customize extra guest fee

[Anne64]

I advertise one room in my home for $49/per night. It has a double bed. There is an adjacent room set up with a love seat and a television and bunk beds for extra guests. My assumption was that the "extra guests" would be after two people (parents?) were booked in the main bedroom. I list $12/per person for extra guests, assuming in the adjacent room.

I just had a reservation for a woman and her son, so they will be using both rooms. I accepted it because my listing said it was extra after two people. I figured it was my mistake since the listing really didn't reflect my thinking.

I would like to change my listing to say that if the second room is used, it is $12/extra per person no matter if it is one or two people in the main bedroom. 

is there any way I can do that?

[Marit-Anne0]

Technically, they are only two guests so I would suggest you accept the arrangement or decline their reservation request.  It is totally up to you what kind of arrangements you are prepared to accept. Personally, I have one double bed and a sofabed in the living area.  With two friends/father-daughter/mother-son or any other setup requring separate sleeping arrangements, I accept without any additional fee for the second person even though they need separate sleeping arrangements.  I happen to believe this might be the reason they chose my place in the first place and I try to be accomodating when sleeping arrangements are concerned. Cleaning one extra sheet is not the end of the world in the hospitality business.

[Regina38]

 I have the same issue and am going to start charging for use of extra bed. It is not just sheets. I wash everything  everytime a guest checks out, down to the matresss pad. I assumed all hosts did. I know most hotels don't and I bring my own blanket and do not use theirs. 

I just spoke with airbnb forvan hour. 

One of my issues was this. They said you can list the charge in house rules and charge  it through the resolution center. 

I called because I added a new listing and there was no way to list with instant book turned off. She fixed it but I can't  check off gov id required now...ugh

[Robbie1]

I agree with the original poster.  Also, we are here to read solutions, not because we want to waste time reading why others judge why our concerns are not legitimate.  

In our case we have bunk beds in the next room. The extra sheets add up over time in laundry costs as well as wear and tear on said bedding which you'll have to replace: we've already replaced frayed or stained bunk bed sheets twice and started thinking, "We gotta charge for this." The bunk beds also get rickety when used a lot (kids, teens, and heavy people of any age are hard on bunk beds), and we have to tend to them.  If you use maid service, even your neighbor's kid's labor for $10 an hour, time will be taken up due to managing this extra sleeping area.  Time-wise, using maid service, we have the chocie of getting the dishwasher emptied and items put away or the extra bed made up/then laundered and folded-- lest WE GET CHARGED past the hour during the rotation.  The first hour is already packed full of duties that have to be completed in either case.

I would discuss collecting cash at check-in for the extra $12 per night and put that in writing on this site in your correspondence record.  Do NOT wait until the end of the reservation to collect this money.  If you won't be present during check in, ask the guest to pay you through Paypal or to agree to a pet cleaning fee of a certain amount until AirBnB finally responds to the fact that this happens all the time and we need a BLANK fee space where we can type in what it the fee is and the prospective guests can agree to it beforehand.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Robbie1 - You cannot ask for funds outside the Airbnb system.  This is absolutely against Airbnb's terms of service.  

[Robbie1]

@ Alice 

Actually, not so. I talked to them live on March 21 to confirm. An AirBnB agent has told me directly over the phone to ask for cash upon arrival for the items I cannot charge for through AirBnB as long as I get their agreement in writing over the system.  I'm sure they don't want us to go around their system and take cash for things we can charge for through AirBnB which is what their policy reflects.  The actual reservation should not be made in cash nor the cleaning fee.  

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Anne64 - if you want to charge for the second room, just list it in your house rules and your property listing.  Something like: "Price reflected for one room only.  If a second room is used for 2 guests, a fee of $12 will be assessed."  Then you can collect this additional money through the Resolution Center.  

[Anne64]

Yeah, it's pretty clear in my listing. If three beds are used, the guest pays $49 for the first room, plus $15 for each of the bunk beds in the adjacent room. While the child didn't sleep in the second bunk, she got under the covers and therefore I had to change the sheets. I communicated with Felix, she was very unhappy I brought it up, and she retaliated by giving me a really bad review. I'm a superhost, and now I have a bad review. She was picking on stuff like room size--my listing is "cozy Brookside bungalow." Not sure what she expected with that description. There are a couple of stains in the 100-year-old bathtub that she complained about. I asked how their day(s) were, chatted up their kids, etc., but I wasn't friendly enough. Thoughts? It's so hard to find how to actually contact Airbnb to get them to look at the review and discuss. I gave them a decent review--they were tidy and left the place clean. I mentioned some communication issues, but didn't slam them at all. Ugh. This is my first bad review and I'm really afraid it will impact my reservations.

[Robbie1]

just fyi, the resolution center is AFTER the fact:  after the people have left possibly never to be seen again.  AirBnB cannot and will not bill them.   Not everyone wants to take this risk.   Guests can simply "disagree" for any reason, and it is left at that.  Even if you have it in writing over the system where AirBnB can see that the guests agreed in advance, they could say they already paid cash on site or you told the you waived it or whatever they want to say.  AirBnB does not take sides in such matters. It isn't the same as damage to the property or injuries that AirBnB may handle after the fact.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Robbie1 - this is untrue.  You can use the Resolution Center at any time after the reservation is made.  I frequently bill our dog fee in advance of the reservation start.  We sometimes ask the guest to prepay if they are asking for some add on service.  You can use the Resolution Center at any time, not just after the fact.  If you are using the Airbnb portal to negotiate terms, there is a written record of what was agreed.  If you identify in your listing that you charge for certain items, like bike rental, beach equipment, or heating the pool, and you relay that the guest has requested it through the portal, Airbnb will indeed work on your behalf to get those funds.   Payments outside of the Airbnb system are not allowed and you can have your listing or profile removed for engaging in such behavior.  

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/199/what-should-i-do-if-someone-asks-me-to-pay-outside-of-the-ai...

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/52/how-should-i-choose-my-listing-s-price

[Linda108]

@Anne64  I have a similar situation as you but I agree with @Marit-Anne0.  Previously I had a single room which could only accommodate a single or couple as guests.  Now I have secondary space, two extra long twin beds, and I have had the pleasure of different guest configurations.  I charge a per person extra charge after 2 and on occassion that has resulted in 2 guests using both rooms.  However, it has also made my listing more marketable to a wider traveler group.  Now, parents with older children, or non-intimate same sex friends, or multi-generations can use my listing.  While other hosts in my area are experiencing a reduction in bookings because of the increase in the number of hosts, I am doing better than the previous year.  Yes, it is more work, but worth it.  Just something to think about.