Booked for 1 guest showed up with 6!

Answered!
Charlotte510
Level 2
Townville, SC

Booked for 1 guest showed up with 6!

I opened my Guest House with 2 bedrooms in April on Airbnb. There's a huge learning curve on what people assume goes with the Guest House, like helping themselves to our kayaks ... so I updated my pictures without kayaks, entered a house rules, locked up the kayaks, and created a release form to be signed by all adults that go down to our dock. 

I'm getting a lot of inquiries from people new to Airbnb that haven't completed their verification process. It's very time consuming but some have turned out to be great guests.  Then last weekend I received an instant booking for one night for one guest. She showed up with 6 people!  She reported she had stayed at other Airbnb but she hasn't provided a review for any of them including mine. When I cleaned the guest house I discovered they took all my washcloths with them. I wish I had turned her away when she showed up with 6. How do you handle this situation?

 

1 Best Answer
Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Charlotte510 

I had a similar situation and called Airbnb CS and the rep told me that if more people show up then I am not obligated to let them in. So in the future you can call Airbnb and ask them to cancel the reservation .... or... you can alter this reservation from 1 to 6 people and the guest has to accept the alteration before you let them inside.

 

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12 Replies 12
Ana1136
Level 10
Ohrid, Macedonia (FYROM)

@Charlotte510 you should advise her to edit the number of guests in her booking and pay the difference or you should request money through the resolution center. If 14 days from their check out haven't passed and you haven't had any other guests you can request money for the washcloths but I doubt she will pay since she was so disrespectful in the first place and I don't think it's worth the trouble. For future bookings make sure to confirm the number of guests as soon as they book and let them know that if they bring any extra guests their reservation will be canceled immediately. 

I didn't know that the bookings can be edited after confirmation. Thank you. All my linens and towlels are brand new for the guest house, so it was upsetting to have to replace them so soon after opening. It was last weekend, but I don't want to deal with the drama. I've had two more reservations of guests since they checked out on Saturday.  Thank you for your feedback. 

 

Ana1136
Level 10
Ohrid, Macedonia (FYROM)

@Charlotte510 you can only request recompensation before another guest checks in. You are welcome, I hope you have great guests! 

Thank you for this thoughtful, experienced response!

I am actually IN THE MIDDLE of a situation similar- and will attempt this morning to inquire of the guest how many ended up staying in the home.(Although it is next door to my primary residence, I am away this weekend after greeting them). 
So, to clarify, even in the middle of a reservation, I may ask the guest to edit the reservation to accurately compensate for the number of guests allowed- and it will be reflected in my payout? 

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Charlotte510 

I had a similar situation and called Airbnb CS and the rep told me that if more people show up then I am not obligated to let them in. So in the future you can call Airbnb and ask them to cancel the reservation .... or... you can alter this reservation from 1 to 6 people and the guest has to accept the alteration before you let them inside.

 

Charlotte510
Level 2
Townville, SC

This is very helpful information!  Thank you so much. 

Ed31
Level 2
Hillsboro, OR

5 of my last 10 bookings have added 1-2 more people than they signed up for which has been frustrating. Any ideas on how to prevent this from happenign in the first place?  

Sandra856
Level 10
Copenhagen, Denmark

@Ed31 Make sure to write in the house rules on the listing that only registered guests are allowed in your home/house. You can ask for all the names on the persons when you communicate with your guest. Maybe tell that it is because of insurance :-).

Best, Sandra 

Luana107
Level 2
Jericho, VT

My situation is a little different.  My guest do not arrive with more people, but do have friends/family come and stay with them.  The longest stay has been 6 days.  I have recently changed in my policy that any more than 2 people will be an additional charge of $10.00 per night per guest.  But, how am I going to receive that additional charge if the guest books for 1 adult and ends up bringing more people in during their stay?  

Elizabeth1894
Level 2
Rocky Ford, CO

Please! Someone help! I am new to this Renters journey As well!

our young guests booked for three people, by the time they arrived, told me they were having five. When I looked over at the home, there were even more people looking like they were coming to stay. Eeek! What do I do?! They paid already, obviously, for THREE— and have way more. I love any/all advice as to what I can do please?

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Sadly there are guests that try and take advantage of new hosts by bending and breaking the rules. @Elizabeth1894 

 

In this situation, you  have two choices, you need to go there and talk to the person who booked...you can;

 

a) ask the additional guests who have not booked and paid to leave immediately AND tell the guest who booked if anyone else comes who hasn't booked you will ask Airbnb to cancel the book and they will all need to leave

 

OR

 

b) tell the guest you are disappointed they bought guests into your listing who have not booked and paid.  Tell the original guest how many of the additional guests you are happy for them to have stay (once they have added them to the booking and paid for them).

 

Now the booking has started you can't do a booking amendment for the additional guests,  so call Airbnb ask them to add the additional guests to the booking; your guest will then need to accept the request for the additional guests to be added for the extra guest charges to be added.

 

It sounds like it would be worth you familiarising yourself with the Q&As in Airbnb Help which cover the basics around managing your Airbnb to help avoid these situations in the future.

 

Do make sure your house rules make it clear only those who have booked and paid can visit or stay.

 

I always vet my guests before accepting their booking, one of the questions I ask them to confirm is a) who is accompanying you on this booking?

 

I would recommend as a new host you remove Instant Book until you are more comfortable with vetting guests and know what signs to look out for in terms of red flags. So if you have a three bed place for example why would only three people book to stay.

Robbie54
Level 10
North Runcton, United Kingdom

To be honest if your pictures included one with kayaks in it I'd be expecting kayaks to use, because that is what is being suggested. Be very careful with your photos, guests will expect whatever they see in them.

If I ever get a booking for 1 person I always double check with the guest that is the correct amount of people as I rarely get bookings for 1 guest. You'd be amazed the amount of times guests **bleep** up the booking details, always check! 🙂