This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Also, what if 2 guests book, but don’t want to sleep in the same bedroom. Some spouses sleep separately because of snoring.
I can think of several other situations where two people traveling together would not want to sleep in the same room. Friends. Co-workers, parent with a child etc etc.
If it is a whole house listing, then I think you either need to spell out in a crystal clear way that bookings for smaller number of people will not include all the bedrooms or just accept that some people will use the bedrooms. (And maybe build the possibility of extra laundry into your cost? Not sure)
All of this adds up to a few annoyances. I would note them in the review and give a thumbs down since it doesn’t seem you would host them again. Lots of other hosts would have no problem with the guests but be honest so we can judge for ourselves.
Finally, I’d leave all the rooms open but raise the price a little so that when someone takes a little more than their share it doesn’t sting so much. I assume sometimes people also take a little less than their share?
@JuliePaints1 you might find these locks useful for your bedrooms. If we got more bookings from just one or two persons, we would install them in our 3 bedroom home. So far, the few we have gotten have respected the place and only used the appropriate number of beds.
Hi @GardenGnome - it is a whole house listing. It’s one thing to check out the rooms in the house but another to use all the beds when the booking was for 1 bedroom and 2 guests.
That is your point of view though which is why I mentioned in a previous reply that we’ll lock the 2nd bedroom in future bookings.
We don’t book people from separate bookings in each room. There’s one bathroom. If someone books a room, the house is for them.
We just added the second bedroom a week or so ago. Prior to that it was not available.
Is there something I’m missing here? Is it a whole house rental or not? Is there something that would make it clear I was only reserving/allowed to use one bedroom (besides it being a little rude)?
There are quite a few people who hold that view here on the forum. This is not to say that you are wrong, just that you might get a few guests who are expecting to use the whole house in a whole house rental. I believe someone here has posted that they got a bad review from someone who objected to rooms of the home being locked off.
Make sure you make it clear that only one room is available at xx price and the second bedroom is an additional charge. That might help head off any disappointed guest reviews.
Be really, really clear that is it not really a whole house rental and that you only get one bedroom per two people (?) and the rest of the bedrooms are locked off.
Frankly, I’d never book your home if you did that. It would seem miserly and I would feel like you distrust everyone. I’d move on to some other property.
My advice - consider it the cost of doing business and get over it.
Totally agree with previous posts here. If you’re advertising a “whole-house” rental, it needs to be the whole house. Otherwise, you need to advertise it as a bedroom with shared spaces, kitchen access, etc.
eta: I partially take that back. I have a locked room in our whole-house rental, but it’s a storage room. I guess what I’m saying is that if your listing shows that you have a whole-house rental with 2 bedrooms and 3 beds, you better have 2 bedrooms with 3 beds available for guests, regardless of how many people book.
If a married couple book and you are pretty sure they will be sleeping together, then make up one bed with linens.
For the other rooms, have decent looking matress protectors on the beds. The linens for each bed could be neatly folded in baskets next the respective beds.
This would help guests get the message, but the beds would still be available if someone really wanted them. It would save you a little work, too.
Not at all, because there’s noone else using those spaces so by definition they are not shared. There just needs to be an agreement before booking about the number of rooms/beds needed and for the guest to be charged accordingly. I think a lot of people would love a discount for a bedroom they don’t even want to be locked.
Many people show themselves to be untrustworthy with this. They would be happy to use a duvet or pillows with no covers because they are too lazy to put them on. This would create even more laundry and waste. Far better to assess the guests bed needs in advance.
You wait 72 hours and escalate the extra fees with Airbnb. A button will pop up on the request page after 72 hours. I just went through this with an additional unregistered guest that I caught red-handed as they checked out. They ignored my request for the fees for the extra guest. After 72 hours I contacted Airbnb and they recouped the funds from their security deposit and flagged their account for further issues. I expect that Airbnb will block their review, but the 14 days haven’t passed, so I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I do have it in writing that everything was perfect (I send a message 1-2 days into the stay asking if everything is okay).
You will get a notification if a guest leaves a review. Definitely add “no unregistered guests or visitors” to you house rules. I have a label above the keypad stating the same and the house rules are included in my check-in message. Claiming ignorance is virtually impossible.
Local family members “visiting” has been too common for me. I’m a live-in host so of course I’m greeting them and have found three people in the house when there should be one, etc. I’ve watched one visitor take bottled water from the fridge and another made herself a cup of coffee while I stood there.
I respond to these incidents with a businesslike message via Airbnb that it is a violation of house rules and their cooperation will be appreciated. It is added to their review and stars deducted for house rules and communication. I have greeted guests at the driveway and informed them that any extra guests or visitors are not allowed. It can be rather uncomfortable!
Yes, yes, yes. It’s the only way to protect yourself. I go as far as to ask guests not to even give out my address to anyone without asking me first. That stops any discussion of a visitor just popping by for this or that. People can be so thoughtless of security etc. I am really grateful for that level of protection.
