Resolution center and guests exceeding capacity

[Kelly1365]

Hi. I’ve been renting an apartment above my garage successfully for a while here. My last guest was my first bad experience. They brought in extra guests and hid the fact that they did it. When I asked the person who booked, he admitted having more guests than capacity in the AirBnB message center. They got into our stash of extra linens. We spent over 6 hours doing laundry in order to be ready for our next guests. I’ve requested payment to reimburse my cleaner and asked for the normal extra guest fee I charge. How have others faired with the resolution center in instances like this?

[Clare167]

I've never even tried to recover for this @Kelly1365 as I have never had evidence, although a couple of times I did think that there had been extras. You might consider, though, removing the extra linens. I did this because I found that even one couple would discovered them and use extra. Good luck.with your claim.

[Alexandra316]

@Kelly1365 Your best bet is getting the guest to agree to pay for the extra charges: they have already acknowledged they had extra guests, which is a good start . Airbnb doesn't typically pay for cleaning through the host guarantee: you would need to submit a receipt from a professional cleaning company, and even then, getting them to pay is hit and miss. Generally they only pay for actual damages to the property. The extra guest charges could be enforced by Airbnb if you have proof, potentially,  but the best chance you have is sending the guest a request to pay the extra. 

I have had success in the past getting guests to pay, but it really depends on the guest. Best way to do it is to deal with it as it's happening rather than trying to deal with it after they've left and they have little incentive to pay you.

[Kelly1365]

This guy has been awful. He offered to pay but not enough to cover my cleaner. I am remote so “professional companies” do not exist. He even came in to my work. Intimidating.

[Alexandra316]

@Kelly1365if they are coming in to your work, does that mean they're local?

As @Fred13 says, you're better off figuring out how to prevent this from happening in future rather than trying to collect on this after the fact, as your chances collecting from am already hostile guest are poor. Vet your guests before arrival and consider a Ring doorbell or similar.

[Helen3]

Why didn't you ask the additional guests to leave? 

do leave an honest review to warn future hosts 

[Kelly1365]

Extremely large burly guys and I was intimidated because they blatantly disregarded the rules and didn’t hide it after they checked in. I contacted Airbnb for advise and all they said was contact authorities but offered no other help while the guests were there. I didn’t figure out the extra guests until 11 pm on the night before check out.

[Kelly1365]

I left a review stating he exceeded capacity. Based on his messages and indignation, I bet a new profile will be made.

[Fred13]

Put 25% on getting paid extra for the extra guests, forget things like extra cleaning and such which is hard to quantify; put 75% on preventing this from happening again, somehow someway.

[Shak-and-Sid0]

Hi @Kelly1365
I think you are handling this from the wrong perspective. I would ( and have) done the following. I have a few properties which for example can sleep 6. I charge a basic nightly rate for upto 4, then an additional €20/night for the 4th and 6th. But if guests book 4 and try and "sneak" in 5 or 6 ( as they can see capacity at booking time) then;

Have a clear House Rule as follows;
"We are very strict on the occupancy of reservations. If more than the number of persons than stated on the booking are found to be staying in our residence, we will charge €100 per extra person for the total number of nights booked".

This way if you find 5 or 6, then get some evidence, eg. admission by guest, pictures of beds / linen used, plates set up in dining area, luggage etc. Send an immediate message to guest via ABnB inbox that you found this and is a contravention of the rules.
Submit a claim "money request" via resolution centre pointing to extra guests, attach photo evidence, and specific House Rule contravened, and claim e.g : 2 extra guests x 7 nights ( as per House Rule No. x, €100 /g/n ) = €1,400.

Involve ABnB if guest refuses to pay, as they usually do. 

That should take care of your laundry cost 😊.

[Laura2592]

@Kelly1365 this is one of the biggest issues hosting on ABB. The company themselves do not seem to take a stand on extra people/listings above capacity and guests truly believe its okay to sneak people in. 

We updated our house rules to state in no uncertain terms that guests who have extra people not on the reservation will be asked to leave and that if guests want visitors to come they have to get our express permission during the booking process. ABB seems to side more with hosts when house rules are very clear as their own TOU has some gray area. My suggestion would be to make sure that you address what you expect from guests and what the consequences will be (stay terminated, extra charges, etc) if they do this in the future. 

Having a receipt on letterhead from a cleaner showing the additional cost will be the only way its possible you could prevail in your claim. Its really important to make sure that you have cameras outdoors if you aren't on site so you can see if someone is bringing extra people. Images captured from those cameras will be invaluable in proving your claim. Make sure your listing is set at the lowest reasonable capacity (how many beds are there, actual beds? Not sofas, air mattresses etc. How many adults can sleep in those beds? That is the correct capacity number.) Think about raising prices to attract a better class of guest. Reconsider doing long term stays through this platform and just advertising the space like a regular old landlord with a 3 or 6 month lease. More control, fewer fees, less aggravation!

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 Good advice. Re security cameras for proof…it bears mentioning that it’s best to never utter the word ‘camera’ to a guest, especially one in violation of house rules. Mention/show the footage to Airbnb only. Many a report on this forum of Airbnb snap suspending a listing after a spiteful guest retaliated with complaints of privacy invasion even when security cams are properly disclosed.