Large Group (16) wanting to rent house for weekend - Advice from Experienced U?

Hi,

I’m new to renting my house on AirBNB and have so far have rented to families, 4-8 total people. The house is a 5 bedroom, with more than enough room to sleep 16 with futons, so I set my listing for that, but I’m now nervous of people throwing a party. The house is on a lake, close to ski resorts, so I understand why people would stay for just Fri-Sat night, but help me best prepare for such a large group, freaking myself out here :stuck_out_tongue:

Any advice, or helpful ways to make sure that doesn’t happen or I’m protected? Should I make sure they have a review first?

My idea so far was -

Government IDs from the entire group
Rental Contract digitally signed by the entire group
Increased Security from $500 to $1000 for groups over 12 adults

Any advice would be appreciated, and thank you for this great platform.

No no no And NO!!! Just say NO to large groups, as there WILL be parties!!! (DOnt you remember college? :upside_down:)

You can ask forum members here about large groups and how they handle it, but because you are a ski house, it sounds like the potential could be even worse.

I would not rent to more than 8 regardless of how many it sleeps. You are asking for trouble…

BUt if you want to rent to more, would ask for $2500 deposit for any groups over 8. I would make sure you have exterior cameras all over the place… Make sure all your rules are clearly stated! Most will arrive calmly enough but once the booze gets going… Well look out. Groups that large will tear up your house and possibly annoy your neighbors.

I would tell the group of 16 sorry. I just wouldn’t do it. No amount of money is worth having your place destroyed.

3 Likes

That’s great advice, and I know, I’m picturing 22 year old me running a muck.

Okay so here’s my new terms -

1)Drivers License photo of all members of group.
2)Rental Contract signed by all members of group.
3)No more than 12 adults.
4)No Parties.
5) This isn’t an income property to me, it’s my home; my neighbors are great people - do not cause them issues, noise complaints etc, it’s a nice neighborhood, law enforcement officers live 4 houses away.

If you’re bringing a pet or child please let me know ahead of time, so I can have the place “proofed” best for you.

What do you think of that as “Additional Rules”?

Poke holes, let me know what I’m messing up! Newbie here

Nº 1 is a problem. Some folks don’t have driver’s licenses. You might wish to say Government ID

Thanks SMTucker, very good point- adjusted now

Not firm enough. Too wishy washy. I would REALLY not allow more than 8. And if you do, it is an additional $50 per person per night.

NO parties or events allowed. This is a family home in a quiet residential neighborhood. Curfew hour is 10pm. This is a neighborhood curfew hour and must be respected. Please respect the neighbors, two of whom are law enforcement officials. Complaint calls about noise will result in immediate eviction of your group from the home. Any citations or fines that might occur will be charged to the guest. Again, this is not a party home. NOise and disruptions of any kind will not be tolerated.

ONLY your approved and registered guests allowed on the property or in the home. Exterior security cameras are provided for your your safety and convenience.

HOme must be respected in every way. Please clean up after yourself, including stove, barbecue and dishes. Please remove all trash from the property upon check out.

This is the tone I would honestly take. It sounds hardline, but you have to.

EDIT… @azreala, @cabinhost, @Anastasia_Stal and others with full home rentals that attract large groups may want to weigh in on these suggestions.

Good luck!

3 Likes

Also, put this in your official house rules so it’s a part of the record in case there is a violation.

We have two whole house rentals that sleep 6-12, and while yes some families are GREAT, the vast majority of singles/couples/friends/ etc traveling together end up sounding more like a party at 2am. Its not necessarily they are throwing a party, but 8 drunk people talking loud outside, or even playing normal volume music, can sound border line ‘party’. Also, once booze is involved inhibitions go out the window and normal volume tends to increase.

3 Likes

I have my first group of 10 young guests 23 to 27 years old coming in January 20th for 3 nights.
The 3 bedroom property is on a ski hill and sleeps 11 with 2 on a sofa bed.
So far I have hosted 2 groups of families 8 and 9 guests and they have been marvellous.

I was too! Will let you all know how it goes by the end of the weekend after this upcoming group leaves!
I have tenants in the downstairs suite of this house and the House Rules stipulate a quiet time. IF that is not adhered to the tenants will let me know.

Also, I plan to visit the property daily to monitor the hot tub and take a cursory look around the outside. That many guests can really mess with PH levels etc.

yup - that is what happened to us in mid December…and it was an ABB booking. …drunk people thinking they were talking outside… but they were loudly cussing up a storm…then thinking I was yelling at them when I asked them to take the noise inside ( I was not yelling …just took 5 times for them to hear me over the rowdiness ).
They gave me a mediocre review…I am still seething over their horrible and immature behavior. I wont accept young family groups of friends again, who are just “getting together”. Here for a wedding has a purpose…otherwise…not again.
After 6 years there are always new lessons and always new tweaking.
16 guests in a 5 br home is asking for huge trouble, unless it is Grandma, and extended family.

Your tenants are not going to be happy campers with that ruckus going on above them.

The best part of my ‘wonderful’ neighbors, when we actually threw a party with 30 people, no one cared. (Outdoor music etc until 4am) But when ABB guests talk outside past 10, the neighbors act like they are having a Rave!

We do have outdoor cameras, so we can kinda monitor what is happening. I would say that is an absolute must with large groups.

2 Likes

I’ve signed a contract for a house in Costa Rica for July but they don’t have any of my money yet. I indicated there might be up to 14 using the home, might be as few as 6 of us. It will be me and unrelated friends, maybe some couples for my 60th birthday.

Looks like I’m lucky to find a place given all the biases.

I did have a chat with them this morning about that very topic. They knew that the unit they are renting would be noisy. We covered that in depth during our first meeting. I asked about the 1st two groups through and they said they could hear them. First group had a toddler and next group had big teens.
My tenants are young and work the ski hill themselves but still need sleep so will see how this plays out…

Its not even the size of the group, its the lenth of stay.
I dont rent for less than 7 days now. If you rent for 2 days over weekend especially it will be most likely for people who celebrate something. They will have a very good use of the house, for sure. When its 16 people, noone is going to see sites or ski, most of the time they will spend inside, partying.
My house when it was left dirty and with damages was rented for 2-3 days by a a large group. Unless you charge an enormous deposit, like thousands , its not worth to rent to 2 days renters. They can cause so much damage that few hundred $ deposit is not going to cover it.
My advice would be just to suspend these short stays. I can see that most listings dont allow such short stays, and for the reason.

Good luck with that. I guess you are willing to lose your downstairs tenants.

One of the things I’ve noticed here at my rental is that young people have a much higher tolerance for noise. And thinking about my youth, the parts I can remember, I did too. I think we forget they are used to apartments and dorms and roommates and parties and strange hours and cheap digs where quiet isn’t an amenity.

These tenants were very well informed. They totally realized their accommodation would be loud overhead at times. When they first viewed the place before signing on, they told me the could hear the dogs walking around in the unit above them (the airbnb unit) and we had a long discussion when we first interviewed each other that there would be foot steps overhead for the duration of guest stays.
This is a ski hill resort and the tenants work at the hill. They are grateful not to be in staff accommodation, They have big windows, lots of light, facing a ski run and tube park that is lit up till 10 nightly and are getting a deal on rent. All good.

Exactly. Thank you for that perspective K9Karma

1 Like