Extra guest over allowed capacity

[Maria23478]

Recently we have been having guests tell us they have 8 guests but more show up. It is stated in our listing and again in a check in message that only registered guests are allowed on the premises. How do you or would you deal with this issue?

[Marie8425]

@Maria23478 

A possible idea sort of white lie haha, 

" The HOA reserves the right to ask to view your legal ID to avoid any confusion names submitted to HOA must match personal Legal ID"

Doesn't say don't bring extra people but it does discourage that idea because the person wouldn't be on the list and then your house Rules would be broken.

[Maria23478]

Thank you for you response. Unfortunately, the HOA is part of the problem…letting unregistered guests in without owner permission 🤦‍♀️. 

[Marie8425]

@Maria23478 

The idea is just put the scare, you know the HOA doesn't ask but they don't.  Nobody asked then, wow that is probably you fit so well in the community.  Thank you, I would love for you to return. Haha

[Joan2709]

@Maria23478 

Yes...this is always an issue. I suggest you add a fine for unregistered guests to your addl House Rules (we use $150/guest per night). Go to your addl guest fees and add an addl guest fee of $150 to the Calendar section after the 8th guest. Mention in the addl House Rules that unregistered guests have a fee of $150/guest per night and are grounds for cancellation of the reservation with no refund. This will allow Airbnb to pay out on a resolution claim for addl guests beyond 8 guests, as you have the fee set and mention it in your addl house rules.

Then be prepared to contact the guest and start by saying you noted addl guests beyond what was listed in the reservation. At this point you will have to decide if you want to have Airbnb cancel the reservation and require the guests to leave or allow them to stay and charge a fee.

If you want to let them stay, say you noticed XX guests but the reservation was only for XX guests. The addl guest fee is $XX per guest/night and for insurance reasons you are required to update the number of guests on the reservation. Advise them you will be sending a reservation alteration for the addl guests. Go in and change your addl guest fee to something typical first ($25-$50) and then alter the reservation and send to the guest for them to accept.

If you want Airbnb to cancel the reservation as the guest broke your House Rules for the maximum number of guests, then leave the addl guest fee @ $150. Be prepared for a negative review, as the guest did check-in and can leave a review. These reviews are becoming increasingly difficult to remove. File a resolution claim for your $150 per unregistered guest. 

Some local ordinances set a maximum number of persons on property due to septic system limitations and STR regulations. In that case, you are not permitted to allow more persons on the property even if you wanted to. In that situation, I would state that in your addl House Rules and messages to the guest after booking, that this is a strict policy regarding the maximum number of guests due to local ordinances and bringing unregistered guests requires you to cancel the stay with no refund.

[Maria23478]

Thank you. This was very helpful. 

[Rebecca]

Some wonderful advice here from @Joan2709 and @Marie8425 here, @Maria23478 😍 

What do you think you'll do going forward? 

[Nicholas439]

@Maria23478  As @Joan2709 mentioned the best way is to have your house rules explicit to cover such eventualities.  I've often encountered these type of issues and the vast majority resolve when you communicate directly to the guests.  I charge a per person/per night fee over a certain number of guests (depending on the house) as costs for laundry and cleaning go up.  I state the reason for the extra charge (which is true) is that we list the home as cost competitively as possible for smaller groups - rather than a penalty for larger ones. If I catch this during the stay I'll do as @Joan2709 says and send a change request or request for additional $.  If I find out after the fact (like the cleaner telling us all the beds were used when it was a 2 person booking) then I take these actions: I have exterior security cameras so if there is ever an argument (which at times there have been) I send the time stamped screenshots of the arrivals/departures first to the guest and if no resolution then to the resolution center so if the guest doesn't pay airbnb does and bans the guest.