What do you do when a guest has more people than the reservation was approved for?

[Steve2924]

I have a space that I am listing for 2 people max (one room guesthouse).  I currently have a guest that is staying one night and brought 4 people (there was only two when they showed up, but apparently in the late evening/night, two more showed up).  They are checking out today, so what's done is done, but what (if anything) can/should be done in this situation?  I will leave a review noting that there was a misunderstanding on the rules and # of guests, but is that about all that I can do?

[Elaine701]

@Steve2924 

Yes, it's always a tough situation when this happens. I wish they wouldn't do this. I really hate having to deal with this. 

My approach depends on whether they're deliberately trying to hide it or not.

If not, I'll approach them and (nicely) tell them they either need to leave, or pay up, per the terms of their booking. For me, this is the best way, usually fair & mutually agreed, and helps avoid retaliatory reviews. 

But if they're obviously deliberately trying to hide it (and I really hate this), considering that Airbnb is unlikely to help, but more likely cause trouble for >you<, I usually just let them believe they're getting away with it.

If there's no serious damage at checkout, then I'm really nice, I let them go, and let them write a glowing review of their stay.

If you call them out or make a claim, the likelihood of a retaliatory review is very high, and it's unlikely Airbnb will help, and may actually cause you significant pain. And this stuff sticks with you for a long time. 

You of course, should tell the absolute truth in your review of the guest. This is really the only recourse you have without risking pain of your own. And if they didn't cause damage, just let it go. Your review of the guest will likely be pretty painful for them for future bookings. 

I'm sure others will disagree with my view, but this isn't my first rodeo. I've been thrown from the bull a few times. And no, its not fair. Yet avoiding both injury and insult is probably the wisest course, since the other choice is pretty risky and likely to hurt. 

Sorry.. It's just the nature of the beast. Good luck. 

[Betsy16]

You can make a claim after they leave a review, but you have to have pictures/evidence that there were four people.

[Steve2924]

Thanks for the reply.  This is the approach I'm taking and have taken in the past.  I reminded them that there was a limit, and they said 'the extras weren't supposed to stay, but we all fell asleep.'  I know that this is a lie because I just watched them each take a bag out and one of them is actually dressed for work.  

Regarding the review, are you saying that you do go ahead and review them or that you just let it go altogether and move on without a review?

Regarding extra charges, how do you go about this?  Do you have it listed in the rules somewhere that additional guests are additional $$?  I have it listed that two is the overnight limit, and additional day guests need prior approval.  Everyone agrees to this rule when booking, but no one actually follows it.  How do I go about enforcing this one a little bit better?

[Kia272]

@Steve2924  I think that what @Elaine701 was suggesting, is that if you played it cool and no animosity was generated over the issue,  that they'll leave a glowing review. Then you should absolutely review them and make it clear what they did. 

Personally, I feel that if you include an "additional charges for guests over the limit" allowance in your listing, you're opening the door for guests to do this exact thing. They'll try it, and if they get caught, (maybe) they'll pay up. I'd include a clause saying "any violation of our guest limit has broken our agreement  through AirBnB, and guests will be asked to leave immediately. No refunds will be provided in such a situation." That makes it very clear. 

Definitely review these folks and say what they did! Other hosts need to know. 

[Steve2924]

"any violation of our guest limit has broken our agreement  through AirBnB, and guests will be asked to leave immediately. No refunds will be provided in such a situation." 

I like this line!!  I will definitely incorporate it.  I agree about the extra cost per person thing - it just invites more people because it makes it seem like it's ok.

[Betsy16]

Keep their security deposit.

[Sarah977]

@Betsy16  How do you "keep" their security deposit when it isn't charged in the first place?

[Elaine701]

@Steve2924 

Of course, as they check out, it's all smiles and everything great. Hope you really enjoyed you stay! I don't have much guilt in playing that role, because they had no guilt in defrauding me. Even Steven 😉

But I'll definitely write that they deliberately had more than they paid for and never mentioned it, and future hosts should be wary of this behaviour.

They can't see your review until they write theirs, so you're safe. 

[Elaine701]

@Kia272 @Steve2924 

Oh, sorry, yes. Your limit is two. That's a bit different, but I think what Kia, said is right. Prevention is the best cure. Put it 8n your listing that any vi9lation is subject to eviction without refund and $penalty. 

It may not be actually enforceable via Airbnb, but they don't know that, and aren't likely to book it if they intend to defraud. Problem solved. 

[Colleen253]

@Steve2924 Seconding what @Kia272  has said here. You’ve updated your house rules and that will help a great deal. Use your house rules to your advantage, for prevention purposes (discouraging sketchy guests) and to provide leverage when dealing with trouble guests that might slip through the net, or if dealing with Airbnb. Save the housekeeping notes for the house manual.

Also make sure guests are actually reading the house rules, as too many don’t. To help this along, in my house rules (in addition to explicit language regarding max occupancy and unauthorized guests), I ask the booking guest to supply to me in their booking message the full names of the other guests. More often than not, this info isn’t supplied, which tips me off that they have skipped the house rules, and I can proceed accordingly.

Regarding the review, you can be honest about a guest transgression so other hosts are warned, but in a neutral way. If this guest deliberately ignored your occupancy limits, then do be honest. That’s a major transgression and I would want to know.
You can start the review with any positives (if there were any), and then just say ‘x had difficulty observing our occupancy limits’. Mark low in stars for house rules and communication.

[Steve2924]

Thanks for the review tips!  Any other tips would be appreciated. It is tough to leave a negative review without being too harsh. 

[Colleen253]

@Steve2924 It's actually not that hard to leave a negative review. Just be brief, unemotional, and stick to the facts. Avoid disparaging the guest personally and simply state what rules were broken or what behavior was an issue. Start a review with mentioning the positives, and tack on the negatives at the end. For instance "X was a friendly guest who was easy to communicate with however, upon check out there was cleaning required that went beyond the normal".

If you want to be cryptic for a guest who was super offensive and you just can't find anything nice to say, you can just state "X stayed 3 days". Other hosts will get the message that this is a guest to avoid.

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

[Helen3]

Sorry @Colleen253

I absolutely hate it when hosts create cryptic reviews - why can't they just be factual and honest.

I would have no clue that using they phrase 'X stayed for 3 days' meant they were bad guests.

Every host has different tolerance levels what's wrong with saying in this case.....

"XXX guest would not be welcome at my home again as they booked for one person in accommodation meant for a maximum of two. Turned up with two guests and then snuck in another two guests after check in.  This meant they had four stay in accommodation designed for two guests. Only paying for one. Would not recommend".

[Colleen253]

@Helen3 As I said, it’s not that hard to leave an honest review, and I certainly don’t shy away from doing so, but there are certainly going to be some circumstances, perhaps with some guests in particular, where being less candid might be wise. My point is, something (as long as not glowing) is better than nothing.