Guests changes guests, sneaks in an extra guest, and possibly a puppy. :/

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

I apologize for the length if this post, but it's necessary for all information to be told.

 

So, I have a bit of a dilemma. I had a guest book a room for 4 back in January for 4 nights this week. I charge an extra $10/person after 2 per night. When I asked for the names and ages of all guests who will be staying. He gave me 4 names, none of which were him, so I assumed he gave me the names of the others, exclusing himself. I sent a request to change the booking for 5 guests. He messaged me this:

Sorry I made a mistake on my original request (first time using Airbnb). There will only be 4 guests not 5, can we change the request to reflect that?

Me:

Ok. I'm a little confused. You gave me four other names, none of which are yours. Can you please confirm to me who will be coming?

Him:

Sorry for the confusion. This is for a work trip, the people I have listed are my mangers and colleagues. I will also be on this trip as well but will be staying with a local colleague to save on costs (we have a very tight budget). Again the guests that I would like to stay in your Airbnb are as follows:

***4 names redacted, none of which are his***

I am the only one of us who has Airbnb which is why I made the reservation

Me:

I'm sorry, but the person who makes the reservation must be one of the people which actually stays at the property. Third party reservations are against Airbnb rules and our insurance will be void.

Him:

I was initially going to stay but the price that reflects 5 guests puts us over budget... Is there anyway we can keep the price at or below $800?

Me:

I'm sorry, but that is our high season.

Him:

I understand. I have talked it over with my manage and we will make arrangements to make it work. The updated guest list then is as follows:

***4 names redacted, one of which is his.***

Me:

Thank you. I'll need to see ID for all guests when you arrive and as a reminder, there are no unregistered guests permitted in the property. Thanks.

 

I messaged the guest the day before arrival asking what time he'll be here as my check in is any time after 4:00 pm, along with a reminder of the rules, one of which is NO UNREGISTERED GUESTS.

 

He messages me back telling me 2:15 pm. I told him no go, 4 is the earliest I can do. He agrees and shows up 10 minutes late with 4 guests, one of which is not on the list he gave me but one on the list is missing, so I figure all is good.

 

I had already made up my mind when he made the reservation to double check my security cameras. I go to the store and come back and as I arrive, there is a guy I've never seen before with a puppy walking down the alley (The entrance to our building is in the alley). I say hello, greet the puppy and carry on to my place. Just as I am about to enter, the guest comes out and greets the guys, who says,"Oh, so this is the place?". Since they were outside, I carried on in and told my husband we needed to fix the camera right away, since it was off kilter and we didn't have a clear shot of the doorway, which he did. I am unsure of whether the puppy and the strange guy entered, but I don't think so.

So people come and go and tonight, as I'm checking my camera, sure enough, i see the guest bringing in some more suitcases and a different guy I've never seen before. They leave and eventually the truck comes back at 9:30 pm and drops off 2 of the guests that I recognize and yet a DIFFERENT one that I don't. About an hour later, the truck comes back and 3 people, one of whom is the guy with the suitcase from earlier and 2 of whom are supposed to be here enter. No one has come out since. I can tell they are now all asleep as the apartment is right above mine and we can hear when people are walking and is it silent. At least that part is good. LOL

I have time stamped screen shots from the security camera.

 

Also, they brought skis and snowboards in to the apartment and my rules state not to do so. I don't mind it this time, since they were in bags and clearly dry and not wet or snowy, but I have a concern that they will bring them in tomorrow full of snow.

 

So my concern is many fold. I'm a bit suspicious about the true nature of the trip, since, although they did bring a work truck, the people have kept changing, they brought ski equipment and they have a budget for accommodations that is not in line with the actual prices here in town and ONE extra guy is going to break it? $40??? I have no clue who is in my place and I have been ripped off as far as fees go.

 

There is possibly a 6 week old puppy in my place and we don't allow pets at all.

 

At this point, I and not OK with them being here, after lying outright and sneaking another person in. If the puppy is in, I will lose my mind altogether. I will be checking the cameras again in the morning.

 

I will be calling ABNB in the morning. but I'm not quite sure how to handle this.

