Guests bringing too many people

Cynthia334
Level 1
Negaunee, MI

Guests bringing too many people

I just had a guest that asked for a porta crib.  I asked him why he would need a porta crib if his reservation says 1 GUEST?  He said it was a mistake, he had 2 teenage boys, a spouse, a baby and himself.  We only allow 4, total, guests, no matter what the ages.  It was only 2 days before his arrival and he would not have found another place in the area, so I let him rent.  My question is, how do I insure they tell me the right number of people?  We are on a small lot and in a busy neighborhood.  This was too many people for our place.  Can I ask someone to leave and keep their rental money if they bring too many people or if they bring pets?

8 Replies 8

@Cynthia334 there are a bunch of issues relevant to your situation, so it is a little complicated.

 

It is very common for guests to put the wrong number of guests, but it isn't always because they are trying to be sneaky. If the reservation says "1 guest" often it means the person was not aware they needed to set the number of guests (as the default is set to 1 guest if the traveler doesn't change it.)

There is no magic way to make sure the guest is setting the proper number, but you can help make sure it happens by communicating with the guest and asking questions. Some hosts ask for the names of all the guests and (if you are on-site or nearby) you can make sure that only the previously identified guests are allowed on the property.

 

One of the things that complicates the issue is that Airbnb does not count infants as guests. So, from the perspective of Airbnb, your guest's group is only 4 guests: the booking guest, his spouse, and the 2 teenage boys. This would make it hard for you to ask the group to leave for having too many guests, as Airbnb would view the group as numbering 4.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/433/can-children-travel-on-airbnb

 

You sort of add the topic of pets at the end. If the animal is strictly a pet, and you do not allow pets, then certainly you can disallow them from staying. Of course, there have been many discussions where hosts complain that guests will claim a pet is a "service animal", which you *cannot* disallow.

The topic of pets and service animals is a big topic itself. For more information about that, you should search this community for the discussions on service animals.

 

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

and to answer your last question, if you do not allow someone to stay (regardless of the reason, regardless of your cancellation policy) ABB will not give you the payment.

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

Presuambly you told him you do not have a porta crib, as ABB do not count babies no need for you to as well.

David

David,

 

That's is your best contribution amongst many this year.

 

We are pretty new to ABNB and it seems like every reservation shows up with more people than they booked for. We feel like they are trying to beat the system as we charge extra for every guest over 5. This is stipulated in our listing and ABNB would charge for it if they stated the correct number of guests when they book.

The last group was booked for four adults and they showed up with 6 adults and 3 kids, one of which was a infant that our listing clearly states the property is unsuitable for.

Although the unit is large enough to sleep that many its also A LOT of extra work to wash, change, make beds replenish essential items, disinfect, thats why we charge more for extra people.

We picked the number 5 because it represents most average family sizes, parents and three kids or less. What we end up with is 3 families splitting the 125 a night rent creating on hell of a cheap vacation spot with full ammenities.

We are going to start recapping the reservation a week or so out with the guests and verify the number of people and their names. If it exceeds the booked amount we can remind them that the original reservation if for 5 people and they are giving me 8 guest names and that they will need to sign back into ABNB and make a change to the reservation before they arrive.

Its the only way we can think of to make it fair.

We keep having the same issue over and over (worst case was from 8 reserved to 12 observed by neighbors) but no way to recoup when the guest denies it (thinking about an doorbell or entry camera).  I ask more details right after booking and even say that a reservation isn't accepted until we get answers to all our extra questions (which also rarely happens without more proding).  When we can establish a booking count is incorrect, guests don't seem to know how to log in to update.  Then I make the updates and send to them to accept, which gets ignored. Next I call, send emails and/or texts which end up too close to check-in for comfort and we worry about reviews due to the nature of the topic.  Airbnb needs to do more to intervene when reservations are contradicted by the guest messages, and if required information isn't provided with bookings.

John1080
Level 10
Westcliffe, CO

@Cynthia334, this seems to be one of the issues one has to deal with with newbies to AirBnb. Of course it isn't exclusively limited to them, but many of them do not really know how to operate the platform. Others, I believe are trying to be sneaky for sure. 

 

Perhaps, in the future, in your response, write something confirming such as, "Thank you for your interest in my space. I would be happy to confirm your request for 3 guests. Please review my rules and policies below, letting me know they work for you and we can go ahead and cofirm"

Great tip.  I have started doing what you suggested.