How to deal with extra guests?

Answered!
Deborah0
Level 10
California, United States

How to deal with extra guests?

A host (call him Mark) recently described a problem, that seems to me to be an exceptionally common problem which hosts bring to the host communities to ask about.   Mark said that the guest booked 4 people, but that 6 people actually arrived.  He thought at first that only 4 guests would stay, as this had been the arrangement and what they paid for (and he doesn't allow more than 4 to stay at his home -- which is an entire house listing).  However, the next day when he went by the house to see the guests off and check them out, he saw all 6 people inside, and as they left, he saw that they were all carrying luggage, so it was clear they had all stayed there. 

 

Do you have any advice for Mark?

1 Best Answer
Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi everyone,

 

Please note that this content has been archived.

 

You can still access if if you have the link but it won't appear when you search on the Community Center.

 

Please take a look at our Help Center article on "When guests want to bring more people" for more information. 

 

To ask a new question just click below:

 

Stephanie_0-1677152405466.png

 

Thanks

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

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236 Replies 236
Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi everyone,

 

Please note that this content has been archived.

 

You can still access if if you have the link but it won't appear when you search on the Community Center.

 

Please take a look at our Help Center article on "When guests want to bring more people" for more information. 

 

To ask a new question just click below:

 

Stephanie_0-1677152405466.png

 

Thanks

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

Tony65
Level 2
West Covina, CA

people request 1 guest and when i ask them how many people will be staying at our 5 bedrooms  3 bath pool home 2600 sq ft they say 10 people but they put 1 person on there request  or other guest request is for 2 people who would need a large house for 2 people

guest are not being truthful and i'am sure their claiming discrimination. are other host having the same problems

 

 

 

 

 

feedback please

tony

 

 

 

I am now making my guests register just as tho they are checking in to a hotel.

 

I recently had a woman from a well to do family make reservations for 6.  She brought five more people to stay the night behind my back, bringing them in late at night.  Further she broke my house rules regarding children.  I would like to get her black-balled from Airbnb.  Who do I contact?

 

Next time this happens I may call the police and have them cited for trespassing.

 

Who has recommendations on this?

ve Don't you guys think it would just be easier to install cams that way you can see how many people leave and have evidence?

Tony, sometimes people start a reservation with one guest because they’re new to the system or something.  I always just say either, “You’re going to need to update the reservation with the correct number of guests,” or “Let me know the exact number of guests in your party and I’ll update the reservation.  You’ll get a change request and all you’ll need to do is accept it and we’ll be all set.” Works every time.

Merle2
Level 2
Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

I had a booking on our home that sleeps 6. On making the reservation the lady enquired and booked for 6. After confirming, she asked me if I can add 2 beds, for friends. I replied saying there is no space for 2 additional beds and she is welcome to cancel her booking to look for a larger home. She replied a day later that her friends have found alternative accommodation.

Six ladies arrived in a microbus and checked in.

On Check in I said we service on a daily basis, just not on Xmas day and Boxing day. She then said I should not worry they are more than enough people to clean. I insisted that it is part of our service to clean. 

On arriving to clean ( which I personally do with my staff ) there is a second vehicle parked in the yard and there are 8 toothbrushes in the various bathrooms....

So, I will arrive early tomorrow to do a head count see if my suspicions are correct.

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Wow that is cheeky to blatantly lie.

 

If you find that there are more people you can contact BNB about cancelling their booking.

I am very blunt in the information provided on my site about the registered number of guests.  I believe under our state law additional guests can be treated as trespassers.  If I ever again run into the situation that occurred with the rich people from Grants Pass who deliberately lied to me I will give them one warning to remove the additional people immediately.  If they do not I will call the police and chage them with unlawful trespass.  Knowing and willful cheaters deserve no better treatment.  Basically they are committing fraud.

Paul154
Level 10
Seattle, WA

I have had luck getting the extra fee from most guests in this situation

 

Easiest and quickest is to first send the guests a polite resolution request for the guest overage.

+$5 or +$10/night/guest.

Sometimes it is an honest mistake. Some newbies are ignorant of the number of guest entry box. Sometimes more guests than planned do come and the guests don't want "rock the boat/bother the host".  Sometimes people make it a game just to see if they can this past the host...

If you ask them, they usually will pay.

 

If they don't pay, then you can go Old Testament on their asses. 

But don't sweat it until you know they are truly evil.

 

 

 

 

Marie82
Level 10
New South Wales, Australia

I have the same situation every week i found out an extra guests stayed in the apartment

Today i did the check out and 2 ladies where normally booked and 3 ladies came out with 3 suitcases and i coudl have seen 1 of them slept on the sofa

 

Same with kids i have no kids policy in my apartments some are kinds enough to ask permission for their children and if any damaged items they will paid for it

 

But now i have couple not telling me at all and i found out when they check out 

 

i wonder what AIrbnb is doing to takle this type of problems we hosts have to deal with constantly 

 

 

If you are concerned about guests leaving a bad review if you complain to them or to Airbnb:

If you open a complaint in the resolution center, this triggers an "investigation" by Airbnb. Then, if a guest leaves a review that pertains to an "investigation", you can request that the review be removed. Last I heard, it is Airbnb's policy to remove such reviews, but you have to ask.

This is the only situation I have found where Airbnb will remove a review, but is MUST be tied to an "investigation". So you need to report it!

And in case I'm wrong, or Airbnb has changed their policy since this happened to me, you can always leave a response to a review. I have had a couple of guests leave poor reviews for silly reasons (like, it wasn't what they expected because they didn't read the description), and I responded to their reviews with my own take on what happened. More than one guest has remarked to me about how much they liked these responses. 

Good guests respect hosts who stick up for themselves. Respond to a bad review with something like "You told me 6 people were coming, then showed up with 10 people and I called you out on it. I didn't expect a good review from you." You will get guests that admire your guts. Just be polite and stick to the facts.

This is absolutely true. I read both the good and the bad reviews when booking my stays. You can almost always tell when a guest response is snarky or petty and that they were most likely the problem and not the host. I sometimes get upset just reading some of the nonesense they put up. I do admire a host defending themselves firmly and respectfully. May common sense prevail.

Robert507
Level 1
Freeport, Bahamas

We have had this problem and after a long chat with Airbnb have found the solution its in the house rules.

State in your house rules that you must be notified of the total number of guests no later than 24 hours prior to their arrival. 

Failure to do this is a a violation of house rules, No Entry No Refund You get paid.

In our case we also say that if we can accommodate the adittional people the cost is 3 times greater than if we had been advised. Should have told us!!

 

 

 

Thank you!  I just updated our house rules!

Hi Robert, 

how do you collect on this?!