1 guest booked, 2 arrive

[Adonis1]

I charge per person at my chalet.

I have a booking this weekend.

The guest booked for 1 guest, but wants to come with his girlfriend.

I changed the reservation for 2 guests.

He called me to explain that he meant to book for 2, but now realises that he cant afford it for 2 people.

What should I do if he still hasnt adjusted his reservation, and arrives with 2 people?

Thanks

Adonis

[Tim-and-Holly0 · Accepted solution]

@Adonis1:

If the guest shows with a second person and it's clearly stated in your listing that the additional one is an additional fee then you do not have to allow the second person access to the house. You can also contact Airbnb, have them read your message thread and ask their advice. It's nice the guest wrote what he did. That will help you.

If you find that the first guest has snuck the second guest in after you welcomd him then he has violated the house rules and you can ask them both to leave immediately.

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165/highl...

[Adonis1]

Thanks so much for your answer.

Much apreciated.

[Ysaura1]

But is asking them to leave...do I loose my money??...because now is too late for another person to book 

[Stanley187]

This is probably a risk you would have to take, yes.  If you see this after so many years.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Adonis1

I have some sympathy with guests when using the AirBnB booking sytem - you don;t have to choose the number of guests, it is set to 1 automatically. We have had a few guests fall in to the trap of making an enquiiry for 1 person when they are two. When we pointed it out they were embarrassed and changed it to two - it was an honest mistake.

We also had one person who booked using IB, for one. When we pointed out the error - they were embarrased as they were on a budget and again made an honest mistake. We believe them (as they are sharing our home and couldn't really sneak someone in) and gave them a discount as they were not able to afford the full two person price. They were very lovely and very delighted guests.

So up to you how you manage it..but I would remember what it was like to be on a budget and scraping together money for a holiday.

[Zappa0]

Is this a new launch? I never had this problem before but within the last two weeks I have received a very high number of these 1 guest bookings. Because I don't have instant book, I usually catch it "we can't wait!" 

You wrote we, are there more than one?

My listings (5 now) requires kayaking to a boat so it is imperative to have an accurate head count to have the correct kayaks. 

Another reason not to use instant book. 

My solo listing is priced cheaper for one person. I have no issues with not letting someone on without paying for the extra person but not a good experience for them on arrival to have to pay more tha they anticipated.

@Lizzie29 some food for thought....

[Julia1]

I have also had a few reservation requests for one person but the message the guest send says two.  I message them back asking them to change the reservation request, the latest one has not responded so I had to decline the reservation which will now add to my low acceptance rate and lead to further threats of delisting - annoying that I am penalaed for a guests mistake.

[JJ48]

@Julia1  I also charge per guest and so it is very important to me that people book accurately but, like others have mentioned, it is usually a mistake and they are happy to correct it through a Reservation Change Request.  In your case, you could have accepted the reservation and then sent them a change request so to avoid the decline and also keep the booking.  When they don't respond to the Change Request, I first email them or text them and ask them to please check their Airbnb messages and that usually solves it as they have just no idea I have sent a change request or other messages.  I have had one instance when it didn't go smoothly. One guy never responded (to message, email or text) so I sent one final message letting him know that his reservation is for 1 Guest and so he should not plan on bringing anyone else with him but that I am happy to honor it for the 1 guest.  He accepted the change request 5 mins later.  Usually it just seems that people aren't checking in on their airbnb messages like we are all the time.

[Ysaura1]

Well in my case I have 2 tween bed and one is slide  in...usually if I have 1 guest only the top bed will have bed sheets and a pillow but there are extra pillows and sheets in the closet....

I understand sometimes people are in a budget but at the same time is more bedsheets to wash more towels and more water and electricity for the price of one...

[Helen3]

Hello @Gerry-And-Rashid0

I am sorry I can't agree with you on this.

When you make a booking you need to indicate the number of people that are in your party.

It is not good enough for a guest to book for one and then say he wants two people to come but can't afford the second person.

You don't know this guests financial circumstances. Unfortunately there are too many scammers about it who will try and getting out of paying for things regardless of their income.

When I was on a budget, I would make my holiday arrangements according to how much money I had. I wouldn't expect strangers to cover my travel costs.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

I fully agree with you - my point was the AirBnB platform encourages people to make mistakes - it should ‘make’ you choose the number of guests - not have an auto default of 1. It’s a basic error in the site design. 

[Tracey250]

I’ve recently had a guest who booked for 1 people , but showed up with 2.

When I asked him why 1 when booking and now 2, he said she’s his girlfriend.

I said in my listing I did clarify: “NO OUTSIDE GUESTS”, he said she probably would just stay for 1 night, 1 day then she would leave. 

Because I’ve just started doing Airbnb, I need good reviews, I didn’t want to argue so I let her stay and tried to treat them nicely, hoping she would leave the next day as he said.

I even offered her having breakfast with me and for a drive to the mall near by and picked her up when her boyfriend had to go to work.

Luckily, she left the following day like he said.

But I learned that not only about the money that I lost by not charging for the second guest, but about liability insurance if something happened. 

[Jonathan-and-Carole0]

After 90 bookings with no problem, we just had two bookings in a row where the guests indicated one guest. The first arrived with 3 people and the second with two. I'm wondering like others if the booking page has been changed recently? I would agree that the default of "1" guest is at this point problematic. In the meantime I'll be more direct in my initial communication with instant book guests by asking exactly how many are in their party.

[Nanci14]

Yes, I have noticed recently bookings are for 1 guest and 2 arrive. Not that affects price in my case, just means I need to get out another set of towels etc. It appears to be the Asian market only, my daughter suggested they are booking for 1 thinking if they book for 2 it will be more expensive, an idea I initially dismissed. But, when I thought about it, everyone asked if they had to pay extra when I bought up they had booked for one.

Just before posting here I spoke with a friend and my other daughter, both hosting with airbnb in Sydney and they are having the exact same scenarios. Asian, booking for 1, 2 arrive and asking if they have to pay extra.  

When re reading this it sounds a bit racist, that is not my intention - it is purely a statement of the very similar scenarios that have been happening recently with guests booking for 1 and 2 arrive