So frustrated right now!

[Kia272]

Guest makes a reservation two months ago. 

"My daughter and I are looking to get away for few days this summer. Your place looks like a great place to spend that time in the Laurel Highlands. Thank you! "

There are two guests on the reservation. She's got 9 5* reviews. Perfect. 

I sent check-in details 4 days prior to the reservation. 

Guest: 

"Is there room to park more than one vehicle? We have two vehicles and my brother will be visiting for part of the time from Accident MD."

Me: Can you provide a bit more detail about your brother’s visit? I’m just not sure what part of the time entails. I’m usually happy to let guests have visitors if they make a request, but I would just like to know how long he’ll be on the property. Thanks.
There is plenty of room to park, but I ask that nobody blocks the driveway.

She says overnight from Monday to Tuesday. I allow up to 4 guests at the same price, so I ask her nicely to just add him to the reservation and modify the number of guests. She says sure, no problem. I'm confused about the two vehicles, but A- I don't know how old her daughter is, and B- does she mean her brother's vehicle?

Guest-Hello, No problem at all, I added him and also sent a request to change the number of guests.
Thank you so much for your flexibility

So I thank her, and when the request to modify guest count comes through, I just say yes, without really looking. I assume she's added her brother, as we've just discussed. 

They pull in right at 5:00 on Sunday. There are 4 people in the car, and I can see that the brother is not among them. It's 3 generations- her parents, her, and her daughter- around age 12. I'm a bit taken aback. I was expecting two, with the brother as a 3rd. I welcome them and then explain that I didn't understand the 4 guests as well as expecting a 5th. She had never mentioned bringing her parents. I ask them to get settled and then ask her to come talk to me after that. She's very nice, and we more or less work it out. I explain that had I known there were 4 coming (there were not at the time she asked about her brother), I would have said no. My capacity is 4- that's it. Too much strain on the septic system, small cabin, etc. 

I tell her I'll allow it because of the misunderstanding, but I'm going to charge her for his stay. She says fine- she obviously feels really bad. I tell her it's a misunderstanding and to let it go. Don't ruin her vacation over it. We chat for a while and all is good. 

I send a request for extra funds the next morning, and she accepts it. It's under $40- just 1/4 of the nightly price. 

Late yesterday I have to leave for Washington, DC. I tell them I'll be gone, and to enjoy the rest of their stay. I meet the brother when he arrives and all seems good. 

I turn the security cameras on tonight. I want to see that the brother's car is gone. Except it's not. I'm kind of pissed. I'm going to see if it's there in the morning, and give her a chance to fess up. 

Okay folks, so here's a seemingly real 5 star guest. Really great reviews from all former hosts. Who genuinely didn't seem to know that bringing another person to the property was not okay. And then neglects to mention adding two more people to the reservation after me asking her to add the brother to the reservation. I'm so confused. 

[Kia272]

This is a draft of my public review for the guest. Input/thoughts/edits are welcome:

Kathryn was very pleasant to interact with, and she and her family went above and beyond in leaving the cabin neat and clean. However, due to poor communication, Kathryn’s guest count was unclear, and ended up exceeding the cabin's guest capacity. I made a special exception for one extra guest for one night, yet the guest ended up staying an additional night without permission. 

While I don’t believe that Kathryn intended to deceive, I recommend clearer communication for future reservations. 

3* for communication and house rules

[Helen3]

Why no mention she turned up with two additional guests that she made no mention of.

I certainly wouldn't include the comment that she made no intention to deceive.

Clearly she did. Please mark her down for communication and leave an honest review to warn other hosts @Kia272 

[Kia272]

@Helen3  I DO appreciate your input. I feel that sometimes less specific detail is better in these reviews where something happened. As long as I get the point across to other hosts, I think that serves the purpose. That she exceeded guest count is all that matters, I think. 

I am marking her down for communication and house rules. 

I will seriously consider removing the comment that she had no intention to deceive. 

Honestly, I think she truly didn't understand initially, but after the extra guest stayed a second night 

"my brother ended up sleeping on the couch a second night after he stayed late for dinner/movie and was planning to head back to the farm but got really sleepy."

I have to think twice. As I said, maybe I'm being naïve, but you had to have met her. I think her intentions were good, and she was also a bit clueless. But I think I'm doing my job here in leaving this review. I will say a lot more in private feedback. Thanks

[Anonymous]

@Kia272 It's nice that you prefer to assume the best about people, but you can't make a factual statement about someone else's intentions if you're not blessed with the supernatural ability to read minds. A truly honest review would only describe the actions; personal beliefs about the guest's motives are neither relevant nor appropriate. 

[Kia272]

@Anonymous  I think that's a supernatural ability that I don't care to have. I was making a statement of personal belief, not a factual statement. 

I did remove it from the review, based on community feedback. 

She left me an absolutely stellar review, by the way, which I see as some sort of verification that she really didn't know the level of her offense. I do like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I really don't think that she understood what she had done initially, or in having her brother stay a second night. Anyway, it's all over now. Thanks for your input.