Guests booked for 2 adults but 5 are coming

[Justine336]

So I had an instant booking for 2 adults for 10x nights come through. The message then indicates that it’s 2

adults and their 3x teenage children. The space has a maximum of 4 but I would be happy to make an exception for 1 extra. 

I messaged her to ask to please adjust the booking for 4x adults. I didn’t hear back. Then I sent through a change of reservation from my end to request an adjustment of numbers. She declined the request but the original booking still stands. 

The booking is 4 weeks away but if nothing is communicated from the guests end, what should I do? 

Thanks for your help 🙂

[Lorna170]

@Justine336  If the guest is bringing more persons than your accommodation is listed for, refuses to confirm your change to reflect the proper number of guests and is uncommunicative, you may wish to contact CS and have her reservation cancelled at no penalty to you.

[Amanda660]

I had something not too dissimilar recently when someone didn’t respond.  I didn’t  want to be hit with the cancellation so I called CS and they in turn contacted the guest for an answer/update/response.  

They’ll be able to cancel the stay without penalty if you don’t get the response your comfortable with.  

[Colleen253]

@Justine336 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2022/can-a-host-cancel-a-reservation-without-adverse-consequences

The guest is putting up enough red flags that I would cancel, since it was Instant Booked. Outright declining your request to adjust the number of guests, lack of communication and disregard for your occupancy limit? Doesn’t bode well for what they will they be like when they are installed in your house.

[Justine336]

@Colleen253 thanks very much for linking the article. Great advice 🙂

[Val5646]

This is why I stopped doing  'Instant Book' when I was hosting. There were things like this that were unexpected and then having to address them takes time and energy.  IMO, this guest that booked without messaging a request for 5 is not being respectful of your guidelines, so either there is a lack of respect or a lack of awareness or both.  If it was me, I would definitely coordinate with an Airbnb rep to cancel them and free up those dates for other guests. However, many hosts are willing to take the risk, and it usually turns out fine. For me personally, I like to err on the side of caution.  Perhaps another thing to ask the rep is if you would be insured if something were to happen with only having the number at 4 instead of 5.