Guest books then wants to throw a 20-30 person party... we don’t allow partys

[Bryan512]

Guest books and then tells us they want to invite some family members over for Christmas.  Then tells us its 20-30 people.  Our description says no party’s. What do I do?  Cancel their reservation or hope they don‘t throw a party anyway?

[Sarah977]

@Bryan512  My suggestion would be if this booking is still within the 48 hr. free cancellation period for the guest, tell them as stated in your listing, your maximuum guest count is 9 and that no gatherings, parties, or extra guests or visitors are allowed and that they need to cancel asap to receive a refund so they can look for a place that suits their needs. 

If they don't do that, contact Airbnb and tell them the guest has indicated they want to have up to 30 people in your 9 guest max listing for a party and that Airbnb needs to cancel this booking with no penalties to you.

Or if it was an Instant Book and you still have 3 free cancellations, you could just cancel it yourself, but you shouldn't have to use up those for such a blatantly not okay booking.

Absolutely do not allow this booking to proceed. These people are not to be trusted if they even entertained the idea that this would be acceptable.

[Colleen253]

@Sarah977 Keep sketchy guests from getting in the door. Don’t hope for the best. There will be nothing but trouble. Silently thank them for throwing up their massive red flags and shut the door firmly. Do as Sarah says. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2704/party-and-events-policy

[Laura2592]

@Bryan512 do the following:

" Hi guest! We are flattered you chose our space, but sadly can't accommodate a party as they are banned by Airbnb and our space does not allow them. Do you mind withdrawing your reservation? This will make it possible for you to be fully refunded without penalty. If not, I will contact Airbnb and have them cancel it. You might have better luck for your event venue on a platform called peerspace. Best of luck and have a great day."

If they don't withdraw call ABB. Hopefully the guest has instant booked which means they can be canceled by ABB without penalty to you. And hopefully your communication with this guest is on the platform so ABB CS can see that they intend to break your house rules. 

Long and short of it-- no parties. Period. If you want to know why, just do a google search. I would probably block any "party holidays" like New Years, Halloween etc in the future (we do.) Best of luck.

Also read this. It might help. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/New-to-Hosting/Is-your-listing-a-quot-party-target-quot/m-p/1487...

[Anonymous]

@Bryan512   All the advice above is right on point. Whichever route you take, definitely get yourself out of this booking - it's a near certainty that these guests intend to throw a party and not a quiet little day with their 30+ so-called "family members." (Who are they, the Manson Family?)

That said, your listing's size, amenities, and location make it basically a prototype for the type of Airbnb that people seek out for illicit parties, so moving forward it would really benefit for a more robust and unambiguous rule than just "no parties." Why set yourself up for a tedious debate about what constitutes a party? Instead, I suggest firmly stating in your rules that only the registered and paid guests are permitted to enter the property at any time, and shut down any argument that it's just a "dinner" or a "family gathering."