Leave a bad review or no review at all?

[Alison3]

I have been hosting for over 6 years and haven't had this situation before. A guest just left and I'm not certain whether to leave a negative review or none at all.

The guest booked a single bed for three nights (one bed = one guest in a shared room), her communication was all "I" messages, yet when she arrived 30 minutes after check-in time with no communication of the fact, she has her girlfriend with her! I meet them at the door with surprise on my face and say, "oh, there's two of you."

"Yeah, we can share a bed."

"That's not the way it works. It's one bed for each person." Beds are single/ twin beds.

"Oh, we didn't see that."

I allow them to stay and a few minutes later I walk upstairs with my listing opened on my phone and show the booking guest what shows up. 

"Let me look and see what mine shows... Oh, yeah, I see what you're talking about."

I gave a VERY generous discount for the second person (why, I don't know).

In trying to call/ text the guest I find that her phone number is incorrect as she did not respond to phone or text messages but did reply to communication through Airbnb. I felt the need to communicate with her as a snowstorm was coming in and the parking situation was changing.

There were a few other irritations, but the bringing of another guest under the guise of a single person and not being able to easily communicate are what is bringing me to you all for guidance. I have read through some other threads but only found one about an "extra" guest and that was a child, not a full-grown adult.

Thanks for your insights!

Alison

[Sarah977]

@Alison3  I had exactly the same situation in my private room, single bed, 1 guest only listing. Except my guest arrived alone, but met up with a friend/boyfriend that first night and I never heard them come in, so was shocked when she emerged from her room the next morning with this guy.

It was her first Airbnb booking, and I could tell from their reaction when I said I only host 1 guest at a time (and she had immediately and openly introduced him too me right away)  that she wasn't trying to pull a fast one- she just didn't understand that she wasn't free to share her room. 

I did let him stay, charged them a bit more, and didn't mention it in the review. (They happily squished into the single bed) They were really sweet kids and good guests, and I felt it was just an honest misunderstanding of how Airbnb works. I did tell her, though, that she should always pay attention to the max guest count and always enter the actual number of guests, as she could get really bad reviews, or even get turned away at the door for doing that.

This could be a similar situation- the guest just didn't understand, but if you think she was really trying to get away with something, I would mention it in the review, like " XX was unclear about booking for the correct number of guests and arrived with an extra guest, so future hosts might want to confirm her guest count".

But you shouldn't think of reviews as bad or good, just factual and honest. If there are positive things about her stay, i.e. clean, quiet, easy to communicate with, make sure to mention that as well. 

[Anonymous]

@Alison3  I agree with @Sarah977  that an honest review can get the point across without adopting a negative tone. But I do recommend hitting the thumbs down button on "would host again," since this guest is not a good candidate for Instant Book. Guests don't see the star ratings, so no need to hold back there, but the written part is the most important.

[Fred13]

Sometimes 'things' happen. Just had a couple (supposedly), arrive with 3 kids (10 year old twins & a 14 year old).  I told them I will have to charge more for the kids. The husband asked "What difference would it make?", I had to educate him how even water usage in an island was an expensive consideration. Turns out the flaky wife put down only 2 people on the reservation. I gave them a discount on the kids and they turn out to great guests and were very grateful. 

[Sarah977]

@Fred13  That's always been a head-scratcher for me, the "why does it matter?" if there are extra guests. 

How can people be unaware that every person uses water, hot water, more electricity (not necessarily lights but certainly if they plug in their devices, or the hot water is electric) more soap, shampoo, toilet paper, towels and bedding? I just don't get it. 

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977 beyond that:

Space isn't set up for that number so you risk a complaining review

Space might not comfortably fit that number of people 

More people increase wear and tear

More people increase the possibility of a  party

More people means there's a higher chance someone might get hurt and cause liability issues 

There may be a restriction in the city or local codes about how many guests you can host

Ultimately I see it as very disrespectful for guests to assume you can host extra people. But many do.

[Fred13]

Can you imagine going to the airline counter - "I know we put down two, but we are really five". 🙂

[Laura2592]

@Alison3 My review would read:

"So and so was pleasant to host. She had a little trouble understanding our capacity counts and arrived with an extra guest. Generally a good guest but future hosts may want to finalize headcounts with her before booking."