Guest tried to sneak in an extra person, complained about something that was clearly stated in my posting

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Okay, so I had a guest contact me 3 months ago for a booking. She’s in the U.S. and her son is coming here (to Canada) for university. Originally she wanted to book a 3 month stay with me (September - December) - her son is apparently staying in residence on campus. So she wouldn’t reply to my standard “Can you please confirm that you’ve read my entire listing” blah de blah email. So I had to decline her request. Then she re-sent it and I explained to her that I might be away for the last week of her reservation so she changed it to a one month reservation. Then, after she’s booked, she emails to say “Oh, my husband will be staying with me for a week, I’ll let you know when”. So I said “Um, I know you’re fairly new to Airbnb but all guests must be on the reservation and I need to know exactly who will be in my home and from when until when”. So I called Airbnb and they told me how to do it as an alteration. She accepted it. I also always confirm check-in time as soon as the booking has been made and so that there’s no confusion -she agrees to it.

Then, I touch base with her a week before, to ask when she’ll be arriving and it turns out that her husband will be arriving a day before she will. She then tells me that he’ll be arriving at my home at 6 a.m. that day. Oh. Hell. No. I reiterate that she had already agreed to the 6 p.m. check-in time. So all of this before she even arrives. My instincts were saying “uh oh”. So I called Airbnb the day before the husband arrives as I’m concerned and there have been so many issues to express my concern. Air records my concern and says we’ve got a record if something comes up.

The husband shows up at 6 p.m. (with the son). I welcome the son and chat to him about his school etc and then ask him to wait in the front hallway (remember, he’s not a registered guest). He does, and I quickly give the father a tour. Then, I have a feeling, so I just stay in the kitchen, wiping down counters etc…because always trust your instincts. I see the Dad trying to bring the son into the room - so I quickly stop him and say “Oh! I’m SO sorry, but as it says in the rules, there are no non-registered guests allowed into the house”. I go on to explain that none of the guests are allowed to bring in anyone not on the reservation. The son has no problem with it and the husband says “Oh that makes sense because then it’ s safe for everyone.”

The next morning, I ask the husband how his night was. He said that the room and bed are very comfortable and he feels that the house is comfortable and no, thank-you, he has everything he needs. Then, around 5 p.m. (I was out of the house) that same day, I get a message from him saying “I’m sorry, I have to cancel the reservation because I sent my wife (remember, she’s not even in the country yet, so hasn’t set food in the house) a photo of the stairs and she’s worried.” I took that to mean that she’s worried about the (well-lit) stairs going from the main floor to the washroom (located at basement level - clearly mentioned a few times in my listing). If it had been a mobility issue, she would have asked right away before booking, I believe. So he says he’ll leave the key in the room and thanks me for having been a good host. Then he writes “I know you have a strict cancellation policy, but I hope we can negotiate.”

Of course I’m partially relieved because who knows what kind of headaches would have happened once the woman actually arrived in my home and I’m also livid because that was 3 MONTHS where other guests could have booked (for the busiest month of the year here). So I thought long and hard about it (my policy is strict). Five years from now what would I wish I had done. I sleep on it, call Airbnb and talk to them. I decided no refund. They had 3 months to cancel and ALL of the information is in my listing.

Today, I get a call from Airbnb, apparently the guests are saying that the stairs were “dirty” and want a refund.
Who knows what the husband took a photo of. The stairs are wooden, going down to an unfinished basement and part of the paint has worn off. So perhaps that’s the “dirt”? In over 15 years of hosting guests, this is a first.

So now I have 3 days left to review. I wasn’t going to at all, but then, as a host, I’d want to know before booking these guests what they were like.

Any thoughts - oh wise ones?

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I’m speechless. What a nightmare. I don’t know what to say except very poor communication, had to cancel and don’t recommend. I hope you don’t have to refund. Again, I’d avoid any long term stays through Airbnb as they provide no host protection. Keep us posted.

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@Maggieroni, thanks for your support! :grinning: I was worried that I’d get hit with a lot of criticism for not refunding. The more I think about it, the more likely it is that I’m going to do a review because as a future host I’d want to know if someone like that was trying to book with me (will try the “last minute deploy method” to ensure I have the last word).

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I would not refund. But they will likely come up with some kind of extenuating circumstance after the dirty stairs fails.
ABB really needs to step up their game as far as EDUCATING the guest, instead of hammering the owners.

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Do NOT refund!
You really dodged a bullet here, be eternally grateful!

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Totally don’t refund! 3 months and cancelled on the second day for a dodgy excuse. Then again I sometimes give in if people have a plausible hard luck story like one woman whose dog got sick. I say I’ll refund them for any nights I get replacement bookings, less 20% and the difference in price, and not including the first night.

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I’m going to have to go against the consensus here to some extent. The father didn’t “try to sneak in an extra person” so I’m not sure why that’s in the title? He was simply showing his son the room. Or maybe you mean the wife sprung it on you last minute that husband would be coming too? Either way, it’s not exactly ‘sneaking’ in a guest, is it? I often have parents booking who are visiting their kids at university and I truly don’t understand the problem about allowing them (son/daughter) to come in for a short time. Honestly, I would feel bad to make them wait in the hallway like some miscreant. As long as it’s clear that said son/daughter doesn’t come over every day, what’s the problem? It’s a stressful time for families when kids move out. So, essentially, I think they want to cancel because they didn’t feel welcome. But that’s probably just as well as they obviously don’t suit your hosting set-up.

