not using the shared areas after 10pm etc) which I believe is down to inexperience rather than intentional. He is new to Airbnb.

However, he has just asked me if his ex-flatmate from uni can crash with him in his room for one night and that he is coming over this afternoon! I felt a bit under pressure so I reluctantly agreed, he then said it would actually be 2 nights over the weekend (instead of one night) and that they would be out for the majority of the day so I wouldn't even know that they are there. Then he said a different friend needed a place to crash next week for 3 nights. I explained to him that extra guests is explicitly mentioned in the House Rules, and that Airbnb would not cover me for any issues arising from unregistered guests. There are also additional costs incurred from extra guests, e.g. water, a bit of electricity, possibly use of the kitchen appliances. I'm also a bit concerned that once I say yes, he will ask again to have guests for the remaining 18 days of his stay. Also all the hotels in the area appear to be booked out. So I am not sure what to do. Options are:

1) Simply say no to any additional guests including the one today

2) Say ok to the one coming today but no to any further guests

3) Say yes to the guests he has mentioned AND

4) Charge them for the nights that additional guests are staying, or not?

5) If charging, how much would you charge them per additional guest per night?

Your advice would be much appreciated! 

Thanks all! 

[Huma0]

@Susan990 

I am going to do this too. My guests have to answer the Easter egg question in my house rules before I accept them. I started also asking guests to reread the house rules shortly before they come, especially if they booked a while ago. However, I am starting to suspect they just lie the second time because my current guests keep breaking house rules (albeit minor ones) and then look at me in astonishment if I remind them.

I also think that some people are selective in their reading. They cherry pick which rules they will follow or not, as if I've presented them with some sort of menu to select from!

[Mita127]

Hi again! So today I got a notification saying the guest has written a review for me but of course, I can't see it yet until I submit my review of him. As per what has been advised here and on other posts, I aim to keep it concise and factual, to basically help other hosts make informed decisions about potential guests. Please let me know what you think of the following, I intend to give him a one-star rating: 

"The guest initially booked for 30 nights while he was working on an internship close by. He seemed polite, and my dog enjoyed his company. Unfortunately during his stay, despite my reminders, he persistently broke many of the house rules including leaving on all lights and appliances when not in the room or apartment; not cleaning up after himself in the kitchen, and, although I did not observe him smoking on the premises, there was often a very strong marijuana smell outside the guest room. The most serious transgression of the rules was him bringing unauthorised guests overnight. This made me very uncomfortable. My listing is very clear in both the house rules and description that no extra guests are allowed, and these rules are reiterated before the booking is confirmed. About halfway through the booking, and shortly after I refused his request to allow another unauthorised guest to stay over for 3 nights, he decided to shorten his stay and check out early. After he checked out, I discovered multiple stains on the carpets that required shampooing, scratches on the walls, marks and debris on all tables from cups, food and tobacco including a vape pen cartridge, despite my strict no smoking rule. The window was left wide open when he left, during a prolonged spell of torrential rain (there were local flood warnings) which then left the bedding and other items soaking wet, including a lamp still attached to the mains socket. He also left expired food in the fridge and rubbish on the bathroom floor, despite the bins provided. His stay required significantly more cleaning than usual, and I was unable to host others for a couple of days after he checked out. I have made Airbnb Support aware. I cannot recommend this guest."

Please let me know what you think or any changes I should make to this. Thank you all again for your amazing support and advice on this! 

@Hum0 @Stephanie365 @Gillian166 @Lorna170 @Susan990 @Richard531 @Kitty-and-Creek0 @Kelly149 

[Lorna170]

@Mita127   Far too much information.   Stop writing with the sentence that ends with “the booking is confirmed” and then add that you do not recommend this guest.   Everything else you wrote may be true, but put that in your private review of him to further show your disappointment in him as a guest.  The public review has to be short enough for the next host to read and be warned.

[Mita127]

@Lorna170 Thanks so much for the feedback. Yes I suspected it was way too long! 

[Gillian166]

yes, it's a bit too long. things you don't need:
working on internship, that's personal info you don't need to share
your dog liked him, 
didn't see him smoking,
the listing has the rules etc,  this makes you sound like you are strict Rules Sergeant. You mention "rules" 5 times. Just 1 reference to rules is sufficient. 

 local flood warnings, you could come off sounding like an alarmist, esp after mentioning rules 5 times. 

you can shorten most sentences with some editing:  He also left expired food in the fridge and rubbish on the bathroom floor, despite the bins provided. 

