Informing guests that other guests will be in the house during their stay

[Sally243]

I just started hosting and for the first time both of my private bedrooms will be booked at the same time and will share all amenities including a bathroom. Do other hosts let guests with a reservation that another guest will be there at the same time?  If so, do you let the first guest know that another guest is coming immediately or closer to the booked dates and also tell the second guest that there will be another guest there when they arrive?

Thanks,

Sally

Washington DC

[Fred13]

Sally, nowhere in your listing, that I can tell, it says 'entire place' and you do have each individual room listed separately. Perhaps no need to spelled out things that should be obvious to the guest, until further notice.

[Marzena4]

@Sally243 I am in a similar situation - I offer two rooms in my flatflat over weekends. And there were maybe 2-3 situations that my guests didn't get the message that they would be sharing some space, and later were not pleased with the fact. But I always inform my guests, even if it's just one night. And I do it upon their reservation.

[Sally243]

Thanks Marzena. I agree, I’d want to know.

[Linda108]

@Sally243  I think the key to good reviews is to ensure the guest expectations align with what your listing provides.  With that in mind, be sure to repeat in several ways that unless the whole house was rented, the rest of the house is shared WITH OTHER GUESTS.

I think one place that helps bring this to the guest attention is the "additional things guests need to know" which the guest has to acknowledge during booking.

I have had to decline or cancel bookings because when I explored their expectations, I found the guest did not accurately understand what is offered.  Doesn't hurt to be redundant.  Good luck!! 

[Fred13]

Absolutely, doesn't hurt to make sure they know via description your 3 separate rooms are in the ~same house~, meaning shared space.

[Michael956]

I also rent 2 bedrooms in my home, and I frequently have multiple guests staying at the same time.  I've never had anyone complain about this yet (they're more likely to be surprised by the "shared bathrooms", even though my listings say "2 shared bathrooms").   I never inform guests beforehand if there will be other guests in the house, but when guests arrive I sometimes say as I'm giving them a tour of the house, "and in this room there's a lovely couple from Mexico City", so they're not surprised when they pass the lovely couple in the hall or in the kitchen.  

[Victoria80]

ABSOLUTELY tell your guests they will be sharing with other unknown people!  People searching for a place are overwhelmed with choices and often do not read or remember every detail in every single listing.  The more you can do to make things clear and comfortable the better.

I am currently hosting a young woman - here for a month on a medical rotation - who fled her Airbnb when she discovered it was basically a "pot house" with small dirty rooms and other unknown people staying there (sharing 5 to a bathroom.)   Even though she told Airbnb about the problem, and that she felt unsafe, they still kept $1,000.00 of her payment, refunding her only $600.00. 

We all need to go out of our way to insure that guests know exactly what they are getting, to protect the brand if nothing else.   (Though I am posted on Airbnb, she found me through Homeaway.com.)