"Do I really have to pay this much?"

[Laura2592]

Yesterday's inquiry:

Guest "hi traveling with my adult daughter who may stay for one night. what is the total cost for that?" 

Me: "Thanks for checking out our cottage! If you have 3 guests there is an additional nightly fee for the third for $25 per person per night. I don't think there is a way to make the distinction for 3 guests on one night and 2 on another on a 2 night reservation. You should be able to see the totals when you plug in 3 guests prior to booking those dates. Let me know if you need help on how to do that. Thanks again!"

Guest: "could you except one night? do I really have to pay the extra?"

Me: "unfortunately we can't offer any discounts. I wish you the best in finding a great place to stay!"

Guest: "don't want a discount just 1 extra ppl for 1 night. why do you charge forthat?"

Me: "Our fee structure is based on a number of carefully considered factors. I am happy to send you some listings that may be a better fit for your budget. Best of luck in your search."

Guest "ive never heard of extra $$. so you won't comp me?"

Me: (silence)

Guest: "i still want to book."

No more responses from me.

This person has 5  five star reviews from other hosts....

Its always a huge red flag to me if an inquiry starts with push back on pricing. Why do people do this? You can't see the totals or the nightly price for some reason? They are clearly posted. I do not want to host this person.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Laura2592  haha, you nailed it 😄

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592 I would have already reported & blocked her. Nope. Life’s too short for this quibble. If $25 will break your trip then we’re not the place for you. And maybe you should stay home. 

[Helen744]

Helen@744, People do not think . Ask her if the guest is using the bed and remind her she booked an entire house for the convenience of not having the cleaners clean the room and not having two  someone elses  booked in with her on both the other nights and remind her that  if the guest wants to book only one night they would also have to pay a separate cleaning fee and then mention that you are not running a hostel or renting separate rooms .H. as I always say .... they will figure it out or not

[Alexandra199]

I have a huge problem with the whole issue of charging extra for additional guests. I think it is so open to abuse by the guest. They book for two people, pay the discounted rate and then sneak in another two people thinking they are so clever!

As a result of this I did the following:

I have a cottage that sleeps 4 people with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It doesn't often get booked because i get a lot of couples in my area and they dont want to pay the extra for the extra bedroom/beds so they tend to book a one bedroom place. As a result I set up a separate listing on Airbnb that is just for two adults staying in a one bedroom, one bathroom place. I then explain clearly in the details that although the listing has two bedrooms etc they would only have access to one. As a result they get a discounted rate and discounted cleaning fee.

It doesn't cost anything more to have a second listing. The guests,  when searching, will likely put in two guests only (if they are a couple) and if they put in three the reduced rate listing wont even show up to them. Yes, i do have to base it a bit on trust with the guest knowing that they cant use the second bedroom or the second bathroom but I ask them to agree to this in their booking. Going well so far and i dont have that awkward conversation with guests trying to sneak in extra guests. No-one likes to look at a bill with extras added to it, the extras stand out and open you up to negotiations.

[Colleen253]

@Alexandra199 I set up this exact same scenario mid pandemic, when we had restrictions in place, to encourage bookings from couples. It’s worked out really well. I installed locks on the other two bedroom doors so that those rooms are not accessible at all. 

[Alexandra199]

Great minds think alike! I'm so pleased it is working out for you. So much better than the dreaded extra guest fees.

[Colleen253]

@Alexandra199 Agree completely on that!

[Laura2592]

@Alexandra199 because of the layout of our cottage this isn't an option.

The downstairs bed and bath have a clawfoot tub. Lovely for a soak but not great for a person with limited mobility to hop over the side. 

The upstairs suite has a more traditional bathroom but the stairs are quite steep. So again not great for a person with limited mobility or someone stair phobic. You have to go through the upstairs bedroom to get to the bathroom. 

So if you book the downstairs only you have to be okay with the clawfoot. If you book the upstairs you will have to run up the stairs to use the toilet. If you book the whole space and have issues with the tub or stairs you can choose to use the downstairs bathroom for the toilet and the upstairs just a few times during your visit if you want a more traditional shower instead of a soak or shower in the clawfoot. 

As guests are picky about the stairs and tub vs shower (and the stairs do get mentioned in reviews despite pics and info in several places in the listing) I fear that blocking one bedroom or the other will only lead to more problems.

[Gillian166]

same, this doesn't work for us either, although I could probably lock off one bedroom, but I also see it as advertising for the future. A couple may tell their friends, and hopefully return with a group of friends in winter, and knowing what each room looks like helpful. Someone make a comment in here about these guests being "goldilocks" and needing to try each bed, and that's how we approach it, we try to laugh it off. No damage done, just a little extra laundry. 

I do like the wording though about letting guests know this rate is discounted from the full rate. I've had one recent guest who paid for 2 people, but they were sisters  (and a baby) so used 2 rooms, fine, then they went into the 3rd room and messed up the bed and left a stain on the doona. oh, and she snuck in a dog, who knows where it slept. Then got huffy at me at told me "i paid to rent the whole cottage", so clearly it's not clear to everyone that the low price means something and i'll have to amend my listing wording somehow. 

[Stephanie1933]

@Laura2592  you have hit the nail on the head I lolled so loud to this! 

[Christine615]

Agreed. I’m now turning down all negotiators. I’m tired of guests who think we’re a flea market. They have proven to be the least grateful and the most demanding.

We changed our listing to 2 persons snd charge $25/night for each additional. That compensates for the additional west and tear, water, and cleaning but keeps it affordable if it’s just a couple.