Left old food in the fridge and rubbish on the floor. 
Or even: was not a tidy person during the stay, and left rubbish in the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen after departure. Multiple carpet stains and scratches on the walls have caused me significantly more cleaning time than usual. 

If you can shorten your sentences and take out the filler words to keep it brief, factual and sensible. 

I like that you mention that you've already told Airbnb Support about this guest.  

If you leave a response under his review I would probably repeat this, "I have already provided all evidence to airbnb support", in addition to whatever you want to say. Remember that future guests read your reviews, and your responses, so write something that shows how  professional you are as a host. 

[Stephanie365]

I would leave out the details.

"Unfortunately PigPen was a less than ideal guest. Multiple rules were broken including the No Smoking policy. He repeatedly brought unauthorized guests into my personal home after being told to stop. 

Upon check out, the space required significant cleaning and repairs. He is not welcome here again." 1* across the board and ❌ Do not recommend!

Concise, yet still outlines the major  transgressions that no host wants to deal with and leaves no doubt that this guy is a nightmare as a guest.

[Mita127]

LOL @ "pigpen". Thanks @Stephanie365 and @Gillian166 for the feedback, super helpful! 

I've cut the wording down significantly, so this version is likely to be what I will submit in the morning:

"Unfortunately <name> was a less than ideal guest. Multiple house rules were broken, including him bringing unauthorised guests to stay overnight. He was not tidy during his stay and often smelled of cannabis. Upon check-out, the room required significant cleaning and repairs. I have made Airbnb Support aware. I do not recommend this guest."

(I feel I should mention the cannabis/marijuana as it is still illegal in the UK)

Thanks to everyone here for all the support! 

[Huma0]

@Mita127 

Sorry for the late response. I didn't see your post until now because there was a typo in the tag. I agree with the others RE shortening it and not going into too much detail.

Be careful though not to mention cannabis. I have heard that Airbnb may remove a review if it mentions drugs. I would just mention 'smoking' instead. That would be enough to warn most hosts.

[Kelly149]

@Huma0 is right, please go read the whole review policy @Mita127 bc mentioning illegal drugs and/or support could both be reasons that he could have the review pulled. The don't leave room for complaints review is something like:

"unfortunately not a guest I can recommend to other abb hosts. We had significant safety concerns and quite a lot of extra labor both during and after the stay. Best of luck to so-and-so for his future travels."

[Gillian166]

@Mita127  I still think you should mention the smoking, it's a bummer that mentioning mj could get the review pulled, but as a host of a non-smoking property i want to know if a guest is a smoker. I wonder if writing "the room smelled quite fragrant" would be enough to convey what you mean. 

[Mita127]

Thanks again for all the helpful advice. I have submitted my review (I omitted the cannabis mention - good catch about the review policy!). As I expected, I received my first negative review as a host. I feel a bit sad but also it was sort of funny reading his review as he was basically complaining about all the things that were in the house rules if he had bothered to read them. I really only have 11 rules and they're not crazy, I wouldn't consider myself a Rules Sargeant lol. In short, he complained that he couldn't have his random friend stay over for multiple nights, that he had to check out at the specified check out time, and that the fridge smelled badly (which was his own food!), that he couldn't use the shared space anytime he wanted, etc. And that this was his worst airbnb experience ever, even though his profile shows he only joined this month and he's got no reviews. Well, apart from my review now. Hopefully his review of my place says more about him/his sense of entitlement than it does about me.

How did you feel when you received your first negative review? Did it worry you that others may be put off? Did you respond to it at all?

This has been a useful learning point for sure! And thank you again for all the useful advice, honestly this would have been a lot more stressful without you! 

[Huma0]

@Mita127 

Well, take consolation in the fact that his review sticks out like a sore thumb amongst your other glowing ones and will soon be buried under other great reviews, but that yours is the only review on his profile. I would certainly not host him after reading it.

Are you going to respond to the review? If so, I would suggest something along the lines of:

"As you can see from my other reviews, I go out of my way to be a friendly and accommodating host. Sadly, my listing was not a good fit for X, as he seemed unwilling to follow any house rules. He took exception to the fact that he could not have additional, unregistered guests stay over whenever he wanted, even though this is clear on the listing, as is the check out time of 11am and the no smoking policy. I would encourage all guests to read the listing before they book."

Perhaps you might want to mention the fridge smell issue? I don't know. You have plenty of time to respond to the review, so perhaps see what other hosts suggest here.

