Maximum number of guests

[Helen3603]

I have a one bedroom with space for two guests. I also offer an optional air mattress stored in the closet that the guest can set up on their own at night in the living room. I've indicated that 2 guests can stay comfortably in the listing but I can allow up to 4 people with $20 surcharge per extra person above two. This was set up in the app but if I list it as two people (because it's not really an ideal apartment for more than two on a regular basis), will the app automatically stop them from selecting more than two? Or will the guest be able to select up to 4 and airbnb will automatically charge them the $20pp?

[Joelle43]

Hello @Helen3603 

No guests won't be able to book for 4 on your listing  because it's set up for a max occupancy of 2 so it's only when guest read your full description that they will discover that they can bring extra 2 people.

There is a lot to read in your description so guests won't see this immediately and there seems to be general consensus that guests don't like reading descriptions and prefer looking at the photos so it is something that they might miss.   The fact that you have added the air mattress in the "Where you'll sleep" section is great and guests see that easily.

An idea would be to see if you can reduce the amount to read as some information is already available elsewhere.  I am a fan of using a varied array of pinpoints to highlight what my listing offers so that guests can see quickly what my place includes. 

Recommend that you use the preview feature that we have in host mode to see our listing as a guest.  As it stands, a guest cannot enter more than 2 people for your listing so it won't come up in a search if a guests put in 4 guests.

You'll have to use the request money feature I think to get the extra fee for the air mattress that you can do once the reservation is confirmed plus any city taxes that may be involved for having additional guests?

[Joan2709]

@Helen3603 

Agree with @Joelle43 as it appears to be a pretty small space for 4 people unless 2 are children. You can change the number of guests to 4 and add an addl guest fee after 2 guests on the calendar. Make it very clear on the listing that this property is best suited for only 2 guests and that the air mattress could accomodate 2 small children or 1 adult. Be sure to have a photo of the air mattress in the living room made up as a bed and caption the photo about only being suitable for 1 adult or 2 children. Be sure to add Air Mattress under the photo in the Living Room in sleeping arrangements. Your sub-title would show "1bedroom, 2 beds, 1 bath".

Be aware that guests will probably move furniture around to accomodate the air mattress, so take measures to protect your floors from damage if they drag furniture around.

[Alex]

Hi @Helen3603!

Thank you for living your question in the Community. Were you able to find out the answer for your question? There's some answers to your post that I'm sure they will help you to understand this case. 😄

Kind regards, 

Alex