Hi fellow Airbnb hosts!
Here's something I'm sure a lot of you can relate to. As Airbnb hosts, it's our job to be nice, friendly, and accommodating. I love hosting 99% of the time. But one out of one hundred guests can definitely be frustruating. My most recent Airbnb frustruation just happened around an hour ago.
I have a listing that can accommodate 3 people. I didn't apply any extra person charges. This listing is on instant book. I received a booking from one guest, so I did my normal Airbnb introduction. I greeted them, gave them directions to our listing, asked if they were celebrating a special occasion, etc. I also asked for the names of the people in her group so that I could personally address each of them.
To my surprise, she gave SIX names.
I informed her that the maximum occupancy is only 3 people. She rebutted by explaining that "It says that there is no charge for extra people so it means that it can accommodate more than 3. I wouldn't book if theres a limit".
I had to explain to her that there is a maximum occupancy of 3 people, so there is no charge for extra guests for up to 3 people.
I'm gonna quote her response:
"Normally the max number tells how much people can fit on the mattress. Besides I dont see no charge UP TO 3 PEOPLE. i have read that page many times and see if theres a conflict on the policy"
I had to copy+paste the official definition of "Maximum Occupancy". So I told her that she can take it up with Airbnb, but we will uphold the Maximum Occupancy Rule. But of course - as hosts, we have to take the high road. So I changed the cancelation policy from "Strict" to "Flexible" just for her and informed her that she could cancel the reservation with a 100% refund.
Then I explained that I'd be happy to answer any other questions if she would need any clarifications.
I'm just going to wait for her response. If for some reason, she'd refuse to cancel - I'll contact Airbnb. Unfortunately, I just contacted them about a guest who smoked in my listing, and I wouldn't want to bombard them (...It's been a tough week here on Airbnb).
Regardless, I still love being an Airbnb host. I find Airbnb to be a nice and friendly way to accommodate guests. It's just the 1% of guests that we have to worry about.
Does anyone have any comments on how I could have better handled the situation? I'd love to hear your stories as well!