Guests sneaking in other guests

[Bridget152]

For our most recent booking we arrived 40 minutes after checkout (we had given them a 2 hour checkout extension already) to find that the guests had left the home but there was 10 people (and we had just seen another person pull out of the driveway) hanging out on the property getting ready to leave. Our place holds 12 people but the guest had only booked for 8, so assuming she had not been honest about having extra people to avoid having to pay the higher rate. She was not there when we arrived and we were friendly to the people who were as we didn't want a bad review and they had left the place clean. Curious how others would deal with this situation? Have messaged Airbnb but they aren't getting back to me and it sounds like without proof that extra people actually stayed over there they won't do anything. Wondering if I should message the guest directly about the additional guests or not even worry about that but just leave an honest review about what happened?

Reading through another thread on here, I realize we have a lot of positive reviews so one bad one probably wouldn't hurt if I do message her and she then decides to leave a bad review, but still undecided.

Going forward we do plan to install a camera on the front door.

[ONERüF0]

I would leave it and write an honest review of what happened so other hosts are aware.  This happens all too frequently and is frustrating but if they left the home in good condition and were respectful otherwise no point in creating a bad review for yourself.  To your other point...without hard fast proof likely they will tell you to pound sand.  Cheers, Sarah

[Helen3]

In your situation, I would contact the guest @Bridget152  and say how disappointed you were to find that she had left ten guests in your home, 40 minutes after the two hour extension you had given her free of charge.

And surprised that there were11 guests (10 plus herself) staying at the property even though she had only booked for 8. (why would they have been at your place if they weren't staying there) (presume you checked on how many bed had been slept in, bedding used and towels).

I would send through a request for the additional three guests for the duration of the stay and give her an honest review with a max of three stars so she can't IB going forward.

Unfortunately if you host remotely you will get guests sneak extra people in unless you vet guests carefully and use CCTV outside to monitor how many go in and out.

If you haven't done so already

1. install CCTV

2. get guests to confirm via Airbnb the number of guests staying

3. have house rules that only those who have booked and paid can be on the premises

I know some hosts worry about a bad review for reinforcing house rules, but personally I would rather take that risk, I hate guests lying to me and am not going to let them get away with it.

[Sarah977]

@Bridget152  Well, you say there extra people "hanging out on the property". It doesn't seem that you have any proof that all those people were staying at your place, since you didn't have cameras. It's always possible that they were friends who were staying elsewhere and just came by at check-out time to meet up or travel together. 

So I'd maybe message the guest and just ask, but not accuse, or just let it go, and as you say you are planning to, install outside cameras so you can see if extra people are entering and spending the night or hanging out all day, using up your amenities. 

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Bridget152 I had the exact same thought as @Sarah977 , which is that maybe these people who were hanging around weren't actually staying there.

We recently hosted a young family who invited some friends they know from the area over for a meal on our terrace. We have a very large terrace with a huge table that can sit 10-12 people, depending on their age and size, and we have a modern gas barbecue and a traditional Portuguese-style one. Plus, there are several deck and lounge chairs on the terrace as well.

The point is that it's a great place for doing a bit of hosting. These guests were nice enough to tell us that they were going to invite some friends over, and our neighbours told us later that they hadn't been noisy at all--just some people having food, drinks and a nice chat, and they wrapped it all up at a decent hour.

So, if your place holds 12 people, then my guess is that it is also a great place for hosting. It is quite possible, then, that your guests simply invited some friends over and that they were "hanging around" as friends.

Realise, then, that if you accuse these people of "not [being] honest about having extra people to avoid having to pay the higher rate" and you are wrong, then you are going to look bad in the eyes of this guest. So, ask yourself: is the little bit of difference in the payment that you think you didn't receive worth the risk of a bad review due to a (possibly) false accusation and messing up all of your good reviews? The way that I understand that it works with Airbnb, that one bad review will not only jeopardise your chances of becoming a Superhost, but it could also hurt you in the order that your property is listed.

Anyway, if it's still bothering you, then you might consider mentioning it politely--something like, "Oh, and I noticed that when I went to our property that there were 10 people there when you had only booked for 8 guests. Was this an oversight?" Something like that. But of course, the guest will deny it, and you won't get the satisfaction you want from asking such a question. And then, of course, you have opened up the possibility of getting a bad review.

I personally would let it go--and if you really think that this is going to continue to be a problem, then yes, install cameras near your entrance. But don't forget to state on your listing that you have cameras. Airbnb requires this, and I heard recently about a case of a host having installed cameras, not saying so and getting banned from the site, as it is apparently a legal requirement in most countries to let guests know that they are being filmed. 

Good luck. 

[Emily487]

@Bridget152 

I had a similar situation two year ago. I was new and left a bit of a cream puff review like John and Suzy were very nice and we were happy to let them check out later than expected  (though I was not happy...). They took good care of the apartment but I wish that I was told that so many local family members would have been visiting so I could provide enough supplies.  Now, I would be more forceful but I think the line in bold does hit on the fact that others were there and they were not booked guests but you don't directly accuse them of sleeping over.

[Bridget152]

True, I do not have 100% proof that they all stayed but I'm inclined to believe they did because she led me to believe she was coming with family but the group that was there was all around the same age in their early 20s. Also it was a last minute booking and my husband and I were out of town, so I made the mistake of saying we would not be able to greet her (which we normally do) but a friend would leave a key.  Would not want to have her stay again as I just don't believe that she was truthful, and they were still on the property after they should have been gone. Most guests message us to let us know if they are running behind and need an extension - we had agreed to the 2 hour later checkout before she arrived.

I think I will not bother contacting her or making any accusations. I will leave an honest review of what happened when we arrived and other hosts can draw their own conclusion. 

[Sarah977]

@Bridget152  I'd be inclined to believe they were all staying there, too, and usually a host's gut feeling turns out to be correct. I just think that accusing someone without any proof can lead down a slippery slope. I've read posts here where a host was convinced a guest stole something, because they couldn't see it anywhere, then were glad they didn't mention it in a review, or accusing the guest, because they ended up finding it stashed away in the back corner of a closet for some unfathomable reason.

What you've decided to do sounds like the smart move- not worth wasting your time over at this point, just move on.