Needy Guest

[Lenore22]

Hoping this goes to the host circle to commiserate- last time it posted to the help board... 😬

Well here we are: day 1 of a 3-day stay with a guest who asked if our pet-friendly listing could be extra-cleaned prior to their stay because her "children have severe allergies to pets." (We said no, not beyond our already rigorous standards for covid-19) Despite my not-so gently recommending no less than 5 other local listings that have strict no-pet policies that would meet their needs with lovely hosts whom I personally recommend, she decided to book with us anyway. ("Your place looks just so perfect and everyone says it's so clean...")

I guess the flattery got to me... Well here we are, after a week of updating her daily on conditions during a severe local wildfire because her family has bad asthma and is worried about air quality, this well-intentioned guest is making all kinds of little suggestions on how we can improve... Well, we did ask for it after all, didn't we?

From rewashing all the towels last night because she didn't like how they smell, to helpful notes about what supplies are running low (laundry soap- thank goodness she travels with tide pods in case she suddenly needs to wash 10 towels sets; toilet paper & paper towels already after 1 night)- she's got a keen eye for detail, so now we can just start guessing whether these helpful notes will start chipping away at star ratings or if there's anything we can do to turn it in our favor. 

I know... I know... We should have cancelled. Difficult when all of our other bookings this month have cancelled due to the wildfire. (It's kind of a big deal... Our house is safe, but the community is severely impacted- including one of our cleaners whose family was evacuated last week and we haven't heard from in a few days).

Is there anything you do in the middle of a stay like this to make the best of the situation? Do I offer a little gift certificate to use at the member businesses in town for her understanding? Or is that just adding fuel to the fire?

Fingers crossed...

[Laura2592]

@Lenore22 when I have had guests like this, I say, "Thanks so much for your input! Its always helpful for us to know what runs out, or what could be improved. We hope you are relaxing and enjoying the space-- why not keep a list you can share at the end of the stay so that you don't have to interrupt family time? We so appreciate your suggestions but would feel really badly if you were taking time away from your vacation to help us with our amenities! You are so thoughtful to do so."

I have "helpful" guests who have done things like this and I always put it back on "oh no, you are being so diligent but please don't worry about us! Just enjoy! We would hate to be the focus of your peaceful retreat." If the suggestions keep coming, I just start sending smiley emojis or "thank you!" responses. 

I think the secret is that some people don't really like their families LOL. Or their families have been pecked to death with all their priceless advice so they tune them out. They will leave soon. Just keep that in mind. Be polite and complain to your cohost (and us!)

[Lenore22]

@Laura2592 excellent advice. I love your wording!

I put in a call for a local gift certificate she can pick up at the tourist office & use anywhere in town. And I said it could offset the cost of necessities, but might make for some nice cocktails, dessert or even a souvenir to remember her time. 

I love that you encourage guests to reframe their trip to just enjoy the time & space instead of worrying about every little thing.

[Laura2592]

@Lenore22 lol I wouldn't have done anything special if I had kept her abreast of the situation in the area. We lost power recently and had a stay about to begin. We offered the guests a free night and use of the space anyway-- power was out from about 1pm to 8 or 9pm but they had a fireplace, firepit and bottle of wine...they could have enjoyed a romantic evening. They got very huffy about the inconvenience though I had updated them hour by hour on the status and they were not planning on checking in until 7 or so. Really it would have been an hour without power, but we had no way to know that. And certainly I don't control major wind storms in springtime. 

They ended up not leaving us a review-- it was their second stay and they had a fab first stay, so I was a little taken aback at the 'tude we got about something beyond our control. If it were me, I would have loved a romantic evening by the fire with free wine. But some people just have an image in their heads about how things should go, or don't really have the best relationship with whomever they are traveling with. No amount of freebies make up for that, and as hosts, its beyond our pay grade to provide family or couple's therapy. 

[Lenore22]

Update: just reviewed the video and they have no less than 5 (maybe 6) adults and 3+ kids at the house. The reservation was for 2 adults & 2 kids. So... I could pull the old "hey you have more guests than our listing allows (8) and didn't pay the additional guest fee (would have been an additional $125+/night), get out now. or I could just let it ride, get them out in 2 days and spill everything in the review.

What would you do?

[Laura2592]

@Lenore22 this is a no brainer. 

The guest is ALREADY problematic and gearing up for a complaint. Plus they broke your house rules on capacity??? Get. Them. OUT! Or at least charge them what you deserve to make.

Send an email through ABB saying "Hi-- we have some reports of additional people at the space. Due to the situation with the fires in the area, we need to keep a really sharp eye on capacity for our insurance.

We have two options-- you can register the extra guests and I will send you a payment request for the additional guest fees. I will need to see copies of IDs for anyone over 18 and they will be added to your reservation. Or I can contact ABB and they can help you find a bigger space that will work to accommodate all of your guests. Please let me know by X time what you prefer to do. If I don't hear from you, unfortunately we will need to cancel the stay for safety reasons. Thank you."

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Laura2592  why only IDs of these over 18? Guests under 18 are also charged guests and have IDs. I take IDs from all of my guests including infants,  that's the law in Croatia.

[Laura2592]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 guests over 18 typically have IDs in the US. Under 16 they may not. I just said that as it would be the easiest not to argue with 🙂. I can totally see some mom whining that she couldn't possibly have an ID for her 6 year old. Not everyone in the US has a passport and our social security numbers are a guarded secret with no photo on the card. You usually get an ID when you drive. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Lenore22  send them a request for additional guests with a message: Dear X, your reservation is for 4 people and we noticed there are at least 9 of you staying. We charge an additional xx$ fee per person per night which will be xx $ for xx nights. Please pay until 11 AM or I'll be forced to cancel your stay . Thank you

[Monta49]

Just had this issue guest registered as 1 and showed up with three additional guest and an extra car.  my unit is a max of 2.  The resisted guest said that they were visiting for the day.  Day to night and night turned to stay.  In the morning I asked all non registered guests to leave my property immediately.  The registered guest accused me of being disrespectful for asking her guest to leave.  No it was I that was disrespected and my property taken advantage of .  The guest told me that she thought that because we were located in a rural area that this would be ok.  She violated my house rules by having more people than were registered and she gave out her temporary key code to my property to a non registered guest.  Don't wait.  have all non registered guest leave. 

[Inna22]

@Lenore22 Hi xxx, we have noticed that you have a larger group than expected. That may explain the shortage of the some of the supplies! I have sent you an invoice for the extra people (we charge per person). Please approve it when you get a chance. Please take care of this in the next hour. This is not only a matter of money but I also have to know the exact count for the fire marshal in case there is an evacuation. 

Via airbnb messaging and text.

If no reply: Hi xxx, I am so sorry but I will have ask your group to leave as you are over capacity. I am not able to have unregistered guests. 

[Lenore22]

@Inna22 @Laura2592 My husband thinks I should just wait till she leaves. 🤷‍♀️ he's worried about her trashing the place.

[Colleen253]

@Lenore22 Hoping by now you've decided to keep the gift certificate for yourself (or the next guest who will hopefully be lovely, unlike this disaster)😌

[Lenore22]

She hasn't picked it up yet, so my friend at the tourist office will just withhold it. She wasn't going to charge me until the guest picked it up anyway... Just in case.  Nothing like a small town! ❤️ @Colleen253 

[Inna22]

@Lenore22 if you are not doing it already, make sure to collect IDs. This way you will not have to worry about anyone trashing your place as they will know that you know where to find them