How do I deal with a guest who violated the house rules.

[George169]

Hi All. I hope someone can offer some good advice. My place is a "luxury" home with an outstanding view of Lake Tahoe. It's small and private. I limit the number of guests to three people becaue I don't want a lot of wear and tear on the house. Most of my guests are well-off, professional couples looking for a romantic getaway or a place to unwind for a few days. The nightly rates are high, so I mostly get well-established established people who will take care of the place.

This weekend I have a guest and his fiance for two nights. As I understood it, they were using the weekend to celebrate their recent wedding. They came in right on time yesterday. I talked with them a bit and showed them around. They seemed like a nice couple...30-ish, ex-Marine, polite and pleasant, and really excited about their couple of days here. He asked if he could have a "few" friends over while they are here. He agreed to no alcohol, no parties, quiet, and he's resonsible for everything. I made the mistake of saying yes. So, last night they had a few friends over. I'm not on the property, but not far away. They were quiet, and everything was okay. No worries.

Then, there is today. I was gone most of the day and came home later in the afternoon. I began to notice people coming in and out of the house. All dressed up. Men in coats and ties and the women in formal dresses. After everyone had left (I thought), I went up to the house to talk to my two guests. There were still about 10 people in the house. As it turns out, he had invited 30 guests to come and participate in their wedding. They actually had their wedding in my house without mentioning it to me much less asking permission to do so or paying for it. They had moved in folding chairs, flowers, food, beverages...everything a couple needs for their wedding. 

I asked them to have everyone leave, straighten things up immediately, and then vacate the premises. Its 9:00 P.M. , and they have just left. Yes, I realize that I kicked them out on their wedding. But, I think I am justified. I plan to have the entire house deep cleaned by professional cleaners and bill them for the costs through AirBnB.

Should I do anything else besides write an honest review of this couple? Does anyone have any advice? How do you prevent these things from happening?

Thanks for the help.

I asked them to send e

[Emma35]

Woah, that is appalling behaviour.  A bad review is the very least and as for the legalities or logisitcs - if there is a mess they should be held accountable.  Not a brilliant way to start a new wedded bliss - bad Karma I say.....

[Paul154]

I LOVE that you kicked these usurious jerks out on thier wedding day!

You are my hero.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@George169 mine too 😄 

[David126]

I see youcharge a cleaning fee, be aware than unless the guest agrees, unlikely I suppose, unlikely you will be able to recover anything else.

[Marie82]

no self respect anymore they well deserved to be kick out

what a a cheap couple

[Kelly149]

@George169 Good luck in collecting any additional funds, please let us all know what happens!

1) clear rules

2) oversight

Good for you for removing them!When there are clear rules violations, we need proper support from ABB. We need a stringent policy that pays host for entire reservation AND removes the guest & disallows their ability to write a review. Hosts must be able to enforce rules without losing revenue and/or being subject to an unfavorable review. Furthermore, the guest should have an automated review posted "this guest was removed mid-reservation for rules violations "

[Kenneth12]

What do you think our chances of getting that are?

[Herlinda0]

I can't believe this happened to you!!! They had their WEDDING at your home without so much as a mention?

Obviously these people are users, dishonest and liars.

Such "guests" ought to be banned from further use of AirBnB, i.e. blacklisted.

Is this even a possibility?  In the least... publish their names here! LOL!

[Susie0]

This marriage based on a fraudulent wedding does not bode well! Nice work giving them the boot.

[Annette33]

so sorry this has happend to you, @George169 . a few ideas that might help prevent any such thing from happening again:

Enhance a bit the writing /description of your property, explain why you will not allow more than 3 guests. looking at the pics, It looks fairly large, and I can see how people get the idea of bringing more people in. Also state it in your house rules, that no guests are allowed beyond the ones registered. stick to it, no exceptions.

perhaps spend a bit more time in exchanging messages with your guests, or checking them in personally and thus getting a good feel for them and any possible infractions.

Good luck!

[David126]

@George169 did check them in personally and talk to them.

They lied.

[Kim238]

Wow, George, that's amazing.  It's discouraging to see how much some guests are trying to get away with.

I'm a new host and got a lot of inquiries I turned down either because they wanted more of a discount (I only charge $20/night!) or wanted to know if I could provide more amenities,or were just downright creepy/angry-looking men who needed a place to stay immediately.   

This makes me think we have to put EVERYthing in writing. I mean, you can't anticipate everything, and who would think you'd need to have "NO weddings" in your house rules? But, limiting the guests in writing should help when it comes time to bring up the infraction to AirBnB.  And I sure hope you got some pics or outside video recording the number of people and evidence of a wedding. 

I remember when Craigslist was a new and exciting option to paying for classified ads in newspapers, then the scams started, first from those responding to ads, then those placing ads, then the scams became just as common as the legitimate transactions.  If you read through the "housing wanted" ads now, you'll see that the majority of them are people wanting to pay nothing in exchange for vague services or wanting to pay $200-$300/mo and then list their demands, but nothing suggesting who they are or why anyone would want to rent to them.  I hope those entitled losers aren't filtering over into AirBnB now. 

That couple has set a wedding day precedent showing they have a lifetime of lies ahead of them. 

[Kelly149]

@George169 beautiful home!! In looking at your listing two things jump out, you still have that unfortunate "Extra People: No Charge" text. Search on the help forums about how to have that removed. Also, your House Rules are fairly sparse. Search the help forums about some of the ways that hosts have added some more substantial text in their rules section.

I've never had a wedding, but I have had people host an entire family gathering or friends bbq despite the repeated places my listing & rules & rental contract say "no additional guests without permission and always with additional fee". The last guy who didn't like getting caught with too many people over said "well, that's not how AirBnbs work", as if his idea of how the world worked somehow superseded all my written communications, that he had repeatedly agreed to throughout his booking.

Good on you for removing them!

[Farah1]

@George169 I'm sorry to hear about what happened. I personally have a strict rule regarding no other person/unauthorized person is allowed on the premises other than registered guests. A couple of guests have asked if their friend can hang out (won't spend the night, etc) and I stay by my rules and say "no". It is listed in the house rules + I always share house rules to guests before accepting their request and they must send back a statement that is embedded in the message (to make sure they read every single bullet points). So, in case anything happens, it will be easier to claim it to ABB. I know there are hosts prefer to have a vague/short house rules. However, learning from years of hosting experience... I prefer to be very thorough because unfortunately, there are people who don't have common sense (not locking front doors, leaving lights on when they are out all day, and more). It also gives a clear expectation for guests.