Hi Everyone,
To be clear - since I’m feeling the need to defend myself- this was my day yesterday - I woke up at 5:30 a.m. for work, worked then spent 2.5 hours in a dentist’s chair having work done (no freezing) came home exhausted, and as I was about to go to sleep, received the guest’s request. In my tiredness I (incorrectly) calculated this as 20 days. The request in itself was not unreasonable, but her not accepting no for an answer as someone who has never used Airbnb before and isn’t sure on how it works was too much for me at that point.
In my listing it says that “On rare occasions I may be able to accommodate a second person on a mattress on the floor”.
Regardless, I don’t run a rooming house, which is what it will feel like to the other guests (who had already asked the maximum number of guests during their stay) should there be one more person sharing the bathroom, kitchen, laundry facilities etc.
This is also coming directly on the tail of nightmare guest (who was pissed off that she couldn’t use the entire house as her own apartment but only wanted to Airbnb a room) which is on a different thread.
So, if I’d had sleep, and wasn’t feeling so jaded after the last guest (who held the reservation for 3 months prior to arriving) then perhaps I would have allowed it. However, everything combined has led me to make the best decision for myself and my home. I’ve had other guests ask to add someone, however, with the set up of my home, it’s on a case-by-case basis. I’ve been on Airbnb for 3 years, did homestay prior to that and have been hosting international guests for almost 15 years, so not new to this rodeo - feeling defensive.
I spent most of my walk (45 mins) to work on the phone with Airbnb, being told that I would be penalized if I cancelled (guest arrives in 9 days). Emailed the guest to explain that I’d be happy for her to not have to pay anything on my end should she need to cancel. She thanked me, responded and asked if she could still leave a review because I’ve been so helpful to her. So that’s that. Exhausted, frazzled, out of $3000 for this guest but still feel that I did the right thing.
Thanks again @konacoconutz for your consistent, positive, kind and helpful support. Also, @Alia_Gee, @Magwitch, @hypertokyo thanks again!