Booking confusion

[Verity33]

My current guests booked for 7 nights for 4 people. On arrival they are actually 5 guests. They didn’t disclose this. I asked airbnb what to do they said to make a request for the extra guest payment. The guests declined. Now they want to leave early and sent me a counter request for money back. But surely, with the  moderate cancellation policy, they can’t now get money back at the end of their stay (Tuesday morning is the end of their 7 nights)?

[Shelley159]

Hi @Verity33 

One possibility is that you calculate how much you would have earned for 5 guests for the number of nights that they are actually staying now, given the early check-out. This is the minimum amount that you can tell yourself you are entitled to earn for this booking. Then, if they check out early and you are able to sell the canceled nights to someone else, any extra earnings above this minimum are at your discretion. You decide whether you want to refund a portion to the guests (which you may not want to do due to the issues they have caused for you, or which you may want to do in an attempt to block a negative review).

The sooner you put canceled nights back online, the better the chances of renting them to someone else. So, for now I would focus on trying to sell the nights (perhaps at a discount) and finalise the refund (if any) later.

[Kia272]

@Verity33 It doesn't sound like there's any confusion happening here. These guests are playing you. 

They are not entitled to any money back, and you should not refund. There's probably a bad review coming your way regardless, so don't give them anything back. 

In reality, they have violated your house rules by bringing an extra guest and refusing to pay, so you have grounds to kick them out, in which case they'd get no refund. 

Next time, don't call AirBnB to ask what to do. You have rules for your property, and guests have agreed to abide by them when they book. Get AirBnB involved when you are preparing to kick them out. That's it. AirBnB is a booking platform only, and does not have your best interests at heart. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kia272 if the guest is kicked out for rule breaking I am 99% sure Airbnb will refund them for nights not stayed. @Verity33 If I saw an extra person staying I would ignore it and just comment on it in the review. Any earlier action just guarantees a bad review.

[Kia272]

@Mike-And-Jane0  You're probably right, but still, it would get them gone. Sometimes it's best to get the troublemakers out the door, no matter the cost. 

The NERVE of those people, asking for money back after being called out for sneaking an extra guest in!! It's unbelievable the lengths some people will go to. If they have enough money to be on vacation and renting a property, they can afford to pay for the number of guests staying. 

It's not really fair of me to weigh in, because as on onsite host I don't experience these situations, but still....unbelievable. 

[Helen3]

No confusion they lied. Just decline the request for a refund and pursue them for the extra  person cost for the number of nights the extra person stayed @Verity33