Guests who book but others stay

[Amanda660]

We’re in a rural village and attract a lot of guests from a high end Castle Wedding venue nearby - mostly 2 night stays. 

I’ve noticed that we’re receiving bookings from folks on behalf of others.  This of course means we have no relationship or communication in the build up to their stay and often they don’t pass on house info, rules, check out info etc.  

Recently (despite a little blackboard reiterating checkout time in the kitchen) we’ve gone down at check out time to find folks still in bed or eating brekkie in their jammies. 

Thoughts on how things could be improved?  I have a folder containing info etc but that doesn’t  help them before arrival. 

[Monika64]

@Amanda660 

Third party bookings (when the person who booked isn’t even present for the stay) are FORBIDDEN by Airbnb for a number of reasons such as security, accountability and financial responsibility. 

The person who books needs to sign off on your House Rules which means they accept those and will abide them. 

Airbnb will remove these bookings for you if you contact them immediately after you understand they are 3rd party bookings. It won’t affect your ratings at all (it’s not a cancelation on your part). 

I had several of these removed and I simply asked the guests to create an Airbnb account so they can book themselves. In this case if there is ever a dispute (over damaged property or any House Rules they didn’t keep) you can involve Airbnb because the guest who actually stays there saw all your requirements. 

[Sarah977]

@Amanda660  When you message with guests at the time they book or request to book, make sure they are aware that the person who does the booking has to be among the people who are staying, that 3rd party bookings are against Airbnb's Terms of Service, and that your insurance doesn't cover you if the original booker is not staying, and that if others arrive without the booking party, you unfortunately can't admit them to the property.

[Kenneth12]

What @Sarah977 (oh joy,  ABB has now given us numbers so we will know what we mean to them) said.

Never knowingly accept a 3rd-party reservation.

Require the person who owns the account to be present for check-in,  and deny entry to anyone not declared-- make sure names are provided in advance for all people in the reservation-- ask the person who books to make sure everyone has read House Rules and understands ABB,  etc.