Penalty Fee for Extra Guest Arriving

[Jennifer3370]

Hi everyone,

I am new to hosting and am encountering the issue of more people arriving than communicated to me and in the most recent case, more people arriving than the house can accommodate. I do contactless check-in and am not near the listing, so I am unable to meet and greet guests as they arrive, but I do have cameras to confirm the number of guests arriving.

My home is a 2 bed/1 bath with a queen bed, 2 twin bunks (sleep 4 people) and a queen sofa bed. So I have it listed as a maximum of 8 guests and have that clearly stated in my rules. My standard rate applies for 6 guests and guests 7/8 are subjected to a $10 per person/ per night fee

My concern, as I know many hosts have, is that more guests usually equals additional cleaning charges and more wear and tear as couches and rugs end up being used as places to eat and sleep.

I have updated my rules to include a $50 per person per night penalty fee for more guests than the 8 person occupancy, which I plan to request through the resolution center.

I have also begun to send a message a few weeks before check-in reminding the guest of the number of people they have communicated as staying and asking for them to provide updates if there has been a change. In that message I re-iterate the penalty for additional unexpected guests.

Has anyone tried this approach? Has stating the penalty fee in your rules helped deter extra guests? Has Abb supported you in collecting this additional fee?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

@Jennifer3370  Airbnb does not support penalty fees. You're only going to get that $50 if the guest voluntarily agrees to the Resolution request; otherwise, it's case closed.

If you notice that more than 6 guests have arrived, you may send the group a trip change request with the correct price adjustment, and make it clear that they must confirm the change within xx hours in order to continue their stay. If a number greater than your maximum arrives, you can ask that the extra people leave or terminate the entire stay. If you choose the latter, you'll be forced to refund the unused nights.

It helps to establish in your house rules that only registered and paid guests are permitted in the home at all times; no additional visitors allowed. Otherwise, guests can simply claim that the extra people you see on the cameras are just visiting. But no matter how you set your rules, they're only useful if you're able to enforce them. If you live far away, that means you really need a locally based co-host who can attend to the property, break up parties, and evict unruly guests if necessary. 

As a new and remote host, you're the prime target for party groups and scammers. Those groups are unfazed by the threat of fees that they know Airbnb won't collect and deposits that are purely fictional. What does deter them is an in-person check-in procedure with all group members required to show ID, and the very real possibility that their stay will be terminated if they don't adhere to the group size and policies. 

[Jennifer3370]

@Anonymous Thank you for the information Andrew, it’s very helpful. I am certainly learning the different ways to address issues and it appears that this will be one of more consistent issues as 2 out of my 5 bookings have had more guests than communicated. 

I luckily will have someone locally that will be able to help me with these issues as my daughter will be moving to the area shortly and can be a co-host with me. 

[Anonymous]

@Jennifer3370   That's great to hear! When your listing makes clear that someone nearby will be supervising the property, you should have fewer issues with people trying to sneak in extras or throw parties.

[Lorna170]

@Jennifer3370  Realistically, if you want to be sure to discourage extra guests, reduce your numbers!  You have two bedrooms and one bathroom, and you expect to host 8 guests.  Take it down to 6, and you may not have those over capacity issues.   Heads in beds is not always the best course of action.  I reduce my numbers, up my prices, and I stay fully rented.  So will you.

[Jennifer3370]

@Lorna170 Appreciate that input. I guess I listed the house as I felt it could be used for my family. We are a family of 6 (2 adults, 4 kids) and we comfortably stay there with the 2 bedrooms which have 1 queen and 4 twin beds. If my daughters boyfriend or my in-laws want to stay with us, we accommodate them with the sofa bed. So 7-8 works, albeit is a maximum.

I think no matter how many people I say can stay, some inconsiderate people are going to push it. I’ve kept the wording for the penalty fee in my rules and also noted that # of guests will be confirmed at check-in (even if I have to do it by camera). I also emailed all my upcoming guests to confirm that they have the correct number of people staying in their reservation, going so far to say that if more are seen at checkout they will have to pay additional per guest fee or find other arrangement. I hope will at least deter some of this inconsiderate activity.

Every stay teaches me something new….