"Is your guest count accurate?" Feature Request

[Kelly149]

Show of hands from hosts: how often is a one-person request really for one person??

Would it help you to avoid needless back and forth for ABB to include a check box with something like:

Your request/reservation is for TWO GUESTS. Is that correct??

Or how about give hosts the ability to adjust pricing BEFORE the reservation is confirmed? bc right now, I can ACCEPT or I can DECLINE, but I can't get the request to be accurate.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

The guest count should be 0 by default, not 1 and I think it would solve this problem.

[Colleen253]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 Smart. You are so right. 

[Don-And-Emily0]

Great idea. Seems like a minor detail but it is so important

[Ronald79]

I too agree that head count accuracy is important and also seems relatively simple to implement.  In addition, blatant/repetitive inaccuracy of headcount should also carry some consequence.  Guests should be able to update their headcount prior to or during their lodging.

[Helen744]

Helen@744, we always ask guests if the number of guests is accurate as we have a three bedroom house and we also suggest that one bed and two bed places are available . They will then often update the head count because they pay the bill and expect the others to be 'their guests'. It is easy enough to change the booking number and or ask for extra money . the problem is if you do not check before the guests arrive . Some people will say , oh my friend is only staying one night after they have booked for three nights for three people. This is tricky but since the person has used all facilities and the room cannot be booked separately to the house then they are politely ignored. They figure it out eventually ,but extra payments can be requested after people have arrived . Much easier if  you greet guests and keep in touch during their stay H

[Sarah977]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  Then hosts will have a new message to guests- "Are you sure you want to pay for a booking where there are no guests coming and therefore none will be admitted?" 🙂

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sarah977 

they are not reading... it would be OK, next... 😄

[Debra300]

@Sarah977,

That's funny, but I think the registration form should require the guest to manually enter the number of guests and populate each of the corresponding guest name fields, and the reservation maker must be listed as one of the guests.  This would also be a good way to identify and stop third party reservations.

[Kelly149]

@Debra300 Yes!! If you're booking for one or two or three, then list names, ages, contact numbers... ABB for years has used extra guests as a fishing expedition for getting more guest signups, but it makes sense to have a field to populate when you have more than one guest. and if it says it's booking for one, then you could confirm that then as well.

[Debra300]

@Kelly149,

No real credit goes to me.  I was actually piggy-backing onto @Branka-and-Silvia0 and @Sarah977's comments.  

Omission of names on reservations can be problematic for international travelers.  Currently, in many countries a traveler must obtain travel authorization approval from the destination/layover country for entry.  As part of the vetting process the local travel authority sends requests to accommodation providers to confirm reservations.  Last week, I almost denied confirmation of an unnamed Guest 2 on a reservation.  Fortunately, the reservation maker sent me the other guest's name before I responded to the message.

[Kelly149]

@Debra300 given that ABB is A-OK with guest names being Scooby Doo if that's how they identify, that seems problematic

[Mark4102]

YES. I'm so happy that you're bringing this up. For security and insurance reasons an accurate count is extremely important.

We are airbnbing a separate apartment in our house, where I, my wife and our 2 small children live. For my peace of mind, I need the total number of people in my house in the event of fire/ natural emergency AND also if there's any unauthorized strangers for security reasons.

Additionally,  airbnb's new host insurance policy covers " registered guests and invitees " but any person over the invitee count is not covered and that makes me very nervous. 

[Sarah977]

@Mark4102  You can pretty well eliminate the possibility of guests arriving with more than they booked for by stating in the first section of your description, "Please note: This is an on-site host listing. We live in the main part of the house and the apartment is atttached, but completely separate from our living quarters. We are available to assist if needed, but of course respect our guests' privacy."

Guests don't book on-site host listings if they are planning to sneak in more people. And ask guests when they request to book to make sure the guest count is correct, as any unregistered guests will not be admitted.

[Mark4102]

@Sarah977 Thank you for the tips. We already have something like this in the description but I find that the same folks that don't write the correct guest count are the same that don't read the description fully.

Even with the description about 10% of our guests show up with extra invitees. It's usually a mistake, because the website search defaults to 1 and then you might neglect to correct it; OR last minute friends come along and they forgot to tell me. 

When talking with my future guests, sometimes I catch these mistakes from their reason for taking the trip,  but I can't ask each guest outright if their count is accurate because it sounds like I'm doubting their honesty. 

But I can punch up my description, per your advice. Thank you again.