Guest's flight arrives at 7 a.m., I work, check in time begins at 6 p.m

Ha! I used to teach kids and now work as an ESL teacher (mostly adults and teens) and I ALWAYS lay out my expectations before hand (I can control my classes easier then guests). I also ALWAYS walk my guests through from the second they walk in the door and say things like “I know it sounds ridiculous, but PLEASE be sure to TURN the door knobs when going into or out of a room”…etc…they don’t even get to put their stuff in the room before I’m showing them where to take their shoes off!

And I agree 100% - I tend to initially scare my students with my rules on their first day (no cell phones, it’s rude and you’re probably not texting in English, one person talking at a time, if you’re more than a minute late, you have to sing a song - in English) - it’s awesome to watch them running into my class after breaks - not because they’re eager to learn (well, maybe that too) but the fear of having to sing in front of the class! :rofl:

P.S. Just went through each listing (for each room) and changed the rule to how you’d phrased it! Thanks again (world domination, one guest at a time)!!!

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YEAH!! I’M THE BOSS (right?)! :slightly_smiling_face:

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Good, then you already got it! :rofl::rofl:

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:1st_place_medal: :1st_place_medal:

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Plus, even if she cancels, that’s okay, someone else will book (I have strict cancellation policy), so better to get rid of the ones who will end up being a pain. As well, I get A LOT of newbies as of late, so it’s up to me to train them so that they know what is expected and for future hosts as well. I mean, they…OH CRAP…so I wrote what you’d suggested (brilliant) and now she came back with

“It’ll only be for that short time and we will be out for the majority of the time so we shouldn’t get in the way of anyone much. I’d be happy to pay extra for that part of his stay. It’ll just make the short visit easier. Is there any way you can help out please?”

Now what? Say “I’m so sorry, we’re at capacity, so the house can’t hold any more people”? I did and she didn’t get it…She is going to be here for 3 months but then again…Do I say “20 days is not a short time”, NO. HELL NO.? Or “I realize that you’re new to Airbnb but there are rules that we have to follow.I have already promised the guests and my housemate a maximum number of people in the house”? Or “In all of my years of hosting guests, I have never encountered this kind of last minute request for almost a month’s time of a second person. Once again, I cannot accommodate him here. I’m sorry. It wouldn’t be fair to the others. I do understand if you want to cancel your booking and try to find somewhere else that can accommodate the two of you. Please let me know what you decide asap as you have two days left where you can cancel without penalty”???

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Shouldn’t that be a sticker or a class dojo point? :rofl:

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YES, that’s wHat you want to say.
I’m really disliking this guest, she sound a bit desperate, and the pushing back at you after you already said no is worrisome.

She may have detected a little wishiwashiness in your previous answer about sleeping it on it. NO matter, you will be firm from now on.

DO send that, it’s exactly how you want to respond.
If it were me, honestly? I would call Air and say you are getting more and more uncomfortable by this pushy guest and you would like them to cancel it without penalty,

You know what else I think? She was planning to bring Prince Charming all along and thought she’d have good luck springing it on you casually.

Honestly… three months is … well you know how we think about bookings longer than 30 days…

Call Air to ask them to cancel this?

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If she’s being this much of a pill before she even gets there, it’s gunna be a long three months. :-1::dizzy_face::triumph::grimacing:

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You’re so right, @konacoconutz! Have you ever thought of starting your own cult? Oh wait… :grin:

I’ve sent the following (just now):

"I realize that you’re new to Airbnb, so may not quite understand how things work.

I have been doing this for over 15 years, and no one has ever asked to have an extra person stay this close to the date of arrival. This should have been in your initial inquiry (over a month ago) and I would have declined your booking request at that time. Also, you should be aware that any infringement of the house rules or Airbnb rules results in an immediate cancellation of the booking. This is important for all Airbnb guests to know.

Once again - I’m sorry. It wouldn’t be fair to the others. I do understand if you want to cancel your booking and try to find somewhere else that can accommodate the two of you. Please let me know what you decide asap as you have until the end of Friday (tomorrow) to cancel without penalty and I have others who would be happy to take your place. "

Okay, so that last line is a bit bitchier than usual/necessary, however,r this is a busy time and there are lots of people looking for something close to the university now, plus she’s brand new to Airbnb so she may (hopefully) have a moment of realizing that 'Oh, wait, I might not have anywhere to stay if I keep this up. Better find a hotel to stay in with boyfriend WHILE paying for my Aifrbnb which I’ll never be in." Win/win!

