More people than allowed…

[Rachelle95]

So, I have a work crew staying at my air bnb. They’re here to help with communication cables after hurricane Ian. I told the guy when he booked it that my normal policy is no to work crews because I’ve had bad experiences cleaning after them, but I felt bad turning away people coming to help. I went over rules, including parking limits and guest limits. They started off right away with bringing more vehicles than allowed…got that straightened out yesterday. Then today I got the bejesus scared out of my when I was blowing off the porches (I live on the property which was also communicated to him) when a woman peeked out the window. I was told 6 men were staying here. So I checked our camera and someone dropped off a woman and a man with luggage today after the work crew had left. The man may be one of the work crew, it was hard for me to tell because he had a hat on, but even the woman is more than the allowed 6 people. I messaged the man who booked it and he hasn’t responded. I’m just wondering what my options are with this. I’ve not extra people just show up before. 

[Gillian166]

@Rachelle95  I feel you, you want to be part of the clean up process, but you also don't need to be ripped off at the same time!

are they sleeping the extras on the couch?? that's a concern right there. sheets, pillows? what are they doing? 
Hopefully you hear back from him. If there's more you can opt to send them a bill for extra people and offer to drop off sheets, pillows and extra towels and warn them that the hot water system can't handle 8 people showering (maybe it can? at least it's not cold, right?)
I don't think kicking them out is an appropriate response given the unusual situation in FL right now. 
He might just dbl down and deny it. 😕
 

[Rachelle95]

As of last night, there were 10 people there. My limit is 6. And I’m getting no answer from the person who booked it. I just don’t know what to do. 

[Rachelle95]

I also do have a camera on the house (disclosed in the listing) so I do know for sure how many people arrived and left. There are 10 people sleeping in there right now. 

[Helen3]

Have you tried calling the lead guest @Rachelle95  - easy for them to ignore messages on Airbnb.

Does the couple who have turned them up bring them over the limit for the numbers booked? @Rachelle95 

Call or text the guest and say you can see another two people have checked who aren't on the booking and ask them guest why. Confirm only the numbers who have booked can be there, so they need to arrange for those not on the booking to leave. 

[Rachelle95]

It’s now a total of four more people that have checked in! All without permission. I informed him I would be charging extra for each person and that I do have a camera (disclosed in my listing) and can see how many people are there. He has yet to respond to that as I sent it last last night. I’m just sick. 

[Helen3]

hi @Rachelle95 

Did you call him?  As I said in my post last night. Easy for guests to ignore Airbnb messaging. If he hasn't responded to your calls   you need to go to the property and make sure those not on the booking leave.

I would also flag with Airbnb that there are four more people than have booked. That you have CCTV evidence and your CCTV has been displayed on your listing in accordance with their T&C. That the guest is not responding to your messages re visitors staying who are not on the booking.

Ask for their support to cancel the booking if that is what you would like. 

[Rachelle95]

I sent him a txt and asked him to respond through ari bnb. I want all communication to be documented. He did say he wasn’t aware of extra people and that that wasnt supposed to be. He asked if the group leader could call me…I told him he could talk to me in person as I live on the property (which was also mentioned before and is in the listing), but that I would prefer resolution to happen with him since he is the person who booked it. 

[Rachelle95]

And yes, my total is 6. I made sure he knew that when he booked, because I know how work crews can go. So the couple took it over the limit. Than the work crew that came home last night totaled 8 not 6

[Amanda660]

@Rachelle95 how is it going today -  how long are they booked in for?

By ignoring your initial stipulations on guest and vehicle numbers he is telling you right to your face that your rules are irrelevant and are of no interest to him. 

You have 3 options:

Call Airbnb and have them cancel the booking and get them out immediately.

Amend  the booking to reflect 8/10 guests (as appropriate), send it through the resolution centre and advise them that if the accept immediately they can stay (obviously you can only do this if your listing allows that many guests).

Send  through a resolution request for x amount per guest x amount of guests and advise that it needs to be accepted today if they want to stay tonight. 

[Rachelle95]

The problem is that the person who booked it isn’t even here. Which I was not aware of until I started a conversation about the vehicles. The person who booked it is actually very respectful and seems to be concerned about the rules being followed, he’s just not here to actually enforce things and they keep pushing things. 
I did message air bnb yesterday, so they are aware of what is going on and all communication has been on the app as well. I really just want the extra people gone, but if that doesn’t happen, I will adjust as needed. 

[Lorna170]

@Rachelle95   Be tough.  It is very good of you to host the people who have come to help, but this work crew cannot take advantage and cause you difficulty.  Contact the original booker -- let him know that the reservation will be cancelled unless you have a list of the persons who are staying -  NAMES and phone numbers, especially that of the group leader.  Ask for the license plates of the vehicles that will be parked on or near your property.  Make sure that the original booker knows that a third party booking is not allowed -- why is he not present?  You can cancel the reservation just for that reason.

I am licensed for a certain occupancy.  Are there zoning regulations that apply to your property?  If you can only host 6 persons, let the original booker know that the crew is jeopardizing your licensing and that any penalty that you are assessed will need to be paid by him or by the group leader who is breaking the law.  They may be very well intentioned, but they cannot cause further damage and distress through their actions.  

Much as I would like to say that AirBnB may resolve this, it is really on YOU to be in charge of your property and who is permitted to stay.  A hotel/motel would not tolerate this over occupancy, and neither should you, even in light of the current situation in Florida.  

[Rachelle95]

Thank you all for your help. There are currently 4 vehicles here, but four of the guys have loaded up luggage, so it looks like they are fixing the issue. I will for sure be keeping an eye on things, though. Thank you for encouraging me to set boundaries and stick to them. I don’t do well with that in life period, so this air bnb thing has been challenging. 
I have definitely learned a lot with this reservation! 

[Rachelle95]

Actually, the person who booked it just messaged me and apologized and said this isn’t how he does business and after talking to the group leader, he decided it was best to remove everyone. So I guess that’s the end of that. 👍🏻

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rachelle95 lets hope this is the end of the saga. Worst case you will get a complaint against you for some spurious thing in order that the guest gets their money back. Best case you get your place back undamaged.