Extra guests

[Justin1202]

So, I am new to Airbnb, our first guest did a bunch of damage and we have had some recent guest just invite more people over to our place even though our listing states "no parties or gatherings".  Our current guest when reserving reserved for 3 people, when they arrived he stated that there was only 2. On the second night there are 2 additional cars at our place( we reside upstairs). We question the person who rented as the security cameras show these new people have bags( like they are staying). He says one needed a place to crash for the night and the other is leaving and not staying, we tell them that we do not want additional people and it is against Airbnb policy to add additional guest after check-in. He states our house rules do not state no additional overnight guests. We tell him we are uncomfortable with it and especially without any notice. He responds, the house states up to 8 guests so he thinks it is ok. Our listing states 8 on approval from 8, and sleeps 6. Am I wrong in thinking that does not mean guests can invite up to the 6 guests on their own? His response to us was this: 

Understood, we purposely booked for 3 guests for the month to allow for an additional friend to join for nights throughout the month, but completely understand your concern with covid.

As for future visitors, my best friend is staying in cottonwood heights for the month, as well, and would be the only person I would expect to come over on a somewhat regular basis. I’m happy to clear with you in advance of him visiting, but would also appreciate if he can come spend time with us without notice - he is the one who came & went Sunday night. As for additional guests spending the night, we do have 1 visitor we are planning to stay with us from 2/19 to 2/21 and also hoping to have a couple spend the weekend of 2/25 to 2/28. Outside of these 2 weekends, we don’t plan or expect to have any visitors.

We also respect that you all are upstairs and would not expect any guests to have interactions with your family and would like to limit our interactions, as well, for covid purposes. Additionally, we do not expect any of these gatherings to be loud or rowdy what-so-ever - we’re typically asleep by 10:30 as we’re working at 6:30am each morning.

Please let me know if you have any concerns with any of the above.

Is this an acceptable practice with other hosts? The guest has 9 five star reviews, so we thought they would be respectful. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[Lorna170]

@Justin1202    Most guests will tell you that if they are renting the whole house (in your case the basement apartment) that they don't consider an extra guest or two staying one or two nights of the rental an issue.  Are most of your rentals for extended periods?   It has been my experience that guests who are renting for more than a week at a time feel entitled to have all the daytime and overnight guests that they want, especially if "just for one night".    IMO, they are wrong, but guests don't read and don't always adhere to your rules.

Your listing is very cute and inviting.  What demographic are you going after?   With 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, I would change your listing to 4 persons and double or increase your nightly rate.  Remove either the queen bed or the bunk beds, and do not state that 8 can stay with an air mattress (that is just asking for trouble).  With 2 beds you would be less likely to attract people who invite other people to stay during their visit.  You also should be very clear at the time of the rental request or acceptance that only the guests listed on the reservation will be able to stay.  Good luck with your current guest.