Will call Air as well to discuss!

Thank-you Oh Mighty One (trying to find an emoji of blue koolaid)!

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I just want to point out that this is 10 days, not 20. If she offered to pay for the extra person, I wouldn’t take it as a personal insult that she asked. Plans change. Also, I would probably host her boyfriend for these 10 days. If you really cannot host him because your house if full, that’s another thing. But I don’t think there’s anything unusual or outright rude in her request. Especially if she booked a room that can usually take an extra person, and was willing to pay for their stay. She probably should’ve mention in the beginning that she might have visitors at same point, but maybe it didn’t occur to her as the room is capable of hosting two people, so she figured out you two can work it out if need be.

She’s coming for a long stay and these are usually harder to plan i every small detail than short vacations.

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Well I might have left out the first part, but I am glad you were clear. She sounds like a kid arguing with her mom… “please…??? We won’t get in your way!!” Pretty certain this girl was planning to have the guy there all along, and just sprung it on you at the last minute.

I still might call Air to see if they could cancel it for you.

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Am I the only one around here who doesn’t think that this girl is unreasonable? If the room is capable of holding two guests (and it is), I would find it unusual if my host would be completely unflexible with me paying extra for having a second person now and then. Unless it is stated in the description that sometimes 2 person room cannot host more than one person if other rooms are full to their capacity.

That’s what I did in my last longer rental. I was renting the room for 2 months and I rented out double bedroom on purpose in the case some of my friends or boyfriend want to visit. There was no problem with arranging that, my boyfriend stayed for 10 days in the end. I didn’t have to pay extra, but I was willing to. I don’t see why the host would cancel this reservation. Whenever I had guests staying for longer time I was a bit more flexible with visits, as long as the number of people wasn’t going over the maximal number of people on the listing.

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I agree. I don’t see anything wrong with the guest asking if her boyfriend can stay with her, especially since the guest offered to pay for the boyfriend.

We often complain that guests expect us to read their minds. In this case I believe the host was expecting the guest to magically know that he/she would be irritated at being asked if he/she would like to make extra money.

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It does seem strange that a host wouldn’t want to make guest happy and make more money. It seems like any deviation from first booking bothers them. I know people who do the same things week after week, year after year, and cant imagine change. I knew a fellow who won a trip for a weekend, he turned it down because it would mean he’d miss having breakfast at a local restaurant which he did every Sunday. My life is the opposite, and it’s quite common for me to have plans change due to friends, family or my own needs.

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10 days out of a three month stay? And she offered to pay?
If I were the guest I’d be wondering exactly what I asked that was so awful. What a sour way to start out a stay.

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Exactly, EllenN. Mind you, she didn’t ask to bring a visitor, but a paying guest. That’s a huge difference. I would be additionally repelled by host’s condescending tone from the last message. I’m a host and yet and I cannot grasp the source of this irritation.

I had guests adding people later to their reservation for a full or a part of their stay. I didn’t see any problem with that.

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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!

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I don’t think Happy should have felt pressured to take the unexpected person, even for one night. I didn’t like the way she pushed back at you instead of respecting your answer, putting you on the spot.

I wonder if the Line about the mattress on the floor should get removed… keep it simple, guests will misinterpret. . Better to extend that courtesy when the situation warrants.

I’m glad the reservation got cancelled. Sounds like the guest needed a different situation.

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My anecdata: girl who politeky asked if her cousin could share her bed the day before she was supposed to arrive. I politely said No. She argued. I said no, pointed out that if she wanted to cancel I would give her a full refund. She argued again. At which point I called airbnb and told them I wasn’t comfortable with this guest because she wasn’t respecting my boundaries and they cancelled her.

A month later, the morning a woman arrives,she asks if her boyfriend, who’s had some travel difficulty, can also stay for one night.

Because there was no time for her to get different accommodation and I was trying to be nicer, I said ok, but pay extra $25. She said sure. I put a request through airbnb. Guy stayed.

Month later, still no $25.

(I’m getting quite a list of things to call Airbnb about, when i have time to wait on hold)

… so both guests were not respectful, but in different ways. One argued, one agreed but then blithely did what she wanted without consequence. I’m not sure which was more irritating, but both left a bad taste in my mouth.

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I’m glad that you are ok with how things worked out @HappyHost. I have to say, though, that forfeiting $3000 for not allowing the guest to add an additional person to the booking for a certain period when you have the capacity to accommodate them is completely and utterly beyond my comprehension !
But we all have to do what we’re comfortable with.

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