Bets on if this will be a party....

[Laura2592]

Had a booking a few months ago for a local guest, "girl's weekend", 4 people, 2 nights.  Not totally unusual, nothing alarming about the message. Instant book, one 5 star review. It was before I did the Easter egg in my house rules to show they read them. Pretty darn sure they didn't.

They check in on Friday. I messaged today with my usual:

" Hi Guest- We are doing some shopping for your stay. Any allergies or restrictions for your group in terms of snacks? Any preferences? Are you wine drinkers? Any types that you like/don't like?

Confirming again that this is 4 adults, no pets. Let me know if plans have changed. Thanks and we look forward to hosting you!"

Response is:

"Hi Laura- we are wine drinkers and always looking to try new things! I am not aware of any allergies. We are so excited to stay! The property is so precious! No pets- we may have a couple other people coming to join us in the evenings to have dinner but no other changes. I also wanted to confirm we can check in around 12 on Friday? Thanks!!!"

And my response was (per my house rules about extra guests and parties):

"Yes, check in is at noon. We will send out an email with instructions on Thursday, so be on the look out! Make sure you take a spin around the house rules and let me know if you have questions.

We do have a police officer neighbor who is sensitive to extra guests/lots of cars so just be aware 🙂 Our house capacity is 4 people for overnights, so please keep that in mind. We don't mind one or two visitors as long as they leave by 10pm. Its always a balance with insurance coverage and keeping positive relationships with the neighbors. We are lucky so far in that they do really care about our space and keep an eye out.

I will pick out some goodies and some wine. There are some great wineries about 15-30 mins away in case you want to explore, but being in (local area) you may already be aware! Lots of info in the house guide on the coffee table. Looking forward to your stay!"

So place your bets, hosts. Will this be a party? What say you? I think its about 60/40.

[Kelly149]

good luck!!!!

[Laura2592]

@Kelly149  thanks. She did not respond after that message. I tried not to accuse her of wanting to throw an illegal party but very much give her the heads up that she will be watched. Closely. 

[Alexandra316]

@Laura2592 "But it's not a party! It's just a get together with a little group of 16 or so ladies drinking until the wee hours and listening to music while getting increasingly loud and obnoxious. You can't call that a party, just a little ladies' night in!" 

They're probably not even admitting it's a party to themselves... it's easy to downplay. 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 I'm predicting you will have way more than the 4 booked. Since it's billed as a (local) 'girls weekend', the extra girls will be there for dinner as promised, but will stay long past 10 pm. There will be in the neighborhood of 8-10. None of them will technically 'sleep over'  because they will all be up all night, so booking guest figures it's all above board 🙄. Is 'hot neighbor' also the police officer? These girls will be thrilled if they get a knock at the door. Better warn hot neighbor.

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 I agree. That is what I am thinking as well.

Hot neighbor works for the county but is not a police officer. That neighbor is decidedly un-hot.  I will warn both. 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 They can both show up. Combined, they will tick all the boxes. 🤣

[Christine615]

We had a minister (theoretically also a host) bring 12 people to my house after promising to keep his guest list small. Some of the kids went into the unused bedrooms, ate the snacks and left grease stains on the linens. Also rifled through my cabinets to get paper plates and supplies and extra snacks I had not left out.

But...

I've had a number of people, including girl's get togethers, that were polite and left my apartment pristine. Asked in advance, didn't take advantage of the situation, didn't bother the neighbors.

So I think you handled it perfectly (loved the police nearby comment). If you have security cameras you can monitor if the couple of friends are 2 people or 20 at which point you can call the guest and ask that they remove those people.

Good luck!

[Laura2592]

@Christine615 I am trying to keep an open mind. We have had girls weekends before that were fine and those that required a great deal of extra cleaning. We shall see. I have to tell myself not to assume the worst but still be prepared for it. And yes, we have a ring camera which really helps. Keep a good thought for me!

[Tracie24]

@Laura2592 , what is the Easter egg you've left in your house rules?  I'm looking for ideas. Clearly, no one reads my house rules. 

Wishing you a party-free weekend.

Thanks

Tracie

[Laura2592]

@Tracie24 We put a line at the end of the house rules that tells guests to put the phrase "one room school house" in their booking message. About half do.  I ask the others to go back and tell me the "secret password" to finalize their booking. 

[Tracie24]

Love it.  Thanks. 

[Laurelle3]

@Laura2592  I like your idea of putting of putting a code word at the end of house rules 

[Anonymous]

@Laura2592  The dead giveaway, which I can tell you already spotted is in the phrasing:

"we may have a couple other people coming"

If you're at home in your own neighborhood, it's normal that your friends might casually drop by for dinner without a firm commitment. But if you're traveling from the city out to a rural location, your friends don't just spontaneously turn up for dinner at a cottage far from home, especially knowing they'll get drunk on all that girls' weekend wine and still have to drive all the way back home. These people know full well that more than 4 people are coming and the "may" is how you know they're being disingenuous about it. It's like when I get up on Sunday morning and my British husband says "I may have eaten the last bagel." Uh huh, really - you're not sure about that?

I'd put the odds of this being a party at about 95/5, but if the guests genuinely do plan to send their dinner guests home after dinner I'd be even more worried.

[Laura2592]

@Anonymous  they are from the local area. About 10 miles away. So either they really do just want to gather (we have had this without incident, though other hosts say local guests are anathema) or they are planning a rager. If they were from DC which is about 1 hour 20 mins I would definitely say this is party prime. It could be okay. But I am going into this eyes open.