Hosting question

[Cathy528]

Hi All,

i just wanted to put this out there to see if I was alone in my thinking here.

I recently had a guest book in which turned out to be the brother of the family who actually turned up to stay. I didn’t find this out until the 2nd night they were in my unit. They were very pleasant but I had no idea who they were and thought I would let Airbnb know. The upshot is that even tho it’s “not allowed” (the call centre persons words not mine) it’s my job to let the guy who booked know about this not Airbnb. 

I also asked what happens if a host states in a review that they would not recommend a guest. The answer was nothing. If that same guest was to instantly book again nothing would stop them rebooking despite the host stating they would not recommend them. Therefore if the host then canceled that booking they would loose super host status.

Am I the only one that thinks this is all very much geared towards the guest and not the host?

The call centre representative I spoke to struggled to see what I was trying to say.

Thanks all.

Cathy

[Linda108]

When there is a third party booking, @Cathy528 , all  that means is the person staying in your home is not covered by any Air BNB "protection" and Air BNB has no leverage to remove them.  It is your business and your home.  If you want to accommodate these existing guests, which are the same as if you had a guest from Craigs List, you can advise them of the situation and work out a private agreement.  Or, you can have the guest set up their own profile and have Air BNB cancel the original booking and rebook under the actual guest profile.  In any case, you need to communicate with the booking guest about the problem.

In my listing I clearly state only registered guests allowed on the property and with my welcome message i ask for the names of all who will be staying.  I don't think all guests understand the issue of third party booking and may not realize it as a problem.