Guest Lied About Number of Guests

[Kelsey10]

Hello, 

So we have been using Airbnb as hosts and travellers since August and so far have had great luck with guests.  This weekend we rented out our 1 bedroom/1 office apartment for what we thought were two nurses coming from DC.  Nothing out of the ordinary in their initial communication and it sounded they just wanted a nice weekend away.  

Later in the weekend my boyfriend had to drop by the apartment to grab some clothes he forgot.  The girls gave their permission for to come by.  When he entered he said the apartment was overtaken by suitcases full of clothes, empty alcohol bottles, shoes, jewelry, and just a general disarray of the place.  He looked in our office where there is a pull out sofa (not advertised because we use that room to put our personal items in when guests stay) and the sofa bed was pulled out and our personal bedding and towels had been used.  It was obvious there were more than 2 guests staying in the apartment.  

Two days later we came back at 11:30am, check out is 11:00am, and the girls were still there obviously trying to tidy up and did not leave until 11:45am.  We came back in to a relatively clean apartment, but after further investigation found stains on the couch, corn chips crumbs everywhere, on the television and hanging picture frames, under the couch, in the couch.  Lipstick smudges on the wall, a pudrid smell of perfume in the air, glitter in the bathroom, and two cracked tiles in the kitchen.  Then we found 3 garbage bags full of alcohol bottles and junk food bags, way more than 2 guests could possibly consume themselves.  I immediately sent a message asking about the damage and she revealed there were in fact 3 guests that stayed in the apartment over the weekend (2 in bedroom, 1 in office) and she hadn't realized there was a max number of guets, chalked it up to miscommunication, but did not explain the damage done to the apartment.  Our ad clearly states there is a 2 guest max, and in her reservation confirmation she claimed there would only be 2 guests.

Had she been truthful we would not have accepted her reservation as our apartment is small, close to neighbors, and cannot accommodate groups.  It was obvious these girls had no respect for our home and used it as a party house.  I sent a request to retrieve the security deposit because of the extra guest and broken house rules, but she denied it.  

I have gotten Airbnb involved in mediating, but wonder if anyone else has had such an experience and if they received compensation?

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

This sucks that these women took advance of you.  I'm so sorry that you are going through this.  You are definitely in a tough position.  

Your listing doesn't show you ask for a security deposit, so there is no deposit to collect from so all of this will be negotiation. You can probably make a case for the following:

1. Broken tiles: Take pictures of the damaged tiles and upload them to the Resolution Center.  Get quotes for the tiles and the work to have them replaced.  Do not wait for this as this is real damage to your home.  You can only ask for the amount of repairs.
2. Since you do not have an extra guest charge on your listing, you will have a tough time collecting for the extra guest, but you can definitely make a case for a reasonable amount.  
3. Since they used a room, bedding, towels, etc that were not a part of the listing, you can make a case for an extra cleaning fee.
4. You don't have a late fee identified on your listing, so the fact that they were out late means there is not much you can do about that.  There's a Host Voice suggestion to add this but it doesn't exist unless you announce you will charge for it in advance. 
5. There will be no compensation for the smells, glitter, perfume, etc unless it is way above and beyond normal wear and tear.  Even then, be reasonable in asking for extra cleaning service for these items.  It definitely sucks to clean up after someone else's good time.  

Unfortunately there is no "fine" policy at Airbnb for rules violations.  This means you absolutely MUST review them with a big thumbs down and lowered star ratings for house rules, communication and cleanliness.  See other tips in these forums on how to do that in the best way.

Make sure all your correspondence with the guest is through the Airbnb portal so Airbnb has a record of your conversation. If you've had any outside the system, make sure to reiterate them within the email system.  Airbnb uses this to review cases.   

Good luck and I hope that Airbnb supports you in collecting at least some of the money.  

[Kelsey10]

They reserved the apartment under another listing specific to renting out the whole space and not just private room. That did have a $200 security deposit. Does that change things considering they broke the house rules? 

[David126]

You can seek to recover ny damages against the Security Deposit, you have to back them up with estimates etc.

[Monica4]

Give them a bad review and a thumbs down. This is the only way to weed out these kind of guests. I would also not hesitate to "flag" that guest's profile. You will be asked why and I think that there is a pull down selection for "dishonest"? Someone else here may want to clarify this.

[Elizabeth10]

I "CYA" (or should I say "M" for "My" A**) in my house rules by stating :

1. No one on the property that is not included in the booking.  1) The person booking must one of the guests staying in the home.   2) The number of guests in the reservation must match the number of guests staying in the home -- no matter what age.  These are AirBnb policies -- not just mine. 
2. No parties, no drugs or illegal activity. Anyone under 21 will NOT use or be provided alcoholic beverages by another guest.  If alcohol is used by guests over the age 21, should be done in moderation, no drunkenness. No smoking on property. Courteous noise levels, especially between the hours of 11pm-8am.

I might loose some reservations, but since I also live in a private area in the basement when guests are there, I have no tolerance for damages or issues from partiers -- mature guests or younger.  So luckily, I haven't had any damages to send thru so I can't provide anything regarding simliar issues.   

