Guest used a bed in a room they didn't pay for

[Charles307]

Hi there,

We had a guest arrive yesterday and their reservation was for one guest.  They arrived with two.  Not a big deal to me but we do charge a small fee for an extra guest.  Since they are just here for 2 nights I didn't want to open that can of worms with these people who seemed agitated with they arrived.  When I woke up this morning, I found one of the guests sleeping on the futon in our loft! That is not a space on our listing for guests to use and our listing clearly states we have only one bed.  Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation? I feel they should be charged extra for using a space that is not for guests and they made the reservation knowing that there is just one queen bed for guests to use. 

any and all advice is welcome 🙂 

Charlie  

[Kath9]

@Charles307, no way. What is wrong with people? That is absolutely not ok. I would charge them double your normal price because they have essentially used another room/bedding that you will now need to wash/change. And thumbs down on the review. Good luck getting the money though - guests seem to realise they can get away with anything these days 😞

[Kath9]

I just noticed they're staying for 2 nights. So they need to either pay up or leave (No refund). They have deliberately deceived you by not telling you there was 2 of them and then looking around your house for another bed.

[Andrea2636]

I would call Airbnb customer support and report the issue. If the person who answers isn't helpful just call right back and you'll get someone else.

[Thomas1033]

@Charles307  That’s not okay to do!  It would be like guests who rented our third floor apartment making their way into our second floor guest suite just because the door was unlocked in the same hallway and making use of it.  I’d be so very mad.  Yvonna (cohost)

[Charles307]

So here's what I ended up doing.  They tried to say that our listing states that we have a sofa bed available for guests to use. I called Airbnb and asked them to double check after I had thoroughly looked through the listing.  While there is a picture of the futon it is merely meant to direct guests to the room if the door is closed as it is in a tiny loft with a desk.  they responded by saying that there were towels on it so they thought it was ok.  I let them know that those came out of dryer while they were out and I didn't want to invade their space to put them away.  I send the request for the additional nights and the extra guest charge.  Both of which they agreed to pay via the resolution center.  Now I'll just have to deal with the negative review when that arises.  Maybe I can get it pulled... I've been able to do that once before when a guest wrote a really bad review after i asked them to leave for trashing my bathroom.

[Christine615]

Bill them for the use of the second room. Then pursue it in the resolution center. I just don't understand the gall of some people.

We once had a couple stay with us for 7 day. Married. Slept in every bed. I couldn't believe it.

[Helen350]

@Charles307 I had a situation 3 days ago where a man booked for 1, then showed up with his wife. Straight away I said he must amend the booking (double bed, so room for her if they pay!) He made excuses, saying what he paid (£21 +£3) was for the room! I said not in Airbnb, you pay per person... Then he said they weren't having food, so had paid enough! I said 'No', my listing states another £10 for a 2nd person. He said we could sort the next day! I said he must pay immediately, by amending the booking via Airbnb. He tried, but the system would not allow it cos THE RESERVATION HAD STARTED. (They checked in past check in time!) I thought about phoning CS, but did not want drama, nor to inflame the situation. (-Easy to say 'Put your foot down' in this forum, harder to actually do.) So I asked for the £10 cash. (I know this is frowned upon, but as the system would not allow us to do it properly, I could see no other alternative, having to think fast. - Had I gone for the Resolution Centre, he might never have admited responsibility to pay..... He said the cash point 2 miles away was too far, didn't we have one at the end of the road? - No, we are 8 houses surrounded by fields! Then his wife said she might have some cash & scrabbled around for 2x £5 notes. - Result! In my flustered state I did not notice that one was obsolete, no longer legal tender.

They turned out to be my least respectful guests ever, they were stomping around at 2.30 am, banging doors, - above my room, they TOOK a large wall mirror from another room & put it in theirs, they left the toilet in a foul state in a shared bathroom. Then they  ambled down to breakfast in their dressing gowns 20 mins before 12 noon checkout, eventually leaving 1 hour late.

Problem is, in yours & my situation, the host needs instant payment thru Airbnb BEFORE the extra guest(s) are allowed to stay...... It's a problem when the platform does not facilitate this. A CS rep phoned me earlier today on a different minor matter we'd discussed online. I mentioned this tale.... of course she chastised me for resolving the matter in cash, but was understanding that I had to think on my feet - FAST! - to stop guest's wife having a free night - or chucking then out = draconian + bad review (held hostage again!) I said if only the website allowed the extra to be paid thru the proper channels; She agreed!

[Mike1034]

@Helen350  There is s Send Money button on the guest reservation and a Request Money on the reservation at host side. You can either ask the guest to use Send Money to send you money or you can click Request Money button on your side to request money. 

It could cause big problem if the guests tell Airbnb that you requested cash from them.

[Helen350]

@Mike1034 Thanks for advice. At the time, I did not know what to do cos 'Change the reservation ' was declined. And guest said what he paid for 1 was enough for 2 (£21!) It was HIS responsibility to pay, & he did not want to, made no attempt to go on to airbnb site, I had to tell him to, HE did not look for the buttons you suggested.

- So I just wanted it sorted as it was 11.15 pm. Couldn't tell wife to go away cos not paid.

I did not  know the send/request money was available before trip had ended, I will have to check it out.

Annoying thing, when the guest booked, 3.5 hours before arriving, I messaged to say ' You booked for ONE, is that right, that there is only 1 person?' - No reply. On arrival, he claimed not to have read my messages, cos he was driving.

[Melissa681]

I have often used the send/ request money. However, the guest has THREE days to accept or decline the request. At that point they could be in a different country! 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Charles307 @Helen350 

We had a similar situation a while ago and I contacted Airbnb to ask what shall we do if the guest shows up with more people than booked.

CS rep told me we are not obligated to host them if they don't pay for extra guests.

So, we can send them money request through "send or receive money" resolution center. They should accept it before entering the space. Yes, on the street or on the staircase, it is not our fault they didn't inform us timely.

Then they have to wait until we prepare the extra beds. We always prepare the exact number of beds they requested and leave the exact number of towels.

We always lock the other apartment/room if we don't have other guests there because people think if it is not locked then it is free for them to use.

[Helen350]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 I should have told the wife to stay in the car! Not escaping up my stairs in an entitled fashion!

In future, it's good to know I don't have to let them in till they've paid.

[Charmian3]

I had a similar experience but luckily not thru Air bnb.  I charged extra for all the guests on my property , even those that slept in their cars on my property !  Gave the lady my bank details , she signed a letter to say she will pay over the extra . I however am still waiting for the money to reflect in my bank account !    Hopefully she keeps her word ! 

[Vanessa537]

Good morning Hosts,

I am reading your comments and i am even more worried.

What would you do (if) on the day of the check in, my guests make me the very bad surprise to be more people than expected. Taking into account that i CANNOT accommodate more guests that what is specified in my listing. So there is no possibility for them to pay for extra money as i cannot accommodate extra guests
Example if my booking is for 2 adults ONLY i obviously cannot accommodate 4 adults OR 2 adults and 2 children. (Even if they have brought with them their own mattresses to sleep)...

-a) If i don't accept the group what will happen to me?
-b) What happens if they don't want to leave the property and say that they have no where else to go and start to fight?
-c) Will they be able to write a review is they did not check in?
-d) Will i be fully paid as i am not the one in fault?

Thank you for your help as this is really worrying me.

Best regards

Vanessa