Another tip though is to make a point to respond to all of your guest reviews, even if it's a just a quick sentence thanking them for being a great guest and telling them they are welcome back. That means that when you do have to respond to a negative or inaccurate review, you are not drawing attention to it unnecessarily. It also shows you to be a kind and thoughtful host. I have even had guests tell me that my responses to reviews were one of the main reasons they booked with me.

[Huma0]

---

@Mita127 wrote:

How did you feel when you received your first negative review? Did it worry you that others may be put off? Did you respond to it at all?

---

My first negative review was from a girl who stayed with her friend for a few days over the Christmas period. These girls were a nightmare from the start. They had clearly not read the listing, e.g. they seemed astonished that I lived at the house or that I had cats. On the first night, they tampered with the heating controls, even though they had specifically been asked not to, and then claimed the curtains did it! 

I let a lot of things slide, but when they flooded the bathroom because they showered with the cubicle door left open and also left it in a disgusting state so that the other guest staying didn't want to use it, I had to say something. Even though I never asked her to pay for damages, the booking guest (other girl basically never spoke to me) became very hostile. She also kept sending me messages in the early hours of the morning complaining about things that were stated on the listing, which I asked her to stop doing. She basically told me that she could do what she pleased and that yes, she had read my house rules, but that didn't mean she had to remember them.

Well, she was stupid, quite frankly, because she wrote all of her nonsense (including some really bizarre excuses like that they hadn't even used the shower since they had checked in days before, or that there was another unknown person staying in the house who was causing the issues). Plus, she wrote stuff in her review (which was horrible of course) about my house rules being TEDIOUS. Yes, she put that in caps.

Anyway, of course I was not pleased to get my first bad review and low ratings, but I was expecting it and, by then, had quite a few lovely reviews, so I didn't stress too much about it. Fast forward a few months and I am on the phone with a CS rep talking about some technical issue. This was back in the day when CS was actually quite good.

He spotted this incongruous review/rating and asked me about it. I explained. He told me that perhaps he could get it removed. He read the correspondence and the review and my listing and concluded that the guest was talking nonsense, e.g. how could she give me 1* for communication when I had politely and swiftly responded to her every message. He also said it was not okay for her to challenge my rules in the review. So, it was removed and I got Superhost status at the next assessment.

Sadly, things have changed a lot since then and CS do not seem willing to remove reviews even when there is evidence in the message thread that the guest is lying. They will just tell you, "It doesn't violate the content policy," and that "It's the guest's experience."

[Mita127]

@Huma0 

Oh gosh I can only imagine your horror at these guests! And the harrassment you experienced sounds awful. I'm glad it was removed, and absolutely the right thing to do. Did your review of the guest stay on her profile?

So I've had a bit of time to go through this review again just now, and I thought it was worth a shot at asking CS to remove it as I think it could be a violation of Airbnb's review policy... As you know, the review he left bizarrely (and stupidly) describes him breaking many of my house rules and then being upset that he wasn't allowed to bring additional unauthorised guests back to the apartment overnight. I told CS that this is clearly an admission of violation of Airbnb's own booking terms and conditions for Guests "You may not exceed the maximum number of allowed Guests".

Also the guest's review said he was upset at having to check out at the pre-agreed / advertised check out time of 11am. He states "my cab was only coming at 4 pm back to exeter. I had spent the next 5 hours in pouring rain rather than sitting in the room not causing any disturbances" so I'm not sure how either the rainy weather, or the cab that he arranged to come at 4pm was within my control. This goes against Airbnb's review policy around relevance i.e. Content about services not related to Airbnb (for example, an airline, rideshare, restaurant, etc.) 

I'm probably pushing it but I also told CS that his accusation of me of being "someone who hates having people in their house", goes against Airbnb's review policy of no profanity, name-calling, and assumptions about a person’s character or personality. Airbnb should be able to read our correspondence where I'd gone out of my way to accommodate him, such as allowing check-in around 2.5 hours earlier and offering him cooked meals. 

If CS don't do anything and it stays there, then that's also ok. At least I tried I suppose! 

[Huma0]

@Mita127 

Keep us updated as to how you get along with this. I am not too hopeful given how Airbnb's stance on removing untruthful reviews has changed significantly in recent years, but you never know!

Personally, I think a review where the guest complains about things CLEARLY stated on the listing should be removed, but sadly, it seems Airbnb CS does not agree...