Guest sneaks in friend into single room, how can I make them pay?

[Terence4]

Hello, I have seen this topic has been kind of addressed but not recently and with Airbnb changing rules etc all the time I'd like to discuss this:  We have a guest room with a single bed and last night our guest forgot her key to the flat.  She came home at 2am waking us up knocking at the door.   We opened and discovered she was sneaking in a friend.  It was a sneak because the friend actually hid away from the door.  Because it was 2am and we had to work the next morning we didn't make a fuss in the night.  However, it left us troubled and we could not fall back asleep.  We can accommodate 2 people via pulling out the bed and providing more linen, but the guest needs to book 2 people.  I just altered the reservation and asked for the extra $30. 

So far, hours later, the guest has ignored the message.  Can Airbnb make her pay?  What would you suggest I do?  I actually would like her to leave my flat, she's got three nights left, but if she realizes her mistake and pays for the extra guest then she can stay.  I just do not feel comfortable and disrespected.  If this was a whole flat she was renting fine, but it's a room only and we are here. 

Thanks for any advice. 

[Terence4]

Looking at this situation now I made a few mistakes. 

-We should have not let her in, but hubby was sleepy at 2am 😞

-We should have canceled the next day but I gave her the benefits of noticing the mistake by paying for her friend.

-At night I messaged her reminding her of the rules and explained the alteration, thinking she would agree or apologize or anything.

We were out all day and I gave her time to fix things.  But I am waking up now to nothing.  She sleeps like a baby in the room, again not respecting our rules (no shoes in the house) and I am left with just hoping this time passes. 

What can I do?

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Terence4 What can I do?

Go and wake her up like you were at 2.00 A.M. and tell her that she has to go because you cannot abide the disrespect?

[Helen427]

@Terence4 

Please for other Hosts make sure you write a Review on this Guest having brought another Guest into your Home.

be mindful even if you write a Review before or after she writes hers that you stoill have recourse to write a Public reply for others to see.

All the  Best from across the ditch.

PS love Coogee, great beach & first place I stayed when on my OE

[Terence4]

I will def review her.  Sad thing, people can delete their profiles and start again fresh, can't they?

[Robin4]

@Terence4 

Terri, if you review her keep the review fairly generic. If you make specific allegations about her she will apply to have the review removed and if CX goes along with her, you have nothing that will show for this experience.

Just say something like...."The guest struggled with the house rules, was not particularly communicative and although I wish her all the best for the future I would decline the opportunity to host her again!" and on the 'recommend or not' review page just tick NO!

You have told the community you want her out of your life and that tells other hosts all they need to know and it will make her lift her game if she wants to continue using the platform!

But most importantly there is nothing in that review except perception, and there will be no excuse for Airbnb to remove it!

Cheers....Rob  

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Robin4 

I'm sure @Terence4 will give a great review, sadly.

I think right now, that @Terence4 just wants her unwelcome guest out of her house. She needs courage to do that in the face of an ignorant devious guest. I think details about a fluffy review from @Terence4 isn't going to help her any - getting the guest out of the house and taking her disrespect with her will.

By confronting the guest already about sneaking guests in and breaking house rules the guest review will be just a total lie. Lets not 'hope' - not a chance. The guest just needs kicking out and Airbnb customer services should be actively assisting @Terence4  to do that,  supporting her after the guest leaves and awarding her for her constraint. They need to remove the right of the guest to make a review.

Can you not see the inequality here?

I can't see any chance of positive assistance or support for @Terence4 or any other host put in this situation. Still hosts pretend everything's OK, or it can always be fixed by a quiet word! (pstt... no it can't ).

Disrespectful guest.. breaking house rules.. ignoring communication.. held to ransom and fearful of a retalitary review -  a host REALLY does not need to put up with that, and here in the "Hosting" forum where all the world can see, the message that ignorant devious guests can get away with their disrespect is really rather embarrasing and pityful.

[Robin4]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 @Terence4 

Hi Ian, I think we have all confused Terri with the circumstance she has found herself in.

I wasn't trying to give the impression Terri should give a great, or even a 'fluffy' review. I want her to disgrace the guest, but do it through the literary skill of perception.....not accusation!

I have seen here so many times where a host/guest has made specific allegations in the review process thinking they were helping the community only to see their review disappear because they have overstepped that line between perception and allegation and Airbnb have removed it on request! A review is useless if nobody can see it!

I used to say...and I probably still hold by it......'If there is any doubt about how you feel about a stay, wait at least two days before writing the review.'

This gives you time to cool down and look at the whole thing more objectively.

