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!
A couple of months ago I had a guest who showed up in 3 instead of 2. I told her she third guest couldn’t stay here as I had only one bed and it was against my house rules etc…
I told her to keep me updated about the third person as they left to explore the town. She doesn’t get back to me. Later they came back home at night again in 3 people… I called airbnb support to explain them the problem but she turned off her cell phone so they couldn’t reach her at all.
I asked airbnb support what to do and they had no idea… it seems they can’t cancel the guest stay without contacting her first… but the guest cannot be reached… then what? Seems like a huge loophole to me even though I had cameras and could prove it they were in 3.
What do you do then? Has anyone ever been in this situation? Since they break the house rules and don’t respond to the support it should be ground for cancellation of the stay with cancellation policy applying but that’s apparently not the case.
I ended up letting them in 3 and they left me a nasty review the next day.
I did the first time. I had to contact airbnb after when I saw them on my cameras the second time. If I had ask them to leave without contacting airbnb support first airbnb will send them a full refund which is not what I want to do. I learn this the hard way two weeks ago.
Now I have an issue today with a guest who is not coming yet but told me they were in 3 people and she doesn’t respond anymore to the support… she is supposed to come tomorrow.
Oh dear you do seem to be having a lot of problems with your guests lately @Oby
If you have tried to message the guest via Airbnb and call them and Airbnb have tried to contact the guest without luck themselves, I would have asked Airbnb to cancel the booking.
This would be on the ground that the guest is clearly intending to bring more people than your property allows.
It would have been better to do this as soon as you knew there was a problem, so you could try and get an alternative booking.
If I cancel I lose my payout. Why should I? They are at fault not me. The guest contacted airbnb to cancel and I told them I would give them a refund If I could rebook. Now the guest stopped replying to the support and they still didn’t cancel…
Okay you didn’t mention this in your earlier post @Oby
This is a completely different scenario. So now you are saying this guest spoke to Airbnb to cancel (was this because you told them you couldn’t accept three people), but hasn’t done so?
As you seem to be receiving a lot of unsuitable booking, it might be worth you coming off IB if you are using it, so you can vet your guests more carefully before confirming their bookings?
Yes that’s correct. Airbnb support ended up cancelling the reservation on her behalf this morning. I still got my payout. I don’t receive that much unsuitable bookings, lately more than usual so I increased my requirements, now I require reviews, host recommandation and a photo before I didn’t. Usually the people I have issues with are first time airbnb guests who are also often booking at the last minute/same day. Also how they talk in the first message can say a lot I found out, like no hello, not telling me what time they are coming etc… Like this guest who booked yesterday perfectly fit this profile.
I don’t want to turn off IB because of a few bad apples. It really does not happen so often but it is annoying when it does. I am pretty good at screening guest now and I recognize the signs like I did for this girl yesterday. She didn’t tell me they were coming in 3 people until I asked. She booked for one and I found it odd because she said “we are coming”. Meaning she didn’t also read my house rules at all since I mention max 2 guests with no exception.
I finally got the answer from airbnb support this morning regarding what was their policy if the guest didn’t respond :
As per your question, if a guest fails to respond within the time frame given, considering the circumstances, a host can cancel the reservation without penalties. Your payout will still be processed as scheduled.
I mentioned the issue I had also with a previous guest who didn’t respond and was already at my place. This is what they said :
For future references, for cases like yours, specifically, your guest brought additional guests, you have the option to either keep the reservation and ask for additional guest fee. Or, you can cancel the reservation without penalties in your end.
If your guest refuse to vacate your home, you may choose to contact us so that we can try to explain to your guest that they need to check out. If your guest still refuse to move out, you may consider involving the police.