I thought about just sending him a message and reminding him that I do have cameras in place and that I do check them and seeing what he says. A bit passive-aggresive, but it's one option. I also thought about just sending a request for the extra guest, but I have no clue who it is and I'm really not sure I want them in. I also worry about the puppy if I let them stay.

I also thought about just calling ABnB and asking them what to do, but I think it might be better if I have an actual game plan.

Any thoughts, people?

[Fred13]

Yes, go up to the door, knock and ask the ring leader of this crazy expedition 'Where exactly are we at?' vs. relying on Airbnb trying to figure out all these comings and goings from SF or Ireland, or wherever they are. Forget cameras, policies. etc, it is time for a 'Total Reset'.

As to the puppy, well he is the innocent one in this total 'state of confusion', so my rooting is for him to stay, if he has nowhere else to go. 🙂

[Matthew285]

@Michelle-and-Ray0, you are being super understanding and very patient towards people who apparently are big fat liars.

You have outside security cameras (which you properly inform guests of in your listing) which have documented them bringing too many guests and a puppy in clear violation of the rental agreement.

You very clearly informed them that your expect only the proper number of guests, which you reinforced by ensuring you had the names of these registred guests.

And they still have the chutzpah to bring in a puppy, too many people, and ski equipment for their "work trip"?

Call AirBnB and tell AirBnB the story of what is happening.

AirBnB should also realize that the guests are big fat liars.

If this is the listing that has a maximum capacity of 4, AirBnB should allow you to cancel the rest of their trip and boot them out.

If this is the listing that has a maximum capacity of 8, AirBnb should allow you to at the very least charge them for the extra people, or boot them out if you wish.

Oh wait... the puppy.

Out they go!

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Ok. Sorry for the long delay in an update. I was working all day.

So... good thing I waited to do anything and good thing I was late for work this morning so I didn't get a chance to call ABNB. That delay allowed me to gather my thoughts, read your responses and let myself think about things. This morning, there were 2 vehicles parked in tenant parking that did not belong to my long term tenants so I knew that they must be with the group in question. I went up to the apartment to ask them to move the vehicles and it turns out that they ARE all working, something to do with mining consulting in the area. And they ARE having a lot of people come in to work with them as they really are colleagues. My husband saw a local guy that he knew going in who is in the mining industry and spoke with him briefly and got the goods on what was going on with them. Although my rules specifically say no unregistered guests, I am more than willing to overlook it this time, for the sake of possibly bringing jobs to the area.

Turns out that the extra people I saw going in last night were 2 guests of my long term tenant and they just all happened to arrive at the door at the same time. Just sheer coincidence. The one guy that I didn't recognize simply traded accomodations with one of the guys who was supposed to be staying here originally, but they didn't let me know, so only 4 did stay last night and the booker did also stay. I just don't think they really thought about it or that it would be an issue. I will definitely have to be much more careful in my obsrvations and jumping to conclusions, even if it was the logical conclusion to jump to. LOL

Oh, and the puppy? - did NOT enter the apartment. The owner has him at another place where he is staying.

Very confusing, but thankfully, partly due to asking here and partly due to being too **bleep** busy, I was able to delay reaction and not make a complete fool of myself.

SO glad I don't have to kick them out!

Thank you everyone!

[Matthew285]

@Michelle-and-Ray0 I am very glad you were able to take the time and find out what was going on... and that the guests were not misbehaving.

Hooray!

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Believe me, so am I! LOL

[Fred13]

Good show @Michelle-and-Ray0 , nothing like addressing a situation straight on and giving the facts a chance first. I am most happy to hear about the puppy, silly me.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE dogs and cats and especially puppies (This one was SOOOOO cute!). However, I don't trust that their owners will properly care for and train them. "Accidents" happen, and I simply don't want it to happen in my place.
I spent tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of personal hours renovating the place and I would be devastated and super pissed if it got wrecked because someone else didn't really care. Let's face it. Most people DON'T care when it's not theirs and they haven't invested literally everything into it.

[Fred13]

Oh yeah, imagine the training of that cute adorable puppy, happening in your place.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

That's exactly what had me freaking out! LOL