what should i do if my guest brings extra people

[David9183]

This is only my third airbnb booking so I am still learning… I have had two great experiences with guests and now last night I have a bad one. My house was booked for two people but the guest turned up with two friends. I felt uncomfortable. I suspect they are sleeping on my sofa which is not a bed. I didn't know what to do so said nothing at check-in.

I could be wrong. 

The couple are staying for 3 nights. I do not encourage more to stay so do price for additional people.

I would appreciate any advice about what I can do?

Many thanks, David

[Helen744 · Accepted solution]

@David9183 message the guest and ask the names of all guests who are staying and ask for clarification of numbers . if they say four then send the extra charge through . If they say two only then remind them that visitors are not part of the reservation,and if they are having any , then please put in a request, and please be aware that the limit on guests is two .and no sleeping in the lounge. If they say four then tell them that extra people are not on the booking ,and a conversation must be had,nd you will need the ids of extra people for, their safety and yours. good luckk , but you should have said at check in . its easier in the long run . H

[David9183]

Thank you @Helen744 

[Gillian166]

i see you are very new, what no one has said is that you run the risk of getting a negative review from these guests, which can be very hurtful when you are starting out (I am at 4.8 and that's b/c i had a few bad guests at the start, and i'd need a year of 5* reviews to get to 4.9, i dont' really care, nothing wrong with 4.8 but i know it's due to that early annoying guest)

If you personally met them, you should have said something but being new I understand it's difficult. I still get people sneaking in extra guests, and they end up using the spare towel i have set aside for pets 😅 (it's perfectly fine, clean, but a bit shabby). I don't always say anything because that extra $40 isn't worth a bad review. (they have to break 3 rules to really push me to intervene, although our vomiting guest only broke the 1 rule, but vomiting in more than 3 places was enough!)

You can try to charge extra for these guests but they might not pay, esp if they didn't get a real bed, towels or anything they perceive as "value". be sure to keep communication in the msg box.

[David9183]

@Gillian166 thank you. I am new but learning fast! The guest came with a 5-star review track record from 10 other hosts. I should have said something but I suspect it would have turned nasty and the police would have been called. Another local host told me about a similar situation where that happened to them.

I am going to let it go and put it down to experience.

I have been the usual polite and welcoming host so there is no room for a bad review from the guest especially if he has broken my house rules.

We have had some great guests so far and you will always get a few bad ones. Sad but true.

[Gillian166]

@David9183   at least it wasn't a big party! sneaking in 2 friends is mostly harmless, and as long as nothing is broken, it's fine. I would mention it in the review and mark them down for breaking your house rules. Keep it brief, factual and polite, these people have an impeccable 5-star record? but what if every host has turned a blind eye to this behaviour? Your review is helping the next host.  

It sounds like you don't need to worry about a bad review from them, but I still usually wait until the end of the review time to post my review, or until i see they've written theirs.  

[Gwen386]

@David9183 What’s done is done now but in the future—and this is what I do—I send a welcome email when reservation is completed thanking guest for selecting my space and I take this opportunity to discuss “major” house rules, and then the day prior to check-in I send another email reiterating “major” guest rules. See an example below. 

Welcome Jim, and thank you again for choosing my private apt for your get away. I look forward to hosting you when you arrive tomorrow and want to go over a few house rules. 

Check-in is between 3-7pm. Please share your ETA. 

Maximum number of guests allowed are two (including you). 

There is no smoking or vaping either inside or outside the apt. 

No pets allowed. 

No partying allowed. 

Checkout time is Noon on August 18th.

I’ll meet you in person and we will tour the apt for 5-10 minutes to go over how the alarm works and other things. 

[David9183]

@Gwen386 thank you this is very useful advice.

[Amanda660]

Hi xxxx

Hope you’re having a great trip and that you enjoyed a comfortable night’s sleep.

Just to keep us right with both Airbnb and our insurers, can I ask you to pop over to your booking and amend the guest count from 2 to 3  and add your friend’s name to the booking.

If you need any help with this please drop me a message and I can help out. 

David

[David9183]

@Amanda660 also good advice and nicely put!

[David9183]

It seems I was wrong. Thanks to everyone for the useful advice and should the situation arise in the future I will know what to do. The guests left my house in perfect order and no signs of extra sleeping guests!

[Dawn241]

this is an ongoing issue for us. we have very strong wording in our rules for undisclosed guests and visitors and outdoor cameras and still it persists. No undisclosed over night guests and visitors inside the home. i message every time a non reservation visitor enters the home and i get "they aren't staying" then i say no visitors in the home and i get "it's my niece, cousin, aunt, mom or whatever" and i again say no visitors inside the home and the next day i get even more visitors that now perform for the cameras- waving, dancing, dirty looks, etc. this past weekend the guest even clogged up the plumbing, demanded a full refund for an "unsatisfactory stay", and wrote me my first ever non 5 star review. i'm going to add even stronger language to the rules stating- you are the guest, not the host. renting a place on airbnb doesn't give you permission to invite as many overnight guests and visitors as you want. 

[Grace851]

I got 2 times so far. Last time the lady  herself is the hosterin another city.She booking 4 and bring another one more person.

Airbnb help this kind thing?