I have a booking for 8 guests, my maximum, and the booking guest said he was still working out who all is coming on the trip.
Is it a good or bad idea for me to ask for a list of names and ages of all guests before the arrival?
He said he is bringing an air mattress, which is okay with me, but also could mean that he is bringing more than 8. I really don’t want more than 8 people in my house. Only 2 bathrooms.
I assume you have exterior cameras to monitor / validate what is told to you, and that the cameras are disclosed in your house rules. If you’re asking for ages, I’d limit that to non adults. The following is a draft, you can edit as per your rules. I made the assumption that you might limit those non guests who might be present.
Hi ____
As your trip approaches, I’m reaching out to ensure that everything will be in order upon your arrival. I’d ask that you familiarize yourself (and your party) with the listing’s house rules; and I’d like to remind you:
- the maximum number of guests allowed is 8
- there are no other guests permitted in the house / on the property without prior authorization from me
Prior to arrival I ask that you message me the names of those who will be staying; I also ask that if there are children in your group that you provide their names and ages.
Thank you for your compliance. Please let me know if you have any questions / needs prior to your arrival.
PS. If they question why you are asking for such, advise that this is a requirement for your insurance, as well for you to ensure that you are providing the right amount of linens and essentials (i.e TP, etc)
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I’d also make it clear that children count as being part of the maximum 8.
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Not good, I think.
If I rent a house, then it’s up to me who accompanies me. What would be your reasoning?
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I think she is worried there will be more than 8 people, they stated they are bringing an air mattress. If the house sleeps 8, then they do not need a air mattress.
RR
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Agree with @HH_AZ, pretty much as always 
We also politely ask for this, phrased “as required by insurance”. So far, there have been no issues or pushback at all. On occasion, we have needed to send a reminder via text - as some guests don’t get notifications (or don’t see them) from air msging.
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For what it’s worth, I always require names of all guests and names and ages of those under 18. I was advised by the fire department that this is critical information to have on hand in case of an emergency. Also, it helps me to figure out how many extra beds I will need; if there are younger children, they will usually sleep two to a bed, or need a toddler bed. If they include last names I can figure out the couples, so that helps, too, because getting people to comment on sleeping arrangements can be tough.
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I also require the names of all guests and I count any age as a guest that counts toward my maximum. I am legally allowed more than I accept but I don’t want a bunch of people staying here. The more people, the more problems they cause… My city has a form and I require it signed before I provide check in info. I always message people immediately following a booking to ask if there are any children, even if there’s absolutely no reason I would suspect there is, I ask and make it clear that if they show up with anyone unreported they will not be accommodated. I don’t allow kids. I am not sure why people with kids book and try to hide the kids… Even with a camera, what can you do? An infant isn’t a person according to air. Best to try to find out before they show up with a baby or two, and they will, it’s the game people play.
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If it was in your house rules at the time of booking, then you can ask for a list. If not, then you can still ask for a list, but the guest is not obligated to give it to you, and the guest may complain to Airbnb or bring it up in their review of you. Personally, I don’t see how it will prevent a guest from bringing extra people. If you don’t require a list, the guest can bring 10 people to your 8-person listing. If you require a list, the guest can give you a list of 8 names and still bring 10. If a guest intends to break the rules, he will.
If you have a way to see how many guests show up and you can see they bring more than the maximum, then you could attempt to charge for the extra guests or cancel the remainder of the reservation. However, that’s a good way to get a retaliatory 1-star review from the guest, so you’d need to weigh that possibility against your rating to see if it’s worth it. Hint, if you’re a new host, a single 1-star rating could sink your rating and be difficult to recover.
This is very similar to what I did, but again, if it wasn’t in the house rules when the guest booked, it technically doesn’t apply. The house rules at time of booking are copied into the guest’s reservation, so they can tell if the host makes changes.
Yes cameras and Yes house rules, I will use this with modifications. Thanks, great.
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You can’t even verify the names so I would only stay firm about the count. We sometimes rent places for a week with a maximum and our adult children each come for a couple nights without overlap. Consequently we have more than the max in terms of different people, but never exceed the overnight max. I usually tell my host that we plan to do this but don’t do names.
