Guests are different people than person who reserved, is this allowed?

[Nicky-and-Adrian0]

I recently accepted a reservation from a woman who made the booking on behalf of her parents who are not great with technology and not on AirBnb. She was honest about this and provided her parents names and contact info. Are there any risks associated with hosting a guest who is not actually on AirBnB? Does this invalidate the Host Protection Guarantee or any other insurance coverage?

Any insight is much appreciated.

Thanks. 

[Nathalie-Et-Gilles0]

Bonsoir Nicky

It is strictly forbidden by airbnb to book on the behalf of someone else.

The one who book must come.
One of the reason is that reviews are done by people who never stay.
The other reason is that the girl is not reponsible for the behaviour of her parents so the airbnb garantee cannot be applied.


You should not have accepted her request.

You broke airbnb rules so your are not covered by airbnb.


Or the girl come and stay with her parents.
Or you explain that her parents must book with their profile.
To do that , call airbnb to cancel the reservation and let the parents book.

[Marga-and-Bart0]

Hello Nicky, Nathalie and Claude,

I have a reservation that seemed perfectly OK, but when I asked the guest when she would arrive today, she's answered me that she won't go but that three people will go in her place, three women she knew some time ago.  I truly don't like denying their entrance (I suppose that my guest and these three people made a fair trade), but I don't like how my guest has reponded.  What would you suggest?  Thanks!!!

Bart

[Kelly87]

Cancel the reservation. Bottom line.

[Jay195]

Yes cancel ... but how do you do that without host cancelation fines and additional penalties if you have auto accept turned on.

[Clare0 · Accepted solution]

@Nicky-and-Adrian0 Ideally the parents should have their own account especially in order for you to communicate, review and otherwise  deal with them as guests.  If payment is an issue, the daughter can purchase an Airbnb gift card which the parents can use for booking.  This issue comes up quite frequently.  Personally, I don't like 3rd party bookings because I have no idea who is going to walk in the door, so my policy is to decline them. 

Here are some helpful links to help you decide: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/427/can-i-book-on-behalf-of-a-friend-or-family-member

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/981/how-do-airbnb-gift-cards-work

[Clare0]

@Nicky-and-Adrian0 To get back to your question: More than likely if this scenario is correct (daughter booking for parents) you are not likely to have any problems.  Can't answer about the Host Guarantee, but if these people are too old to use the internet and create their own user account, I would assume they won't be having wild parties in your home.  You should always have homeowner insurance with a vacation rental cover regardless of the Host Guarantee which is only invoked in extreme cases (ones that involve high dollar claims, police reports, etc.) Also (I didn't look at your listing so I don't know) be sure to have a security deposit.. Mine is set at $150.  

If it were me, I'd go ahead with this reservation on the condition that you actually meet these people before you let them in.  If it turns out to be 2 teenagers, I'd refuse entry as the premise of the reservaiton was a lie. 

On a go forward basis, don't accept 3rd party reservations.  Hope this gives you peace of mind. 

[Nilda5]

You mentioned homeowners insurance on vacation rental and that you are from Templetieton, CA.  Does your insurance carrier know your vacation rental is on AirBNB? If so, which insurance company are you using?  We're sorting out our home insurance coverage and Liberty Mutual, our current carrier, is not very helpful with the AirBNB matter.  Started shopping around and State Farm would not even give us a quote.  Reason is the same as Liberty Mutual's.  "We do not have a product that covers AirBNB rental in California".  'Wondering what kind of insurance (on top of AirBNB Host Guarantee) you've got. Thanks.

[Phyllis40]

My guest showed up but wasn't the one from the picture. I believe she maybe the daughter, it was late 10 pm, so I showed her in. I also believe she was drunk. It's the morning now, what do I do?

How do I prevent this from happening again?

This is my 4th guest, I'm New at this.

Thanks

[Jon220]

I had a booking from a lady a few weeks ago for 1 Person she booked two weeks the whole house.  I sent her a message will you be the only one coming?  Well no answer a week goes by I ask about breakfast and she tells me the night before it will be 3 guys from work she is in HR.  She will not be coming.   AirBnB is stressing me.  I sent a message to support.

[Paul1507]

What was AirBnB's position on this? What did they say?

[Shanna21]

Have the guest cancel and then re-book under their own account. My Air BnB rep just told me over the phone that it’s “my call” whether or not to accept a 3rd party booking but their policy is that the person making the reservation must travel under their booking. In case of any damages you won’t be covered.

[Joao143]

Just called Airbnb with the same problem. They didn't give me the option, they said they have to cancel, because it's against the rules.

[Karen-and-Brian0]

I got a different response than yours from CS - they weren't concerned at all with the third party booking aspect of it, in fact they didn't even address that - the only "help" I got was advice on how to go through the Resolution Center to collect for the 2-3 additional guests the non-staying booking guest had allowed to come. The agent was too busy giving me her canned "speel" to listen to what I was actually trying to tell her. 

My issue wasn't the extra people, the booking guest had agreed to pay for them, my issue was that it was a third party booking! The booking guest stated in the messages we exchanged when the guests arrived that she was staying, but she actually never set foot on our property.  We have security cameras, I knew what she looked like.

It's over & we all survived but I have no confidence in Airbnb's ability to provide support for hosts, much less consistent support.