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!
What should I do about a guest who booked for three people and is telling us he’s bringing 5?
He made the original booking three months ago, and his reservation is in a few weeks and he just contacted me last night telling me he’s coming with 5 and “didn’t want it to be a surprise.”
I wrote back and said we can only accommodate 4 max (Our max guest is 4 people (we have our reasons: septic, hot water heater, noise, plus it’s only a 2 bedroom!) and it might make sense for him to contact Airbnb to see if they can help him find better suited accommodations.
He wrote back with a super snarky response that he was basically doing me a favor by telling me he was bringing 2 extra people and that everything else is booked and he hopes I’ll consider his situation.
I’ve learned that these people who want to break and bend the rules before they’ve even checked in are not the kind of guests who respect our house or give a good rating. How should I move forward? I am really hoping I can get him to cancel the reservation or Airbnb to cancel without me having to do it.
What an absolute ( pardon my Tourettes) arsehole. You are fortunate that it’s a booking somewhat ahead of time but I would personally contact Air to discuss; that’s when they get to see the message thread and how snarky guests are being. He’s breaking their ToS, with knobs on, and will hopefully treat him with disdain, as they have this w/e with some guests I’m too tired to comment on…but they were utterly brilliant! At least you will have time to take other bookings going forward.
Just don’t let them in. You’re within your rights. If you have a 4 person max clearly noted on your listing, then this bloke hasn’t got a leg to stand on. Call Airbnb at once and have them cancel the booking.
Although I have to say that there is a side of me (and not my best one) that would love to have the guest arrive so that I could tell him exactly where to go to his face.
Just to give a different perspective than cancelling. A couple of times, out of several hundred bookings, I’ve had guests ask if they can bring 5 instead of the (max) 4 after booking. I tell them that the place is only set up for 4 (double + 2 single beds, 4 towels, 4 dining chairs, 4 wine glasses, 4 seats to watch tv etc) and the 2 seater sofa isn’t suitable for sleeping on so they will (a) have to pay the extra guests charge and (b) provide all the extra bedding etc themselves. In the end I appreciated them asking and while also on septic and rain tank it was only 1 extra person for 2 nights. And they left a great review. But your place, your rules.
I think the difference with your situation @JamJerrupSunset is that you were asked if they can bring one additional guests not told that they were bringing two guests.
@belwoodranch Airbnb makes it clear that a booking can be cancelled with no penalty if guests break your house rules - which this guests clearly want to.
Give them a call and once they see the guests messaging on their system is should be fairly straight forward.
Fair point. He proved the saying “it is better to ask forgiveness than to seek permission” should add “and either are better than telling someone in advance you plan to break their rules anyway” I am still remembering the time I had 3 turn up for a booking for 2 and only noticed when 3 left in the car and two were identical twins.
I immediately messaged him saying he must have forgotten to book for the extra person and asked for the extra person supplement which he promptly apologised for and paid. I am guessing they had used this before
Brilliant! Being an identical twin must be such good fun
This last weekend I had a couple booked into our 2-person-max apartment. Two people arrived but for the whole weekend, there was another bloke here too. I don’t charge for extras because (in theory) I don’t allow them. But because this was a two night rental, I didn’t mind.
I have the two guest rule because I worry that the plumbing in our MCM building can’t cope with more that two guests per apartment. But for a weekend, fine. I prefer to have a flexible attitude
I never remember anyone’s name so she when I talk to them both separately assuming it was the same person one wouldn’t have felt obliged to say “I’m not Sharon, I’m Susan”.
My insurance company wont let me be flexible on guest numbers. Every person who stays has to be on the Airbnb booking request. If it says two people it has to be two people otherwise my insurance is null and void. Its works out as a great excuse.
I couldn’t find this on their Help page anymore. Can you point me to it? I have a guest with zero communication arriving tomorrow and I have been trying to contact him with no avail. Airbnb also is unable to reach him since he booked which was long time ago until today. His phone number is non existent and even the CS can’t reach him. One of my House Rules is the guest must read our House Guide before arrival and communicate. I would like to cancel but the link where it used to show that hosts could cancel penalty free if guests broke house rules is gone.
This also sounds like a situation where you don’t send any check in information until you hear from the guest. Then at least he can’t get in. However you should be aware that Airbnb takes a very dim view of hosts canceling on guests for reasons you can well imagine.
What was their initial message and subsequent communication (if any)? Where are they travelling from? When did they book?
Sometimes you need to be Inspector Clouseau to work out what is going on with guests. And you haven’t provided enough information for bored airbnb-host-detectives
This guest unfortunately was not an IB, he had wrote when he requested the booking his check in time (afternoon, not certain time) and check out time. I thanked his booking and repeated a few points in the listing and approved his request. That was on November, his check in date is tomorrow. I started trying to contact him again to send the check in info (we have self check in) but he hadn’t replied and also Airbnb couldn’t reach him.
Unfortunately i have already sent him the check in code information. Also, I just got off the phone with Airbnb again and they said in cases like this unresponsive guest they wait 24h after check in, if by then the guest has not communicated anything and also hasn’t checked in they will go ahead and cancel on behalf of the guest.
They will continue trying to reach him but I have to wait until 24h after check in time for them to cancel on behalf of the guest with no penalty on my side. And as I have an Strict cancellation policy, the guest won’t be entitled to a refund.
I wish I had read earlier the advice of not sending the House Guide.
Thank you, everyone. Hope this one works out well. I am very concerned because it is a room in my house.
There was no subsequent communication after the booking request. His phone number is incomplete (missing digits). It says in his profile ‘France’ as his location but the phone country code is not from France and after the country code there are only 4 digits. I don’t think any phone number on planet Earth now has only four digits. He just said he is travelling with his father to visit his university student here. So I imagine his father is at least 75, he must be around 45 for him to come see his almost graduating daughter.
I am not comfortable now as I imagine they will complain the room is small etc. I have been hosting for many years now with over 400 reviews and at least 800 guests. My listing is a single bed and an adittional mattress on the floor for the second guest. This is explicit in my listing in the first sentence as well as shown from the second picture on. Now with his absence of communication, no response even to Airbnb, 4 digit phone number, I smell big problem.Probably will arrive here expecting a hotel room. My goodness.