I did have a recent guest, a mature parents onsite, that wanted to hold a very small bachelor party for their daughter's wedding at the house.  That would be the father, son and  one extra guest.  The women were going to the mother of the bride's house since she was in cancer treatment.  I gave approval for that, letting them know that as long as the other rules (quiet, no drunkenness, and time party ends at quiet time), I would make an exception.  By the time they arrived, the plans changed, so it was a normal booking w/o the party anyway. 

I also feel your pain becuase a guy who brought his girfriend--but neglected to include her in the # of guests in the past month  Even admitted his own fault for not getting the accurate price quote for 2 guests in the search.  But that didn't stop him from giving  me a very poor review/rating in the private feedback told me he was charged "too much" for the extra guest.  It was all  because I caught him and sent a request for the additional person. Notice how I emphasize in my house manual that the # of guest be reflected in the reservationand that this is AirBnb Policy--not just mine!!! So there is no excuse for his behaviour.  Btw, he booked 900 sq ft, 2 Brs, BA, DR, fully equipped kitchen for $45 base + $15 ($30 per person).  Too much??? Really????

Anyway, hope this helps, Beth

[Jules22]

Hey Beth... I read your reply and I really LOVE this: 

1. No one on the property that is not included in the booking.  1) The person booking must one of the guests staying in the home.   2) The number of guests in the reservation must match the number of guests staying in the home -- no matter what age.  These are AirBnb policies -- not just mine. 

 Where in the listing to do you have this?

I'm curious about your # of guests policy - do you ask for a list of names of everyone who will be in the house while its rented? I have been having people lie to me about guests and I would like to find a way to be stricter without seeming like a hardass. I would just like to know who is in my house - that doesn't seem unreasonable.

[David126]

@Jules22

Remember rules are only effective to the extent they are enforced.

[Jules22]

Of course, but we can only try, right?

Do you require the names of everyone staying or just the person who booked?

[David126]

I do not but I am on site.

[Elizabeth10]

@Jules22  Sorry for the delay in responding.  I put it under the house manual \ rules since its my understanding that a pop-up requests that guests must agree before booking.  BUT THEY NEVER READ IT.

No, I haven't required a list of names but I might be changing that.  I haven't researched this, but due to the fact it is my home, my LIABILITY, and the mis-use\circumvention of the "FREE INFANT" policy that was implemented (without host feedback), I'm almost inclined to request names AND AGES.  Discrimination is not my intent, but it also would "CYA" (not to mention for legality self-protection) for laws, such as under age drinking.  Or maybe just ask the question is anyone under 21?

Do have a self-installed cheapie wi-fi camera with cell phone app on my front porch (can't afford a dvr system).  However, the one guest made a habit of coming in at 1 or 2am with his "infant" children in the morning so I'm not up watching the camera to proove it by  hitting the screen shot to save as proof as failure to adhere to the number of guest or ages that was claimed in the booking.  

I do sometimes feel like a hardass towards the guests that do abide by policies, but I do post a written version of the house manual.  For general overal policies, it is posted  on the back on the front door.  There are ones over the whole house a/c and fans, bathroom, bedrooms, and linen closets.  

 I'll probably do a separate post, but I have inbox msgs and photos as proof, but it seems that just about every policy I post, especially checkout times are being disregarded -- so on the other hand, being a hardass is certainly justified.   (Not to mention listing the damages and broken items due to propery misuse -- that sometimes are not discovered until after its to late to file a claim).  

[Helen3]

@Kelsey10 - I'm a little puzzled. What did you do when you found out they had more guests staying than were paid for?

Do you raise this with them and ask for the money for extra guests through your listing?

Do you ask them to leave early?

Does it mention in your house rules than only guests who have paid to stay can enter/stay at the property?

Do you say the room with the sofa is out of bounds in your listing? If it is then have a lock on the door.

[Marjorie11]

We've recently had this happen TWICE and finding out just before they stay - double the number of people. I don't want AirBnb to take us down a notch since we cancel them or ask them to cancel but this 21 year old holding a "retreat" for her "team" booked a deal for 6 guests and oh, 

"I don't know if I mentioned earlier or not but, there are twelve members on my board so 6 more guests. Would that be an issue? And I know the latest that my group and I could stay on Sunday is 2 pm however, will you be okay with us staying until 8 pm to finish up our activities and with clean-up? I'm down to paying more to stay a few more hours on Sunday if it is possible."  

So TWELVE people staying, oops, not 6, did I mention? Oh, and willing to pay more to stay 6 hours longer, but supposed to be $15 pp for each add on so should have been $90/day more to begin with!

"yes, 12 individuals total sleeping. I understand that there is not enough bed rooms however, if we brought mats/sleeping bags to sleep on the floors, would that still be alright?"

So I told her not acceptable, this is not set up for 12 people with one bath and she should cancel, which she did. How does that reflect on us?  How do I alert Airbnb, flag it?   We just recently obtained Superhost and have been getting more requests recently but have had a few bad apple experiences and now require to be 24 or older or ask first.  Thanks for any advice - let me know if I should be starting a new thread.

[David126]

@Marjorie11

Guests cancel all the time, especially now AirBnB have made it easier to do so, not an issue.