Trouble with extra guests - Urgent help needed.

[Ariel61]

Hi all, 

I'm the host for a property in the Dominican Republic. The property is quite large so I have tiered ratings that start at 6 people or less. Any extra guests above 6 add an extra fee to the reservation's cost per night. 

I started hosting with Airbnb more than 5 years ago and have encountered the issue where people will book my home for 4 to 6 guests and then show up with 10, 12, or even 15 guests. I'm convinced they do this to avoid paying the extra fees and when the attendants I have on-site bring it up to them, some refuse to pay the extra, others argue that Airbnb allows them to bring whatever amount of people they want, and in some cases, some even threaten to leave a negative review if we charge them. On very rare occasions they agree to pay some of the difference in rate. 

I have brought this to Airbnb MANY times over the years and they can never come up with any solution that will allow me to ensure my house rules are followed while protecting me from retaliatory reviews. The only solution I was offered Is to evict guests and forfeit payment because of said eviction. 

I'm all out of ideas and need help with this as I'm tired of getting no answers from Airbnb. Extra guests involve more cleaning fees, more washing of sheets, more bedding to be prepared, more damages, and more products to keep the pool clean and functional. We cannot keep losing money on this. Has anyone experienced anything like this and if so, how did you deal with it? 

Here's my listing as a reference: 
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21431775?guests=1&adults=14&s=67&unique_share_id=454fd4ce-c3b6-486f-b3d...

I would appreciate any help you can provide, this has been extremely frustrating and we often times got retaliatory reviews that damage our ability to keep renting the home on this platform. 

Thank you in advance. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ariel61 perhaps have a couple or three listings with different numbers of bedrooms. That way you lock bedrooms not booked.

[Dawn241]

@Ariel61 This is the biggest complaint . I recently did an entire post specifically on this or you could check out my listing to see my additional rules, other things to note, and I also dumb it down in the instant booking message.

For me I only have 2 bedrooms/max 4 guests. The extra guest fee didn’t work. People always picked 2 and brought 4 or more anyway. With recent licensing requirements and 3 fines/3 strikes you’re out rule, I really just had to dumb it down.

guests are visitors too, whether staying overnight or not, whether inside or out

no dinner parties, cookouts, family reunions, funeral parties (people seem to think by saying someone died that’s an excuse to break the rules)

if coming to town to visit family or friends please visit at their house, do not invite them to ours

do not invite local friends and family over to do laundry

the max 4 guests is the same 4 people throughout the duration of your stay, not 4 different people everyday (this eliminates different people coming and go8ng everyday but not exceeding 4)

outdoor security cameras in use

yes I get instant booked, the booking message goes out, I get immediate cancellations. That’s okay, they clearly intended to bring more than 4 people so those aren’t the kind of bookings I want anyway 

[Kia272]

@Ariel61  I believe that the only erroneous information in your post is that if you evict the guests, they get a refund. If they break the house rules, you get to evict them and you keep the money. Now not all CS agents would know that or even agree if you told them that, but it's true. When guests book they agree to a contract. If they break the contract, they lose. 

By allowing your representatives to "ask" for the extra payment, you are essentially allowing guests to break the rules. Don't let them enter the property until they pay. It's that simple. 

Either turn off Instant Book and move to request only, or keep suffering the same fate. With request to book, you can confirm things with the guests before arrival, and have them confirm house rules regarding number of guests, etc. If you leave IB on, you can send messages reiterating that you won't tolerate undeclared "extra" guests, and that they'll be evicted with reservation canceled if they break your rules. It's your property, take control.