Does anyone else block off bedrooms in their large rental if only 1 or 2 people book?

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

We have a 3 bedroom 2 bath Airbnb.  We charge extra for extra guests. 

In the past, we had a reservation for 2 people for the home, and 7 showed up with 4 cars.

To prevent this from happening in the future, we now block off and lock the extra bedroom(s) if only 1-2 people book the home.  We tell people in the listing, as well as when they book, that this is what we do to make it clear.

We haven't had any issues, until last night.  We received a reservation for 2 people for next week.  I clarified with them that the 3rd bedroom would be blocked off, but that 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms would still be available.  She told me she had never heard of this and didn't understand why I was doing it.  I explained our position and she continued to get defensive.  She hasn't canceled her reservation, but she got me wondering.

My question -Does anyone else block off the extra rooms?  Are we being unreasonable?  Should we not block off the extra rooms and just deal with the situation as it comes up if it happens in the future?

[Ana1136]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 yes I lock my apartments if they dont have guests at the moment and I don't even explain to the guests that are staying why they are locked. What they book is what they get. If they book 2 rooms I don't understand what is the problem if another bedroom is locked, it is like it's not even there since it is not part of their booking. Let them now that if they want the third room unlocked they need to book it and you will be more that happy to set it up.

Edit : I just saw that you rent an entire home, I can see why the guest is confused, make sure that you write in your description this rule before trying to enforce it. I still think that as long as you make it clear with guests before booking you can lock the door, many hosts have private spaces that they keep locked. 

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Ana1136Thank you for your response.  We do have it stated in the listing, and I also mention it when they book so that they are clear on it.  Nobody has had an issue with it until last night. 

[Ana1136]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 you cant please everyone 🙂 As long as you have it cleared in the listing you can close it, I would do too. 

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Ana1136Haha, True!

[Jayesh5]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 

I made 3 separate listings for 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms. We have had 3 single travellers happily pay the extra for 3 bedrooms instead of 2. Each option is exactly portrayed in the text and the photos which improves accuracy of the listing. You can sync calendars but many hosts would suggest you update calendars as bookings come in if possible as there can be a lag in updates. We only lock the 3rd bedroom with en-suite. Guests who book 1 bedroom just respect that. We haven’t had them use the other room even with the door left open. You could have the price for use of the 2nd or 3rd room in the message thread in case they want to bring extra guests. Some may not realise they have the option. I like that there is less room for misunderstanding this way. Lisa

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Jayesh5Thank you for your response.  I checked out your listing.  Beautiful home!  I do find what your suggesting to be a little confusing, but maybe I just need to spend a few more moments checking out that idea (which I will do later today). 

[Jayesh5]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 

I believe there is a function now that allows you to create a duplicate listing. There used to be in any case. Maybe @Sarah977  or @Branka-and-Silvia0  know if this is still possible.

You would duplicate your listing and edit out photos for whichever rooms will not be open and change the text and pricing to reflect the correct number of guests for the listing.

In theory, when the guest does a search and filters for bedrooms or guest numbers, the appropriate listings should show up. Even if 2 are visible, they can see the price difference for what they get and choose the right one for them. 

Guests aren’t great at reading and this just makes things really clear for them. I put 1 heart for one bedroom, 2 hearts for 2 bedrooms, etc so that I could tell the listings apart at a glance otherwise, they look pretty much the same!  You could put different cover photos to tell them apart too. Lisa

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Jayesh5Thank you for explaining it more.  Question - with this method, are you also charging an extra guest fee?

[Jayesh5]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 

It is a fixed price for each bedroom (or listing) with the maximum number of guests indicated. There could be 3 guests book the 3 bedroom + 2 bath and it is the same price as if there were 6 guests. 6 is just your accepted maximum included in the price.

There would be no extra fee for guests above your maximum because they can’t exceed it unless you alter the booking and adjust the price for the extra bedroom(s). In theory, if they use the search filter for 4 guests, your listing for 2 guests should not be visible as an option to book, therefore you do not need the extra fee stipulated. 

When I set it up, there was no option to duplicate the listing which is why I am not familiar with it. I just set up each listing from scratch.  One bedroom + 1 bath - max 2 guests - choice of queen or 2 singles for $xx. Two bedroom +1 bath - max 4 guests - 1 queen + 2 singles for $xx. Three bedroom +2 bath - max 6 guests - 2 queen + 2 single for $xx. 

Even if we have 2 couples book the 2 queen bedrooms they have to pick the 3 bedroom option and no one seems to mind this. I didn’t want to set up a listing for 2 queens + 2 bath but I suppose this could also be done. 

I have also never synced the calendars but you could likely find info about this with the search box function.  You will need to sync if you want to do IB. 

If someone wants to add extra guests later, you can just charge them the extra room rate. We charge $30 per extra room. If they want to bring only 2 extra guests but use 2 extra rooms, the rate for us would be an extra $60 per night. If the 2 extra guests want to share 1 room, our extra fee would be $30 per night. 

In our confirmation letter we have a note that guests have the option to request extra rooms and the rate. We explain that this is done to pass along savings in linen and housekeeping fees to our guests if they do not require the extra rooms. Guests actually really appreciate this and we can fill low season dates with couples and block off the 1 or 2 bedroom listings for peak dates and only sell the 3 bedroom option to maximise profits. This would be difficult to do without the separate listings. 

If you have other questions please feel welcome to ask. It is a bit difficult to explain and I’m not sure this is adequate!!  But happy to clarify if needed, Lisa

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Jayesh5This is very helpful.  Thank you for taking the time to explain it in detail!

[Beth80]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 

I would do the same if I was in your position.  

Yes, it might seem a bit strange to the guests but as long as you explain that it is happening then there should be no problem. I hope it is enough to keep out the extra guests. 

If this woman is having issues with having the third bedroom blocked then I would begin to wonder if she was already planning to sneak people in!

I'm not even sure why you are only locking one bedroom. You say it's only two people. I guess their not sharing a room.

Anyway, I have to agree with @Jayesh5 . One way to deal would be to list each room separately.  Or each additional bedroom an additional price. Just a thought.

I would hate to come in after a reservation of a couple and find that somehow they managed to dirty all three bedrooms and both baths!

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Beth80Thank you for responding.  The reservation is for 2 work colleagues so they won't be sharing a room.  I don't think they were planning on sneaking anyone in, but she just got really offended because she has 25 5* reviews, so she thought that should exempt her from our rules. 

Although we have had issues in the past with someone else who had 25 5* reviews, so you just never know!  And we are really flexible as hosts, we just don't want to get taken advantage of.

We will look into the idea of doing the price by bedroom rather than amount of guests.  I'm still not clear on how to do that.  We need to research more.

Thanks again!

[Beth80]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 

I'm not sure how to do it either. This is a question for Rob or Ben. Both of whom have been very quiet recently. 

It would also give you more flexibility on how you rent. If you could advertise it as a shared space also you could theoretically have three different groups at once, or a family that took all three rooms.  I don't know what your area is like, here I get a lot of single business travelers.

[Gordon0]

I've stayed in listings where rooms have been shut off depending on how many guests I've booked for. I must say I found it a little weird at first (I want to choose my room!) but then I got it. Makes sense.