Confirmed booking 4 guests given special $ has increased guests & wants to keep same tarrif

[Cindy123]

I have a large house  with pool that sleeps 8 people.  $225 per night tarrif & i had 35% discount for bookings over 28 days. plus $100 cleaning. I have a confirmed booking 11/2  to 18/3 4 guests & 2 dogs for 35 days & the guest advised her parents may visit occasionaly during that time. I agreed on a special price $120 per night for 4 people & 2 dogs for 35 days  Guest also requested for me to block out the 2 weeks after her end date as she may need to extend as she is visiting to give birth. I originally said i would block 1 week only as it is right on school holidays here at that time. but after discussions, i found out that she will probably extend at least one of those weeks as she is only due 3 days b4 her booked end date. so i blocked 13 days out.   Now the guest has advised they also have an aupair arriving with them & the au pair has 2 family members coming to stay for a week or so as well, plus her parents will be visiting occasionally.  so potentially I could have up to 9 people at any given time in the 5 weeks.  I asked her to amend the guest numbers so as i could see exactly how many guests would be staying at the home, which she amended to 7.  I am now so confused, as I feel this is so wrong, & the guest has taken advantage of me, i cannot possibily rent my large home out & have 9 people there with water & electricity & linen for $120 per night, when really the tarriff needs to go back to where it should have been at $147 per night for the home without discounts.   How do i explain this to the guest that the $120 per night was based on our original discussions for 4 people and 2 dogs & now that she has increased her guests the special discount is no longer valid.  I am worried if i do this then i may find a huge water & electricity bill at the end of it all,  how can i compromise on this booking with the guest and put forward a suggestion to add the extra guests.  If i had not of given her a special rate then the nightly tarriff would of been $147 which is $27 extra per night than what i am getting now, which i could put towards the water & power & swimming pool running costs.  I am seeking suggestions on how to approach this situation.  Do i maybe suggest that she brings the linen for the whole period for all guests as a compromise, which i thought may be a suggestion, but that wont help me pay extra amenities for 5 extra people. plus i dont want the guest to complain to air bnb and give me negative feedback,  i cannot fidn anywhere else to contact air bnb to ask their advice, so i am seeking the assistance of other trusted hosts from thier knowledge and understanding of how to proceed.  from what i can see the guest cannot cancel the booking without penalty as it is only 13 days until they arrive.   is that correct.  But the guest has now changed the arrangement we agreed upon and the more i think about it, the more i believe that i have been taken advanatge of and not been given the corerct information.   Could someone please offer me some advice on how to proceed as i really do not know what to do.   I have read on other posts that i have been reseaching people say you cant contact air bnb but how do you do that,  i cannto find any information any where on how to contact them to sort this out,   hope to hear from someone to clarify this situation as i really need to get onto sorting this tomorow

cheers

Cindy

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

hjaoo what a mess... be carefull with stays over 28 days, they will become tenants and all of this smells veeery fishy

[Cindy123]

HI branka & siliva, thank you for your comment, yes i have got myself in a bind, but i am also presumming it is my inexperience in this situation, so it has been a large learning curve, i have messaged the guest & am waiting for thier content with how they wish to proceed, and i haev spoken with air bnb now as well, so i am praying for a positive outcome,

thank you again

cindy

[Linda108]

You are certainly dealing with a moving target @Cindy123.  Please see this Help Center article about modifying the Special Offer.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/844/how-do-i-edit-or-cancel-a-special-offer

Seems like the guest is also dealing with a moving article, but that is her problem and she is making it your problem.  It is important for you to get more control and get out of just reacting to what she is presenting.  Modify the Special Offer to conform to your existing pricing including the extra person charge. In your message to the guest, do not apologize for needing to change the rate, state that as published in your pricing, extra guests incur an extra cost.  If the guest does not agree, they have the option to cancel (with all the penalties related to that).  Meanwhile you also should go to Air BNB to discuss the reservation.  As long as you are staying within your published pricing and you are communicating through the Air BNB, you will be supported.

I would imagine you have a soft heart related to a woman who is in late stage pregnancy but you cannot allow yourself to feel you have been taken advantage of.

Keep us posted how all this turns out for you.  We all learn a little bit more from each other.

[Cindy123]

Thank you Linda,  i have finally sppken to someone at airbnb and they have suggested i write to the guest and recommend some scenarios to sortout the situation, plus they have said i can also cancel as well,  so i havae written the message and am awaiting the reply, to move forward,  i feel quite ill about it, but i need to focus business is business and i was letting my heartfelt thoughts affect my decisions,   I have asked the air bnb customer service guy to phone me back in the morning so as i can confirm how the guest wishes to proceed, he didnt really seem that fussed about the 4 guest booking whcih is now 9 guests that will visit, but as i mentioned to him this is quite a common problem, guests book for 5 people and bring 8 people, and all guests use ameniities ie water, power, linen etc, which is all running costs of the home. plus i also have a pool.  so i will keep you posted, i am hoping we can come to an agreement

thank you for your support

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Cindy123 if it doesn't feel right then probably it is not ( You said they make you fill ill) I would cancel (with help of ABB)

I think you should write in your house rules something like "Only registered guests are allowed to use the apartment day and/or night" , and ask them to show you photo ID during check in, and write down all their data (name, citizenship, date of birth, passport number etc...)

And on the first place... pregnant woman who is about to get birth in a ABB apartment... long term stay over a month... without any lease contract...? hm...