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Hi
I’m fairly new to hosting. I’m hosting 3 males for work and I believe they brought a female back last night who stayed.
I have a security camera and my husband saw a female leaving this morning.
They are checking out tomorrow and although they had decent reviews I’m not happy about this.
Looking for some advice on how to handle this. I have already messaged the person who booked but she has not replied. Needless to say I will not be hosting this type of booking again.
I personally wouldn’t care as long as they didn’t go over the max guests and didn’t do damage or make a big mess.
Do you have a max number of guests of 3? Do you have a rule that only people on the booking can stay or that all guests on the property must be authorized, etc.?
Three men stayed for work, but a woman booked, so obviously a third-party booking and it seems you knew about it. Was this an official booking through “Airbnb for Work”. If not, then the “decent reviews” may not mean much.
There’s not really much you can do about this after the fact except ask the guest to pay an extra guest fee, if you normally charge one, and/or advise the guest that it isn’t allowed to have others stay who are not accounted for on the booking. (Make sure to state “No visitors or guests unaccounted for on the booking are allowed on the property” in your house rules).
Otherwise, simply mention this transgression in the review.
It sleeps 4 but I’ve now added a house rule that no unregistered guests stay overnight as I’m not really happy with it.
Yes I’ve just added that in my house rules. A lesson learned.
Yes it was an official booking through Airbnb
That wasn’t Brian’s question. If a woman booked, but 3 men are staying, that is a third party booking which is against Airbnb’s TOS. The person who books has to be among the guests who stay.
The exception to this is an Airbnb For Work account, which you would see the designation of on a request or IB, in which case an employer is allowed to book on behalf employees,the booker will tell you who they are booking for, and will be held responsible for the behavior of their employees.
Check out Airbnb for Work which is specifically setup to allow for authorized agents or employees within a company to book business travel for other employees.
First, decide why you’re not happy with this. Then you need to know what this extra person has cost you if anything. Then amend your listing accordingly.
Remember that if you really don’t allow extras other than the people who are registered guests, then you should go to the rental as soon as you learn about them and make sure the person leaves. (You can cite your STR insurance or local licensing authorities if you need an excuse).
But the chances are that this was no more than a casual hookup situation. Many hosts, including me, have no problem with an extra person for one night but once you know why it bothers you make it very plain in your listing blurb.
Ok I didn’t realise this as I said I’m fairly new to this. So should it be reported to Airbnb. I’m still learning and thanks for the input.
It bothers me because it’s not what I’m hosting for. I have amended my house rules and learnt a valuable lesson, thanks
In that case, because it isn’t a financial reason or a legal one, it’s all the more important that it’s in your listing.
Some people see nothing in the least bit wrong about bring a hookup back to their rental. Their theory is ‘well I’m paying for it, so I can use it however I wish’.
In many ways, that’s what STRs used to be like in the pre-Airbnb days.
Unfortunately, this is going to happen. That is unless you make it clear in your blurb. Otherwise, it’s going to cause problems for both you and your guests. It’s better to have in out in the open from the start.
Yes I will do from now on.
You can report it to Airbnb, but Airbnb’s standard response is that even though 3rd party bookings contravene Airbnb’s terms of service, if a host wants to accept them, that’s up to them. However, if the 3rd party guest damages things, Airbnb may wash their hands of it, saying you chose to accept it.
However, if you realize a guest has made a 3rd party booking before the check-in date, you can ask Airbnb to cancel the booking on that basis.
The bottom line is that it’s up to the host to enforce their house rules once a guest is in residence.
Thank you for the clarification
Yes, Another couple house rules.
Given that they are leaving, I probably wouldn’t say anything.
I have a homeshare with a slightly isolated area for the guests. No unregistered guests is clearly stated in my policies. I had one picked up (maybe some I never knew about) and the woman claimed that the man left very late and arrived the next day very early, lol. I don’t care about getting paid for an extra person. I care about having someone I have no information on in the same house that I live in. There is a separate entrance and I am considering putting a camera on it, but I want it more to monitor the parking area next to the entrance. For the one woman who ignored my rules I gave her a very low score on house rules and said that I would not host her again.
Yes I have a camera installed to monitor who goes in and out.
I have just added to no guests overnight rule yo my house rules, thank you
Is it possible that the woman who stayed is the one who made the 3rd party booking in the first place? In which case, she may feel that she should be allowed to stay since it’s on her account.
then amend your house rules