As for the review, I’d be circumspect. Keep it really short and don’t mention anything about “sneaking extra guests” because that’s not actually true!

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It did occur to me that they might have felt a bit inconvenienced that their son couldn’t come into the house and visit with them from time to time as they would be there for 3 months. That does seem a bit harsh, IMO (the OP is entitled to set their own rules of course). I say non booked guests must leave before 9.30pm unless I have been asked for and given permission and even then midnight at the absolute latest. I say it is for safety reasons, for example if there is a fire I need to be able to inform the fire brigade how many people, and what ages, are in the property. They can’t really argue against that. The reality is that once people stay up past midnight talking and drinking they keep going till the wee hours and invariably one of them crashes on the couch.

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I think maybe that’s the essence of it. It’s a tricky one because you really don’t want them to think it’s ok for them to hang out, eat and generally take over your entire house whenever they feel like it. Been there!! On the other hand, you want to make people comfortable and welcome. I’m very upfront about it with guests - it’s nice for parents to see where their son/daughter will be housed temporarily until they move into their proper accommodation, and it’s nice for the kids to see the place where their parents will be staying while they visit (first scenario is the most important, probably!). But I’m very clear that my house can’t be used as a meet-up place.

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If I were you, I would offer a refund for any days I could rebook. Do your rules state that no persons other than registered guests may be on the premises at all? If not, you should rewrite them. I have a childhood friend who stayed in an Airbnb. He had a party there. His reasoning was that as the party-goers weren’t spending the night they weren’t guests. I asked him what he calls people he invites to his house for dinner.

It appears that your guest didn’t understand that her son wouldn’t be allowed to set foot on your property. As she told you that she was accompanying her son to settle him in to his university, I believe that you should have declined her booking. You should have told her that as you don’t permit anyone not on the reservation any access to your property, your listing wouldn’t work for her.

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That reminds me of a particularly funny episode of Fawlty Towers when a guest tries to sneak his Australian girlfriend into his room but Basil is onto them!

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@Magwitch, thanks for your input - the father wasn’t merely “showing” his son the room. There was more discussion, and if that was just the case it wouldn’t have been an issue. I had forgotten to add that the day the husband arrive, I’d emailed the wife to confirm that they were clear with the rules - she already knew from the date of booking that the house would be at full capacity and that I was already making an exception for her to have her husband there. Also, their only Airbnb review states that the “host agreed to allow three of them to stay in one room for the school program the son was attending”. So really it may be a case where they should be renting out an entire apartment, instead of a room in a shared home (with myself, a housemate and other guests on the premises).

Also, I’ve tried it’d both ways - allowing the person who arrives w the guest to come in and also with waiting in the front hallway. If they come in, I then tend to find them in the house, in my kitchen, in the guest’s room (my house rules very clearly state no outside visitors apart from who is on the reservation unless it’s been discussed with me beforehand).

I was very friendly and welcoming, just consistent and clear with the (previously agreed upon and clarified twice) rules. The husband said that he liked it here and was smiling the next morning and we’d made small talk. So I believe it was a case of the wife 1) not communicating the rules to her husband and 2) realizing she couldn’t take over my entire place and not liking that she had to follow someone else rules. I have many guests who come here to visit family (100% of those are returning guests, from once to 4x per year) so I’m not unfamiliar with how this works.

I will definitely take your suggestion about the review under consideration! : 0 )

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I don’t remember that one! Sometimes I do think of dear Basil when I read stuff on here :laughing:

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Hi @EllenN,

Not only do my rules VERY clearly state that “No Guests Who are not on the reservation not allowed in the house for safety and security of everyone living here”. It states that in both my listing and house rules.This guest confirmed TWICE that she’d read and understood them prior to booking. So yes, it’s very obvious.

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@JamJerrupSunset, to be clear, the reservation was for one month (but it had been made 3 months prior). : 0 )

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I think that you need to state that by guests you also mean visitors who won’t be staying the night. As I said some guests think that only people who stay the night are called guests.

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Hi @JamJerrupSunset,

Because of the set up of the house, neighbours (I live in a semi-detached house), elderly indoor pet etc. I’m not comfortable having anyone here who isn’t on the reservation, period. I also say it’s for fire and safety reasons so that there’s no argument there. And you’re right, you give 'em an inch and they take a mile/kilometre! : 0 )

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@HappyHost, you clearly know what you’re doing and have experienced what I referred to about such guests taking over your house! Plus you have other guests to consider. You’re right that they should have taken a full rental. I wouldn’t have made my comment if those details had been included (no criticism intended). So… you definitely dodged a bullet by the sounds of it, but now you have to deal with the refund issue. He said ‘I hope we can negotiate’. So your negotiation is ‘if I can book the days that you tied up for 3 months, sure I will refund you’.

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@Ellen I state that no visitors are allowed in the house, only registered guests Period. It’s super clear. Sorry, I may have mis written it at guests before. : o )

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Thank-you @konacoconutz!

I tried to like your comment but am, sadly out of likes right now.

I really like what you write in so many of your comments! I’ve so enjoyed reading these posts here that I’m seriously considering cancelling my Netflix subscription and this stuff is WAY more exciting! Oh, and also, can you please write more about your ex-husbands? It’s super entertaining! :grinning:

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