Extra guests

[Elisha12]

Hello all,

I am a guest staying in an apartment fit for up to 6 guests, with two double beds and one sofa bed. 

When my friend first made the booking, we booked for 4 people (two of us would be sharing a bed and the other lucky two would have the bed/sofa to themselves) at 48.50€ per person. 

My friend who made the booking has since invited another friend, now making us 5 people in total. 

Our host now wants to charge us an extra 50€ for the fifth person, which normally I could understand if he were providing us with an extra bed, or extra towels and tolietries, but that isn't the case. I also find it odd that our fifth person is being asked to pay 50€ when before we would have just been paying 48.50€ each. I know it's inconvenient to adjust the booking at the last minute, which is why we advised our host of the change of plan, but given that it just means we will now be two people in one bed, two in the other and one on the sofa, I am not sure if this extra charge can really be justified? 

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated,

[Wendy117]

The reason we hosts charge per person is there is an overhead to us in linen (your host must provide at lest one towel per person) and hot water (I assume they will shower) and typically the cleaning and noise level is more with more people.  But you have made a booking where I assume the hosts conditions are clear (it shows the amount per person on Airbnb site) and that is a contract you have entered into. 

[Kelly149]

You had one booking at one rate. Everyone agreed to this. 

Now you have asked for a different booking; it has a different rate. The host does not have to allow you to make a change. You do not have to make a change. The host has said what it costs. You get to decide if that is a cost you’d like to pay. Or not. 

Furthermore, the host may have intended to give you double occupancy. 2 people/bed. And may not have intended 4 of you to use the bedding required for 5/6 guests. And every person brings with them additional bags, additional liability, additional utilities, additional wear and tear. Not all hosts charge per person but many many do. For your consideration, if they weren’t charging per person then they likely would have charged you as 6 people even if you were 1,2,3,4,5. So, their per person pricing has saved you money. 

Hope you have a wonderful holiday!