Charge for extra guests

[Mary5739]

Hello! 

I am a host located in Portland, Oregon. We have our first inquiry asking us about our 4 person maximum for our home. The guests have booked but now another relative is considering coming with them. They reached our very nicely to see how strict we are on that 4 person max rule. We are considering charging and extra fee for the additional guests, but wondering what would figure would make sense to charge. We want to be fair, but also be accommodating to our guests. 

Any feedback, thoughts, suggestions, ideas or how would you handle a situation like this would ever be so appreciated. 

I thank you all in advance. 

Mary

[Basha0 · Accepted solution]

@Mary5739  I question adding fees. From what I understand they are not easy to collect and it gives people more reason to sneak people in when you allow more than your maximum. What’s the point of having a maximum if you don’t enforce it? 
either increase your maximum and factor it in or stick to the number of guests you want. More people = more laundry, more power and water usage etc. 

[Mary5739]

Great point! and makes total sense. 

So another question for you - Isn't there a way for your to edit the reservation to reflect the fee for additional guests? These guests have not checked in yet, but will be in a couple of weeks. Not sure how that works, but I did see that option. 

Thanks again for your response and your time. 

Mary

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mary5739 you can just send a resolution request for additional money.

[Lorna170]

@Mary5739  You are fortunate that this guest reached out about the extra person.  Many guests do not, figuring that it is of no consequence if they exceed occupation.

As long as your local zoning rules or your hosting licensure does not preclude the additional guest, dealing with this situation by requesting an extra fee may be okay.  Your fee should reflect probably 1/4 of the nightly rate times the number of nights the additional guest is staying.  Are you able to provide a bed or is this person going to couch-surf?  What is it going to cost you in cleaning/turnover time for the extra linens and towels?    

** I would not make a habit of accommodating guests who want to exceed your numbers.  Even one additional guest can cause a huge amount of wear and tear and utility usage that you may not have expected. **

I have to be firm (legally) about the number of persons who can be in my property -- including the free infants and children my max is 4 human beings.  When a guest asks about the 5th or 6th human, I have to say NO, and I have a local hotel list that I recommend they call on behalf of the extra guests.  

[Kirsten266]

@Mary5739 I charge 15 euro per night per person extra.  
I’ve had an extra visitor once ( my tiny house is suitable for 4 persons). They came with 5 people and didn’t mentioned it until checkin. 

But please mention it in the review. Maybe they’ll do it again and the next host would definitely want to know the prior experience!