Renters are looking for places to entertain

[Lisa-Marie22]

I’ll become very frustrated because my property , which is a five bedroom property has now become a place of entertainment for guests.  I screen them prior but these groups now feel entitled to use the property to invite people over.  It’s not unusual for me to find an extra 10 people at my property. The renters don’t consider this a party but in my eyes it is. I not only screen them but I also have them sign a document saying they know that there’s no more than five people allowed on the property,  they do it anyways.  Has anybody else found this trend, it seems like the properties are not being used to sleep anymore they’re being used to entertain. I don’t take any local rentals for that reason but I find enough people come to Atlanta and have family here that they invite all of their family over, family means brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles. This is got to stop.  The amount of lying just to get into the property is crazy.  They tell you what you wanna hear and then they do whatever they want once they get in. I’ve gotten to the point where I won’t take anybody unless they have reviews and even that is not full proof.

[Sarah977]

@Lisa-Marie22  Couple of suggestions- change the cover photo to something other than the pool.

Make your wording stronger re extra visitors. Instead of "Please do not book this property to entertain outside visitors",  "Please note: No person not accounted for on the booking will be admitted to the property. Failure to respect the 5 guest maximum may result in immediate eviction with no refund. This includes day visitors, which are not allowed."

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Lisa-Marie22 As an alternative you could accept, as we do, that a lot of  bookings are guests visiting relatives who then visit for lunch. We don't allow parties but a few visitors are fine as long as they don't stay overnight.

[Anonymous]

@Mike-And-Jane0  When we get back to a time when community spread of Covid isn't a huge issue, a host who is struggling for business in a depressed market might have to expand the allowable use of their space to cautiously include certain types of gatherings. But even then, I think it's crucial that the host maintain complete control over the boundaries and approach these events as a particular kind of rental rather than something they just "allow." Those who act otherwise are only emboldening the many, many people who currently see Airbnb as synonymous with Party House.

The lunch scenario doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me - hosting an innocent "lunch" at your Airbnb would require a guest to buy up all the stuff that their local relatives would already have in their cupboards, and for that kind of expense you might as well just invite them to a restaurant. There are other platforms like Peerspace available for people who want to host dinner parties or family reunions, and since their pricing structure tends to be hourly rather than nightly, they're better equipped to extract a reasonable rate for the extra risk and heavy usage of facilities.

A host who doesn't like the idea of having their property occupied by an unpredictable amount of unregistered guests would be really foolish to say "oh well, it's just a few visitors for lunch" (often a Trojan Horse for something altogether unlunchlike).  I'd suggest going in the complete opposite direction and setting a strict rule against any outside visitors as the default, so that the host can wait until the guest has earned their trust before considering an exception.

@Lisa-Marie22  You have to set clear restrictions, keep a close eye on the property, and be prepared to enforce your rules if a guest isn't observing them. You can't completely prevent dishonest people from turning up, but there's a lot you can do to communicate that you will not be their doormat.

[Colleen253]

100% agree with those  comments @Anonymous. 

The thing many people  don’t think about (whether they have honest intentions or otherwise) is that they are not free to do at someone’s Airbnb as they are at their own home. They assume because they are paying for the space they have carte blanche. Many hosts are only covered re insurance and liability for those people who are registered to stay, up to the maximum occupancy stated. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

oh yes, the house is perfect for parties and large groups, this is not good during Covid restrictions 😞 You could put outdoor cameras and mention them in the description, you could lie that you or your property manager live next door.... maybe to switch to VRBO, where more mature guests came from and it is easier to collect the security deposit.

[Sarah977]

Whether to allow the occasional visitor or not really depends, IMO, on the nature of the listing, whether the host is onsite, and whether the guest asks permission and doesn't take advantage. It would seem wise to prohibit it entirely in whole house listings, particularly if it's a large place.

A friend who hosts a private suite in her home and has a lot of repeat guests has a an older couple who come about every 2 months to visit their daughter and grandkids. That visiting takes place at the daughter's home, and the grandparents like being able to retire to their own place at the end of the day. 

However, they know another couple their age they like having over to play cards and have some drinks from time to time, and that's just fine with my host friend.

I had a guest who was in town to visit her grandkids, and although I only list a private room, I told her she was welcome to have the kids over if she wanted, as there is plenty of outdoor space. She didn't ask, I offered.

It isn't something anyone should offer the possibility of in their listing ad, but if a guest should happen to ask and the host is comfortable with it, there's no hard and fast "Never do this".