How many times in life have you been in the situation Ian, where you say to yourself ...."I wish I had done that a bit differently"!! We don't simply turn our backs on obvious problems but, by mulling them over in our minds we become more conciliatory and we leave that instant  personal, emotion aside. 

I feel sad for Terri here because she has now asked the guest to leave and there are going to be no winners here. I totally understand Terri and Clint's situation, they have been abused by a thoughtless guest. We have at times all done 'thoughtless' things after a night out or some other trigger, and it may have been that if Terri had just pulled this girl aside and said,

"hey, you want a good time and that's great, but I run into a few issues with Airbnb and unregistered guests. If I run an extra guest charge through the system can you please attend to it"! There is every possibility the guest would have said, "oh, I am so sorry I will attend to it" and.....as happened in @Sarah977 's situation when it happened to her, Terri and this girl could have parted on great terms. As it is Terri and the guest are both pi*sed off with each other, the guest is trying to avoid Terri and Clint and the whole thing has just gone pear shaped, and that is so sad because, Terri and Clint are great hosts, they don't deserve this situation!

I have had situations here that I could have raised cane about something or other, but with one exception (where I was dealing with someone who did have real issues) I have been able to part with the guest on great terms, it just took a bit of effort on my part but I have found, if I put the effort in, the guest does too and will generally meet me half way!

All the best Ian!

Cheers.....Rob

[Terence4]

@Robin4  Wow, you do see things in a good way and I agree, leave things a few days and it will be more settled and objective than in a heat of being upset.  I am sad about this situation, I have tried, but I also was limited with confronting her face to face as she had been sleeping in and never was home before the night when we were sleeping already.  Now she has left and accepted the extra guest charge but guess what.....she also altered her stay and expects a refund for today.  I am just shaking my head.  I assumed she still has not learned her lesson. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Terence4 

Now she has left and accepted the extra guest charge but guess what.....she also altered her stay and expects a refund for today.  I am just shaking my head.  I assumed she still has not learned her lesson. 

She probably did that on Airbnb's advice. For sure she would have spoken to them. Airbnb will now probably arrange her somewhere to stay another night locally using the fees she's already paid and the unsuspecting host won't even get to see your review.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Robin4 

Hi Ian, I think we have all confused Terri with the circumstance she has found herself in.

I wasn't trying to give the impression Terri should give a great, or even a 'fluffy' review. I want her to disgrace the guest, but do it through the literary skill of perception.....not accusation!

I think it was pretty clear the situation @Terence4  was in.

As I just posted in a reply to her, the thought of even entertaining a review was premature. The pressing problem was having an unwelcome guest in the house who was disrespectful, ignorant, didn't follow house rules and was causing immediate unneccesary stress.

Furthermore, there was no accusation.. The guest DID, what the guest DID. Fact. No discussion.

Removal from that situation was required, with no concern of how a review would go.

@Robin4 

I feel sad for Terri here because she has now asked the guest to leave and there are going to be no winners here.....

if Terri had just pulled this girl aside and said..

Terri has won - she has her sanity back and will be jubilant the undeserving guest has gone. Quiet word time had been and gone days ago.

If you're saying that she is open to an unforgiving review because she didn't keep quiet and let the guest do whatever she wanted because she feared a retalitary review - you're right. And you know - that would have been the case whatever happenned. @Terence4 did the right thing by involving CS first before asking the guest to leave.

We do agree in part @Robin4 Your words:

 I totally understand Terri and Clint's situation, they have been abused by a thoughtless guest. . 

...Terri and Clint are great hosts, they don't deserve this situation!

Words to behold and live by.

[Susan17]

@Terence4 

"I will def review her.  Sad thing, people can delete their profiles and start again fresh, can't they?"

Yes. Yes, they can - and do, all the time. Most guests know by now that all they need is a different email address to set up a new, fresh, squeaky clean account, and erase all traces of their previous transgressions and sh*tty behaviour. 

[Terence4]

@Susan17 maybe it is about time that Airbnb request proper ID just like any hotel wants from you upon check-in. 

[Sarah977]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  Why on earth would you be sure @Terence4 will give this guest a great review?  What a strange thing to say. All of her posts on this have made it clear to me that she will say it like it is. And one said "I will def be reviewing". 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Sarah977 I believe she will follow @Robin4 advice with a fluffy review - which will be 'great' but then need to reply to the retalatory review the guest will give.

Why does it all need to be 'dressed up' rather than just a straight forward - "she snook a guest in, ignored my comminication and broke house rules - warning - do not host this guest"

[Sarah977]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  Why would you believe that? There is nothing @Terence4 has said that would indicate that scenario.