Guest inviting unlisted people after midnight. Message sent, but no reply

[Justin449]

Our current guest is here for two nights.  Now there are three people in the room (Maximum listed capacity is two) and only one is listed. 

They're also not following the house rules, attempted other entrances into the house,  and left 200 used N2O cartridges from their previous stay.

I'm not sure how to best address this.

[Lawrene0]

"...from their previous stay"? So did you already know they were bad news when they booked, @Justin449? Are you in the house with them? Do I understand that they are trying to break into other parts of the house? Do you feel unsafe talking to them about the extra people?

It rather sounds like the police should be involved. I see you posted 8 hours ago. What did you end up doing? 

[Justin449]

The individual booked two weeks ago for a few nights. 

 

We removed 4 boxes of N2O carts (each containing 50).  Looking these up online shows that this is a popular item for getting high.

As for breaking in, one of the unlisted guests has been trying to open the front door (locked).  They have their own entrance so no access to the house is needed (and also locked).

We have a security doorbell camera at the front entrance which is how I know how many people are involved and such.

As for what to do...I'm at a loss.

[Ann72]

@Justin449, Okay, that's just gross.  Maybe get a complaint on the books with Airbnb customer service?  Not following the house rules is a big no-no.  Also, you should review the guest with low stars and a thumbs down as a warning to other hosts.

[Stephanie963]

@Justin449You can block them if you don’t want them to book again. Airbnb helped my mom block a guest that left the room trashed and she tried to claim that we staged the scene to get her to pay more money. 

If a guest is doing stuff I don’t like I call Airbnb right away so that it’s on record and my bases are covered. Ill also message the guest, I hate confrontation so messaging helps me and this way it’s on record as well. I know sometimes us as host we want to be as kind and understanding as possible to avoid the bad review, it’s not right for people to act like it’s their home.

After the last couple of unpleasant guest I’ve had I changed the locks to my house just to be safe. They didn’t look like they were up to no good and I’d hate to come to my Airbnb one day and ill my stuff to be gone. I’m going to invest in keyless entry and some cameras.  

[Sarah977]

@Justin449 I don't understand why you let them stay again if you found this after their first stay.

And as to the people who are there now who aren't on the reservation, why don't you just knock on the door, if they aren't answering your messages and tell the other people to leave, like now.

And I'd remove "Maximum capacity of two people. All guests staying past 11pm must be listed in Airbnb. Inviting a friend to visit is okay as long as you don’t exceed maximum capacity. They also can’t stay past 11pm unless they are listed with the booking." from your house rules. You are basically giving guests license to have anyone over they want (as long as they leave before 11PM and don't exceed the max number).  That's not a good policy. You shouldn't allow any people in the house who aren't on the reservation, at any time.

If a guest turns out to be really nice and respectful after they are already staying, and asks your permission to have a friend over for a couple hours one day, you can decide that on a case by case basis.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Justin449

Just noticed you have no house rules - you need to include some such as: no parties, no other visitors allowed on the property without the advance permission of the host

[Justin449]

There are rules listed. Not sure why they didn't list for you.

1. House Rules

   Not suitable for children (2-12 years)
   Not suitable for infants (under 2 years)

   Not suitable for pets

   No smoking

   No parties or events

   Additional rules

   Please do not go upstairs unless invited. You must request the use of the VR equipment. Maximum capacity of two people. All guests staying past 11pm must be listed in Airbnb. Inviting a friend to visit is okay as long as you don’t exceed maximum capacity. They also can’t stay past 11pm unless they are listed with the booking.

[Stephanie963]

Just had a similar situation happen to me.. My guests' brought in random people at all times of the night, not following house rules, people not on the reservation staying over. They took the liberty of rearranging the furniture in one of the rooms and broke the wardrobe closet. Left the kitchen a complete mess, it seemed like they cooked right before check out and left.

I don't live in the home however I was told all this from other reserved guest.

People have no respect for other peoples stuff. I understand that its a risk when doing Airbnb but it still hurts that you trust people and they let you down.  Sadly, in my experiance behavior like this is more common with local guest, but I have definantly learned my lesson and going forward I will not be accepting any reseverations from the locals. I feel like they are just trying to pay little rent, no bills, wear and tear someone elses stuff. 

Any thoughts on not renting to the locals? 

[John1080]

@Stephanie963, renting to locals has been well discussed on other threads and the overwhelming consensus is to not rent to them. There have been a ton of cases where locals have thrown parties, set up drug labs, etc. 

Also, in general, make sure you're being very direct with the rules and expectations right from the getgo. This might discourage some people from booking, but so be it, as it frees up your calendar for good guests who will follow the rules and policies. 

[Ann72]

@Stephanie963 I've seen listings where they say they won't accept guests within a 75 or 150 mile radius.

I looked at your lovely listings and think you could raise the price - that always weeds out (so to speak) the undesirables!  🙂

[Stephanie963]

@Ann72 Thank you! I have been playing around with the prices a bit but right now its a little slow in this part of town. 

[Ann72]

@Stephanie963 Sounds right.  You could raise them to $45 or $50 and then offer a 15% discount 🙂

[Николай10]

of course no locals. if somebody local logik tells that he must have his own appartment. then why he should rent? homeless or what?...

[Stephanie963]

@John1080 Thanks! Yes im working on updating my listings a bit to explain things clearly. For the most part i like to check in my guest in personally and  go over everything again. People of course, will say whatever you want to hear to make you happy and sound trustworthy. 

Thanks for the feedback.