Last 5 reservations - couples booking as one person!

[Sergey3]

Hello everybody,

We have an issue. For some reason, our last five reservations are all couples but all booked as one person. Could it be a coincidence? Or bug?

We charge $15 extra per additional guests. It makes the situation uncomfortable as it's impossible to change the reservation on the same day of check-in and I've heard a few friends getting negative feedback because they brought up concerns like this with their guests.

[Paul1255 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Sergey3 I just had a quick check on the first listing on your profile- that one has your extra guest fee active- so I wouldn't say there was an issue with a bug etc (at least on that listing!)

I have an extra guest fee of £10 for extra guests up to 2. Some people who are new to Airbnb don't know how to use the tool correctly, and some people will also try to swerve the fee by just not adding the correct amount of guests!

When I get a booking I always ask in a message to confirm the full names of all guests who will be staying- if they have booked for 1 and I get a message with 2 names back, or in the course of communication they speak of 'we' or 'us' then I will explain about the fee etc and this is when you should make adjustments if required.

You shouldn't be waiting til you check your guests in to discover who is going to be staying- yes I can see how discovering this last minute and in person would make you uncomfortable...I think this could be what your guests might be banking on.

I have house rules that only guests named during booking are permitted on my property, and that failure to abide by my house rules may result in the cancellation of their booking.

Much better to get any issues out of the way early on in the booking process and then your guests can arrive worry-free and you can welcome them to your place safe in the knowledge that the guests booked are the ones who will show up, and you don't feel resentment toward the guests for potentially having taken advantage of you.

[Catherine2511]

I also require all adult guests are listed with their names on the reservation but I do not accept a request to book until the names are all listed. Some potential guests have trouble adding the names to a request. Does airbnb have a resource that explains adding your travel companions before the booking is confirmed? I can only find help to add names after the booking is confirmed 

[Sandra126]

Are you mostly having one or two guests? If you mainly host two, up the price to two guests. My price for one or two is the same, that is the base price. If you equally host just one and wish to charge less, put it in the opening message to the guest. ''Just to confirm, this booking for one guest etc''

[Sergey3]

Funny thing, they always mention "we" or put two names but we keep getting people booking as 1! That's why I thought it was a bug

[Paul1255]

@Sergey3 sounds like your guests have a numerical bug 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Sergey3   If a guest mentions "we", yet only booked for one, you can assume that they haven't entered the correct amount of people.

[Lawrene0]

Not a bug, @Sergey3. One is the system default. Guests must change the number manually at booking to two, and so many of them don't, even at my place where there is no extra guest fee, that it must be easy to miss. Some of your guests may be trying to avoid the $15, but I would guess most of them just missed changing the number. 

[Olga394]

@Sergey3 Guest do not read (#oldnews) . I have started to send a message about 10 days before the are due to check in. Asking if they know what time the will want to check in...and asking if they have read the rules of my cottage, the most important of the rules being that it is a no smoking property, no children under 4, and ONLY the amount of people booked for, may stay......

I've usually get a responce that that is fine, or..."oh, I forgot to update the booking from 2 to 4 guests....."

Regards,

Olga 

[Sergey3]

We just got another booking but this time the couple booked as two people! 🙂

[Paul1255]

@Sergey3 woohoo!! 🙂

[Kc26]

This is an issue I am facing as well, and noticed your conversation.  My property is a whole house, and occasionally a guest will book for one person.  I always ask how many, and do not approach the uneasy issue of extras if it is just one more, or if some are children.  Four guests in base fee and $25 each additional.  Yesterday I had 5 check in on a one guest reservation.   Then when they leave their review they give me a 3 star on value!  My property is located by a NFL and MLB Stadiums. The local hotels would have charged 3 times my rate for just rooms.  I am determined now to do something about the one guest booking.  Any suggestions how to handle this and still be a nice host?

[Pamela617]

My issue is also about security as we live in south africa and its dangerous to have stranger, who you have no details about , on your property. Especially since the cottage is in the grounds of my home. I leave myself vulnerable.

[Sarah977]

@Pamela617  Vulnerability can certainly be objective, but it can also be subjective. Some people can exude an air of confidence that dissuades anyone from a messing with them. As women, we can walk down the street in some unpopulated area and when we see a man walking towards us from the other direction on the sidewalk, look down and put out an aura of timidity and fear, or we can stride along with assurance, nod a curt good day and keep moving. One is the stance of a victim , one is the stance of "I have just as much right to walk down the street unmolested as you do."

You do need to think about ways to ensure your safety if you're living alone and have guests, strangers renting the cottage. Simple things like having a nearby neighbor's phone number on speed dial, letting a friend or family member know when you have a guest you may not feel entirely comfortable with, saying you'll send them a quick text morning and evening to say "All okay" and that if they don't hear from you, to please call or drop by.  I have a 70 pound wolfish-looking dog  with a ferocious bark who people are wary of at first. She's actually a big sweetie that has never bitten anyone or any other animal, and most of my guests fall in love with her and she with them. But I certainly don't let strangers I might see walking around the neighborhood know that she's harmless. If they ask if she bites, I just shrug. I'd do the same if I ever got a guest I felt posed a threat.