Forum post removed by user.
As a host, I would have reacted very similarly.
The listing clearly states two guests and the booking was for two guests but 4 people turned up.
I would have requested the other two guests leave immediately too.
You misinterpreted the rules over extra guests - where were you going to sleep anyway?
I don’t see why the host should loose revenue when you made the mistake.
11 Likes
I agree with Copenhagenhost. You booked for two not four. A hotel would do the same.
3 Likes
If the accommodation sleeps two, then only two guests are allowed. Your friend (the person who booked) seems to have been defrauding the host - i.e. taking two additional guests illegally.
Note too that the cleaning fee is to prepare the accommodation for you, not to clean up after you. I’m sure that you’ve read the help files about being an Airbnb guest and that you should leave the place in the condition in which you find it? Cleaning up after yourself is expected.
4 Likes
This was an unfortunate experience. Why did your friend and her brother not stay since they were paying for it anyway? Why did they elect to leave with you at midnight & drive to a SF hotel where they were going to have to pay for that nights lodging again? BTW - were you staying in Mendocino or Napa Valley? - trying to think of what’s 2.5 hrs away from SF. 350/night is an expensive 1 br guest house.
Sorry you had a bad experience, @slsimons24 , but as a host I agree with @Maggieroni and @copenhagenhost, I would have be very outraged if more people than what a listing accommodates show up in my place!!
I can see “Additional guests: no extra charge” might appear to be confusing at the very first moment, before you give it a thought, or if you didn’t read that the property can accommodate a maximum of 2 people. Once you are aware of this, there is no confusion: using common sense you can easily deduce that “Additional guests: no extra charge” doesn’t mean that more than 2 people can just come in for free. Just imagine 20 people wanted to show with no extra charge! You were two people but your reasoning for the meaning of “extra people” would have be the same for 20 or 100. Probably the host felt you were trying to deceive him, and I would have felt the same way if this happen to me. You have to take responsibility for your mistake. That said, you also can suggest Airbnb that they improve the way they show this information. Host don’t have control over it: if they don’t distribute their price for the maximum people they can accommodate between a number of guests and extra guests, this is shown automatically, by default. I hope my feedback is useful.
6 Likes
My friend and her brother left because they didn’t want to leave my friend and I with no place to go, we weren’t from the area and there were ZERO hotels anywhere. We fully take responsibility for the misinterpretation- if they were trying to deceive the host they would’ve lied and said it was 2 all along. I get why the host was frustrated but I wish they would’ve been a little more understanding given the situation and that it was midnight. They wouldn’t even let us spend one night and charge extra per head. There was two pull out couches in addition to the main king bed - there was plenty to accommodate. They were beyond disrespectful when we were trying to come up with a solution as any adult would do.
There were two pull out couches*
They likely rounded it up to a day.
Did you get any money back?
And tbh you didn’t use the service your friend did all the booking communicating etc. There’s always two sides to a story.
That sounds like a horrible experience - but the bottom line is - your friend booked for …
Number of Guests? 2.
And how many guests showed up? 4.
It was breaking the contract, cheating, and being extremely rude and disrespectful. Then, what happens, since you were dishonest from the start, is create a huge hole of suspicion in the host’s mind.
I understand that wasn’t in your thinking, but it is what you did. It was a situation that your friend created, not the host.
Please don’t judge airbnb by this experience - millions of people have great experiences every day. But play nice, play by the rules, and chances are pretty good you, also, will have a great experience.
6 Likes
Locally, it is a felony to defraud an innkeeper.
Don’t judge the service because your friend broke the Terms of Service and engaged in a criminal act.
4 Likes
As a host one HAS to know how many people are on the property at all times…
Imagine there is an emergency… fire or storm or whatever… if I have 2 guests booked I will look for those 2 guests and not expect 2 more “hiding” somewhere…
It is MY responsibility to make sure all guests are safe, otherwise lots of trouble with insurance.
Why didn’t you clear that with the host before you asked the 2 extra persons to join? I am sure the host would have found a solution … It was sprung on the hosts and put them into a difficult situation.
I host lots of longer term guests, like uni students for a term, never had a problem with visitors, as they always cleared with me first if it is ok to invite a friend over…
The way I see it from a host’s point of view it was sneaky and dishonest to bring 2 extra people in when it was booked for 2
4 Likes
That’s a very good point.
Firefighter: How many people are in this burning building?
Host: Just two.
Firefighter: Fine, we have rescued two people.
(The other two will be left to burn. This is serious stuff).
Also the number of guests may be limited by local ordinances, insurance or various other legalities.
3 Likes
I agree with the other hosts, but I also think AirBnB should take some blame here.
As a host it’s really difficult to remove the “additional guests: no extra charge” text from your profile - it’s a bug with the site! I get a lot of questions about it from potential guests.
4 Likes
Isn’t anybody curious as to how a guest is able to post on a Host forum? On topic, the host was correct, I would have done the same.
2 Likes
Very. I am also intrigued by what Lucy said, on the “additional guests: no extra charge” text from your profile, what a bug indeed.
1 Like
I guess it’s an open forum and anyone can join and post. But it’s interesting to see how host expectations and guest expectations can be so different.
2 Likes
This thread made me look back into the issue, and it turns out that since the latest update you can actually opt to remove it (hurrah!), but previously it remained there until you entered a ludicrously large figure… here’s a thread about it form the AirBnB community forum https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Hosts/Extra-People-No-Charge/m-p/6619/highlight/true#M1074
Maybe I missed something, but I really wish AirBnB would explain to us what we need to review when they update the default profile settings!
2 Likes
Yes, to let us know. In that thread Monica said if one had a charge for extra guests beyond any number (which I do), then it tended to disappeared automatically. Whether now fixed or not, what a spooky deal: one has a limit of 2 guests and then inquirer sees “additional guests: no extra charge”, totally confusing.
2 Likes
This was caused by the ridiculous “additional guests: no extra charge.” which is difficult to alter and which is simply a ridiculous statement if you do not allow any extra guests. It should be “additional guests: not allowed!” Who the hell would allow an unspecified number of “(any) additional guests (at) no extra charge.”?
1 Like