We don’t accept children under 6 at our listing (lead paint risk) and specify that children under 14 cannot be left at the house alone. We do have a registration card where we ask for the names of all guests staying since registration is required in our state. Frankly we only use it to remember people’s names if we plan to interact, review or contact them.
And there are several valid reasons why the booking guest doesn’t want to reveal the names of companions. I imagine that laws vary from place to place but here we have to know the number of guests (for emergencies) but names aren’t required.
I know the old phrase ‘we’re not hotels’ but hotels usually have strict policies about revealing details of guests to anyone but the police (even then, I think a warrant is required, I’m not sure).
Because both our rentals have only one bedroom and because the area is sort of romantic I often have guests who don’t let me know the name of their companion. Even though I introduce myself with a questioning smile on my face, the other party still doesn’t give me the name. That’s okay, these couples are good business for me. 
After all, if the other party was mentioned by name in the review ("Sarah and Jake were great guests…) Sarah’s husband Chris might see it.
Another reason for the non-disclosure is if the non-booking guest is some sort of celebrity. I’ve had this a couple of times. People who are in the public eye in some way don’t necessarily want their host knowing in advance.
Of course, combine these two factors and that could really spell trouble.
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Here we need full name, date of birth, passport (or ID card) number & expiry date for every guest. Form has to be signed by guest at check in.
Details then have to be submitted to the Policia database with in 24hrs.
No ID, no bed. Dead simple.
The joys of living in a post fascist democracy.
JF
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this is exactly right. it is an important matter for first responders to know who they are dealijg with. are these all separate people with different parties to notify/obtain medical consents for, or is the unconscious lady you are treating the one who would consent for the unconscious other person in the house and now medical provider surrogacy statutes control?
i don’t always require the exact names. Adult Child 1 and Adult Child 2 works for me. If it is a group of unrelated adults, I require the names and age range (“we are all over 50” works for me)
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We have to ask for ID from guests but a lot of hosts don’t do it. My city doesn’t allow anyone under 25 to rent and renters must show ID to confirm age and identity. I go one step further and don’t allow anyone to accommodate guests under 25 unless they are accompanied by their parent or guardian - with my knowledge and approval.
Of course, you can say all this, and people will just tell the young people or undisclosed people, to arrive after you’ve checked the ID of the primary, disclosed renters. People suck. I know there are decent renters though because I’ve had a few, and I’ve rented and never done any of this stuff Seems like the majority are deal-hunter and trying to get as many people as possible accommodated at the lowest price… in this city at least.
Not only that, classifying a 2 year old as an “infant” is absurd. There’s a huge difference between a 3 month old baby, not mobile on their own, that does little but sleep, poop, lay around, or cry, and a toddler who can run around, climb up on chairs and get into stuff, smear sticky hands all over the place, walk around with food, mashing it into the carpet and furniture, and scribble on the walls.
I don’t know any parent who would refer to their 2 year old toddler as an “infant”, unless they were booking an Airbnb so they didn’t have to pay for the kid. An “infant” is a babe in arms, not a child old enough to walk and talk.
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Just had a booking for 4 guests. Girl claimed that she had just been discharged from hospital and needed to stay close by for follow-up appointments. Things got weird on the day of check out when she wanted to extend by 3 days, then 2 days, then 1 day. Then she started saying I owed her money. I went to the house 15 mins post checkout to find about 9 junkies in our house (we use self checkin so I didn’t meet them on arrival). They had basically had a week long drug party at our house leaving me about $4K out of pocket in damages. I don’t see a problem with you asking for names of who will be staying in your house and I would always advise meeting & greeting guests. Also please keep in mind that the Host Guarantee appears to be next to useless and you will be left to fend for yourself if things go badly. Have good landlords insurance! Airbnb does not require a verified profile photo, so asking for something more seems like a good idea to me - it’s too late once things go wrong!
So no video cameras either? All those extensions and you never went to see what was going on?
RR
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I don’t have security cameras - all extensions requests were between 7am and 10am - so no I didn’t go around. How often do you just go around to check on guests?
How horrible! Good luck with the claims!