Unfortunately it is not uncommon for Airbnb to be on the side of the guest, regardless of the situation. This is something that a number of hosts have written about on this forum. I think you’re quite lucky that you got 50% of the first night. I believe the process Airbnb would have had you take is that you contact them immediately when you were woken at 3am with the unexpected guest. They (Airbnb) would have then contacted the guest to resolve the situation, either for them to leave or for them to pay for the unplanned guest. By reacting the way you did (Im not saying rightly or wrongly) you excluded Airbnb from the process, which makes it more difficult for yourself in terms of being compensated. I understand that its really easy to react in the heat of the moment and to go through the emotions of being upset and feeling potentially unsafe but Airbnb wont sympathise with you for you that. This is also why they are so keen on using their messaging system, so that they have a clear audit trail of the experience on both sides, without this it simply turns into he said she said and they will default to the guest.
Im glad that the guest left without trouble and hopefully didn’t leave a review that will affect your future business.
I suppose it’s the guests service fee that pays Airbnb, so that where Airs loyalty is.
Takings would plummet if it was common knowledge to guests that they are the vulnerable ones in a dispute.
We’ll have to take hits like that on the chin if we want guests to keep coming
I don’t begrudge you your actions, but it does sound like this may not be the best line of business for you.
This sounds so judgemental, and so subjectively so, that I’m close to spitting red wine at my screen. Yuk. Perhaps you could try putting yourself in the OP’s shoes, perhaps try to understand why she felt as she did? i.e., threatened and unsafe with what was happening in her own home at 3 am, with a man trying to coerce her into accepting an unregistered guest at 3 am for GsS. A little empathy can go a long way.
Perhaps, you can sit on the toilet and spit the red wine onto the door?
reference: Issue after check out - negative review or message them? - #20 by Rachelle
The link made me chuckle but no, at the screen is a more satisfactory, metaphorically speaking, whack. Anyway, the wine is that cheapskate tonight, it has no legs.
Oh. I can totally understand your reaction to my comment, I should have flushed it out. From what I read, she did not feel threatened by the man in question, but understandably upset that he violated the house rules and brought an additional guest into the house.
I can understand that this is incredibly uncomfortable, and I am empathetic, but this is a customer facing business, and customers do make mistakes, they do breakrules, they do make bad decisions. We should expect a small percentage of our encounters to be unpleasant.
If a reaction to such an event that did not have any physical threat (I did not read that the guest threatened her physically, but if so I apologize) is to throw the guest out on the street, threaten to call the police I believe that this is going to be a scenario that repeats itself. I believe the host may create additional stress for herself by engaging in this business. It is out of my concern I stated this short unsubstantiated phrase.
From the post, it seemed the guests left peacefully without causing a scene, only begging (understandably) to stay. I am just concerned that the host may not have the right temperament for this business, and may continue on occassion to find herself in different uncomfortable circumstances.
I could not have guests live in my own house in a shared room. I would have too many concerns.
Also, please do not waste good wine on a computer screen. I am sorry for the judgmental tone.
The mistake the OP made here was by not messaging the guest straight away (through the air platform) to inform him he just brought an unathorized guest into her home and she has to go, asap, no arguments. This would have given him the opportunity to either get her to go or find somewhere else to both stay to avoid a scene.
What would more than likely happen is that the message would go ignored / unread (guest obviously otherwise engaged) or they may message back asking you to reconsider. Either way, had it been me in that situation, as soon as I’d sent that message I’d have been on the phone to air straight away, explaining that the guest bought back a third party and I feel unsafe/ threatened as they also sound drunk and disorderly. At this point you can also ask for air’s help in intervening if the guest remains uncooperative. Air will have no recourse but to side with you as a ‘trust and safety’ issue and call / email them to inform them they need to leave for violating an important rule and refusing to comply. OP would probably get to keep her payment too, given the circumstances.
I didn’t know the Vatican was that strict!!
I wouldn’t have threatened to call the police but if a guest bought back some unexpected random at 3am, I’d be compelled to call them on it simply on principle.
To the single hosts out there sharing a home, would you bring a random home at 3am? Curious
There was a string about that. It was contentious.
I’m not single but if I was, yes.
Being Airbnb hosts does not mean we give up all rights to live our lives in our own homes.
Edit: I would be quiet about it though, respecting the fact that the guest is likely to be asleep
Well, that’s that sorted.
Now what about ginger guests?
Hey, watch it. Family of proud red-heads here 
But funny nonetheless. How to stir up a hornets’s nest?
Yeah, it’s really hilarious when your 5 year old comes home from school and asks “what are pubes, mum?” because they got called “ginger pubes” by older kids. And it carries on and on and on and on until you’re worn down by it and it almost seems normal to duck your head to avoid missiles thrown from a passing white van driven by (so-called) adults on your way home from high school while they laugh and shout “ginger c*nt”. Oh how we laughed.
True stories and not funny.
Such a shame.
In the 1970’s I saw a Life magazine story on redheads, mostly a pictorial of course. And I found them immediately appealing. My husband was a strawberry blonde. Celebrities like Tori Amos and Patty Griffin are favorites for their hair as much as their voices. It was only as an adult I realized the biases against them.
Indeed. It seems that males get the brunt of it. But no worries, redheads will rule the world again one day. We’re just biding our time 
…so will left-handers.
We’re biding our time as well.