Last minute additional guest charge - not previously mentioned- help!

[Laura3935]

Hey there, 

I'm not sure whether I (an Airbnb guest) are in the right or wrong with this situation - so could do with some input before we raise this with Airbnb!

Myself and my partner booked an entire home airbnb with a listed capacity of 11 people for over the Christmas period. After submitting a booking request (i THINK we stated 4 guests at this point) the owner got in touch to request some additional information before confirming. We advised that it would be the four of us staying, with potentially another couple. The host said this was fine, approved the booking, and we made payment.

We recently got in touch to confirm we would indeed be having two additional guests (so a total of 6 guests in an 11-person listing). The host then messaged us outside of airbnb requesting more money. I am aware that they request outside of airbnb is not allowed. Would they be allowed to request additional money within airbnb however?

We don't feel like this is fair as a charge for "extra guests" was not mentioned on the listing or previous emails, and in addition we don't feel it is fair to view the additional guests as "extra guests" as they are still well within the capacity for the home (and they will not be provided with linens or any other services).

Please give your advice on this situation - we don't want to annoy the host and cause them to cancel our Christmas booking, but we also really do not want to cover any more costs (the booking was very expensive, and we in fact only paid that much hoping we would be able to split the cost out over a couple more guests!)

Thanks.

[Sarah977]

@Laura3935  Some hosts charge a blanket fee for the entire place up to as many people as it can sleep, but it's much more common to have a base fee for up to XX number of people, then an extra guest fee after that. However, if there was nothing mentioned at all anywhere in the listing info (are you quite sure, did you read all the fine print, house rules, "other things to note" and "read more"?) then no, the host can't charge you extra now. The fact that they asked you for this off-platform definitely makes it appear that they didn't mention it in the ad. Hosts would normally address this through the Airbnb tools and messages.

Seeing as how you originally entered 4 guests, and now want to change it to 6, I could see that the 2 more could be called "extra guests", but still, she can't charge for them if the fee wasn't stated in the listing.

[Laura3935]

Thanks for your response - there was definitely nothing in the listing regarding any extra charges (nor was it mentioned over message when we advised we were planning on having another two guests originally).

I do see that we should have selected 6 guests when we were searching for the property and booking - but we foolishly did not think that it would impact the cost of the booking as the amount was such a large fee we assumed it was a flat rate for the full property. The listing is now showing as unavailable to book so I can't go back and check if the price quoted does in fact change when you alter the number of guests.

[Emilia42]

@Laura3935 Can you please post a link to the listing?

[Laura3935]

https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/30040175?source_impression_id=p3_1574650038_N4FKkPD6LhrwcU9G

[Sarah977]

@Laura3935  When clicking on that link, I can see the listing just fine and when I input 1-4 guests (without dates) it comes up as $570/night. When I up it to 5 guests, the price increases to $615 and with 6 to $670. That base price probably isn't the one you saw and paid, as I didn't enter any dates, but at least it's obvious that they do charge more for any guests above 4. 

Assuming that 11 guests would be able to stay for the same price as 4, Laura, does sound pretty naive- obviously 7 more people would cost the host a lot more. But they should have mentioned the extra guest charge in the listing body, which I can't see anywhere, you are correct there.

Reading the listing and reviews, I get a sense that these are really nice people and that they really aren't trying to pull a fast one, they just neglected to mention the charge in the listing, assuming that it would adjust when guests entered the correct guest count and that that was adequate.

If I were you, I would just communicate with the host in a polite and friendly way and maybe he'll meet you in the middle, seeing as how they didn't make it obvious in the written listing about the extra guest charges. 

I'm not sure what you mean about the extra guests not being provided with linen or any other services. Even if they bring their own bedding and towels, obviously they are going to be showering, using hot water, using toilet paper and soap, maybe turning on the AC or heat in their room, so yes, they are going to cost the host more. 

[Laura3935]

Thanks for the feedback - yes thinking about it i suppose the amount we paid would be cheap for a total of 11 guests! And yes, I can see now that the price does change with an increase in guests - interestingly enough we are paying $670 a night  (I assume higher rate due to Christmas period). We will get in touch with the host direct and try to arrange a compromise.

[Fernanda319]

I am so glad you are talking about this.  I am a host and just recently experienced a sad episode with a guest which resulted a cancellation.  I just published another property and got a booking for 1 person, but then she message me saying that her 2 sons would arrive first and the her husband and her 2 days later.  So I was confused since the booking said 1 person.  I ask her to please confirm the number of people staying at the property and if it was more than one to please make the corrections.  I told her told that for insurance and security purposes it has to be stated on the booking confirmation.  I honestly didn’t know that the price would change so drastically so I offer her a discount but she needed to disclose the # of people staying.  She ended up requesting me to cancel the booking and I was sorry for this to happened I didn’t know since I don’t charge per person but per night.  How can I fix this setting.?

[Kelly149]

my pricing is per person, but I don't detail in the listing what those charges will be bc it changes going forward depending on my goals for that month, just like how my daily pricing changes.

so IMO this is a legit situation, you got accurate pricing for the 4 guests you asked for and now that you're adding extra, those are extra. Good luck & hopefully it is a lovely trip

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Laura3935 

we have a base price for 4 guests in our apartment No3 and an additional 10€ fee is added for every guest up to 8.

WE DON'T HAVE IT WRITTEN IN OUR DESCRIPTION! And (almost) nobody has.

Extra guest fee is added automatically when you enter the number of people in your group. ( @Sarah977  hosts just 1 guest at the time so she is not so familiar with it)

In a situation like yours, when the guest wants to change the number of guests when the booking is already done we send him an alteration request and he has to accept it. ( We change the number of guests, the price automatically changes and when the guest accept it, his account is charged for the difference) Everything goes through the Airbnb platform.

Your host may not be familiar with reservation alteration and never done that before. In this case, you can send an alteration request to your host. Just change the number of people in your group (change or cancel a reservation) and submit it. Your host has to accept it. It is not complicated.

I am surprised you think it should be the same price for 1 or for 11 people!? Yes, they use the same space but it is not the same to prepare and wash 1 bedding or 11 beddings, 3 bath towels or 33, it's not the same if 1 person takes a shower or 11 people take showers per day, they use 11x more water, more toilet paper, more soap, more electricity etc... It's a huge difference and if you don't believe why not trying to invite 11 friends for a weekend at your home? 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  Thank you for the correction- I didn't realize that most hosts don't mention extra guest fees in the listing itself- I thought most hosts mention any additional fees, like extra guests, pet fees, etc, to avoid any possible misunderstandings. And I guess I assumed it was like house rules or camera disclosures- that if they aren't mentioned in the listing itself, Airbnb wouldn't back you up (not that they do much, anyway).

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sarah977  we do mention pet fee because Airbnb doesn't have a pet fee setting so we have to charge it separately through send or receive money / resolution center. Some hosts mention city tax if it is collected separately at arrival or a late-check-in fee etc... But extra guests fee and cleaning fee are charged authomatically so there is no need to mention them in a description 🙂