@Rich2944

[Rich2944]

I am fairly new to AirBnB so I am looking for some community help. I having issues with guests bringing in additional unapproved guests for their. They book with 6 and bring 10. I have in my listing/house rules that there is an add fee for additional guests. AirBnB did help me the first 2 times but now I just get excuses and nothing more. 

I am not really looking for the extra money but rather prevent multiple extra guests. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you, Rich

[Sarah977]

@Rich2944  You need to ward this off at the time of booking. When guests book or request to book, and you message them, ask if they have entered the correct number of guests who will be staying, letting them know that unregistered guests will not be allowed on the property and that bringing extras could result in their booking being cancelled.

Also your listing wording is encouraging this. Eliminate the "perfect for entertaining". Who are they going to entertain?

Your max guest count is 4. So why are you approving 6? Get rid of the wording in your house rules about extra guests only on approval. 

You have 4 bedrooms. If you  are okay with 6 guests, which seems reasonable for a 4 bedroom place, then change your max guest count to 6. Otherwise, stop allowing guests to book for more than 4. 

[Rich2944]

Thank you Sarah. I will go through the listing text and make the adjustments. I do ask prior to accepting them about the number of guests and also send this along prior to confirming:

Hello Joy,
The reason that you could not add the additional names was because we do not typically allow 6 guests to stay. We did initially but guests always tried to sneak in additional people and then 6 became 8 and more. That is unacceptable. We now state that there is a $100 per night per person charge for guests exceeding the approved number of guests.
If you are not bringing anymore than 6 guests than I can approve your stay.

In this case I made an exception by allowing 6. There never tell me they are bringing extra guests but rather just show up with them. I guess I am expecting people to be truthful. 

[Helen3]

As @Sarah977  says the best way to prevent this is to properly vet guests and have clear house rules saying any guests not on the booking will be asked to leave the property immediately.

The other thing you can do is install CCTV and monitor it to ensure only guests who book as using your place. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rich2944 You could price for 10 and then you wouldn't need to worry about extra guests coming.

[Colleen253]

@Rich2944 I see a few factors contributing to your problem. You have 4 queen beds, and 4 baths. People see you can actually sleep 8 comfortably, and a few more would be easy to squeeze in. You have seating for 10 between the dining table and island. You mention ‘entertaining’ in your description. This further paints a picture for guests of their large group enjoying your space. Your limit is 4, but you accept bookings for 6. Therefore, people see they can easily push your limits. What’s the harm then in bringing 8? 10?

Your rules state extra fee for extra guests. This is mixed messaging. It will say to some people that it’s ok to go over 4. You need to pare down your house rules (seriously, no one will read them as they are far too long - save the rental contract language for a separate document) and make it explicitly clear that 4 and ONLY 4 is the maximum occupancy, all guests must be named on the booking, and defying the occupancy limit is cause for termination of booking. Vet your potential guests carefully with thorough questioning of their plans, and be mindful of red flags. 

You should really remove the address of the listing from the house rules. It’s a security risk. Again, save that info for your rental contract for confirmed bookings only.

[Lorna170]

@Rich2944   If your property is set up for 8 potential guests, i.e., 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, seating for 8 at the table, LIST for 8 guests and RAISE YOUR PRICES.  Always assume that the house will be occupied by 8 guests.  I have properties that are suitable for 6 or 8 guests as they have 3 or 4 bedrooms.  I list for the maximum number of adults that I will accommodate, make NO references to "fees for extra guests" and have higher prices than my competition.  The results?  No requests for extra guests.  No reports from housekeeping about extra guests.  No camera shots of extra guests.  Full occupancy and booked more frequently than my competition.