Wedding "getting ready" guests

[Laura2592]

Pre-COVID we hosted a few small weddings (25-30 people or less) at our cottage for friends and friends of friends. We never booked through Airbnb as it was glancingly close to a party and we did not want to deal with any of that. We halted our wedding activity for obvious reasons.

We get a fair number of honeymooners which is great. But recently we have been getting requests for a rotating "getting ready" picture taking pre-wedding sort of stay, where multiple guests come in and have their hair done/get dressed while a photographer takes photos. Our place is very photogenic, so I understand why it is appealing, but in the current environment we have gotten stricter about limiting the number of guests and knowing who is staying.  We just refuse the request if we know up front.

I have a request from a bride to be who is begging to be able to have a small group of bridesmaids and her mom (3 additional people) come and do this during her stay. This was not mentioned upfront, she booked as a honeymooner with her mate months ago. How would you respond? 

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592 think of a dollar figure that would either: make it worth it for you OR make her go away...

Or just say NO

Or tell abb to cancel her bc her plans have changed and she doesn't intend to abide by your house policies

[Ann783]

With so much sadness in the world, it would be hard to turn down her request. But, I would issue a non-negotiable charge that made it worth your while.

[Anonymous]

@Laura2592  It's a Trojan Horse guest.  They book under the pretext of a normal reservation of an appropriate size, knowing full well that they intend to use the home for different purposes and bring more people in. Sometimes, when it's getting close to the date of their stay - perhaps too close to get re-booked - they'll ask for a little leeway. Just a couple close friends or family members, of course, only for a couple hours, etc.  And inevitably, it turns out to be a much larger number of people, a different kind of occasion, a longer duration.

Perhaps the guest genuinely is a bride-to-be, but it's interesting that she didn't mention the stylist and photographer, and those additional friends who just "randomly" turn up at the last minute. An honest guest would have initiated that discussion before placing the booking, rather than putting you on the spot at this late stage; I wouldn't trust this one for a minute. 

Anyway, the other members of her group are presumably either residing or staying in other accommodation close to the wedding venue, so refusing their request wouldn't result in it being impossible for the bridal party to get ready. Perhaps they'd have to settle for a less Instagram-worthy backdrop for getting their hair done, but that's a First World Problem if there ever was one.

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592  ".. in the current environment we have gotten stricter about limiting the number of guests and knowing who is staying.  We just refuse the request if we know up front."

So why would this guest get special treatment? Would it be worth  granting the request (even with extra charges)? A guest this unorganized and impetuous has the potential to cause you headaches once they are installed, and you have opened the door slightly by indulging them. Who knows what you'll be in for. If you say no, just refer to your statement when composing your reply.

[Kelly149]

@Colleen253 @Laura2592 Covid is a good scapegoat in this instance... "of course I understand that you want to be together, however, we are very strictly limiting the number of people in the space in order to lessen the chances of unintentional germ spread. You will be the beneficiary of the restrictions we've put in place prior to your arrival, it would be a shame to deprive the folks who come after you of the same."

I just explained just this to a guest who wanted to do a longer booking with 4 guests... the first 3 days would be comprised of A,b,c,d the second 3 days of A,e,f,g and the final 3 days made up of A,b,h,i.... ummm, that's not 4 guests...

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Kelly149 

When I had a side gig as an English tutor, I met this mom who couldn't understand why I wasn't willing to accept my normal 2hrs per session 3 times a week 1:1 tutoring fee to cover both her 2 kids (different ages, different levels of proficiency). She wanted me to alternate 1:1 classes between the 2 kids each session. I told her to find another tutor 😁

[Colleen253]

COVID is a handy scapegoat for a few hosting scenarios, I’m finding. I never imagined there would be a positive element to it.