“My insurance requires” many things when needed. Your handy excuse. “My cleaner’s” tight schedule is another. But the most important thing is to let folks know that you’re in charge. It really does help to be on site, though.
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Agreed. It took a minute to figure out how to do that and still be received as hospitable and agreeable. Mostly I’ve found establishing the pecking order from the start sets a good expectation. For me that begins with requiring written acknowledgment of having read and agreeing to abide by the house rules. People still test the limits at times but I like that there are few surprises for my guests if I have to address an issue (as the consequences are usually covered in the rules).
I hope this doesn’t come off wrong, but I’ve gone from feeling like they are doing me a favor to the other way around when I allow them into my home. Not in a cocky way, but I think I was sending the wrong vibe in the beginning & thus asking for trouble (& even many of the nice people really took advantage, in retrospect)
Since the original guest is no longer on the property, this is now an illegal (through Air) third party booking and as such can be canceled immediately by the host.
On the Air Message platform inform the young man who is NOT staying there that a third party contract violates Air’s Terms of Service and that you’re canceling the reservation and she must go right now. Oh, and he’s not getting a refund.
Text them both with the same message but keep messaging through Air.
YOUR home, YOUR rules. They have to go.
I’ve had many guests have the number 1 in the guest listing and 2 show up (my max and no extra charges for 2) because they didn’t “see/know/understand” that they needed to put down 2 people in the reservation. It all gets sorted out, but it’s annoying.
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I guess I am missing something. I didn’t see where the booking guest had departed. @Ola what does that mean above, that you accepted this young lady for an LTR outside of IB limits?
There is a misunderstanding about his departure. The boy declared that he is coming in town to visit his girlfriend who live here. The girl popped up with him. Looking nice and sweet I accepted her to stay with him. He booked a LTR, indeed.
Okay, so there are only 2 people in the current stay, not 3. And if the boy had booked properly, this girl would have been there anyway. So you would likely have been saddled with this unpleasant guest no matter what. But what to do now?
Once you decided to accept her you should have asked for her name/age and updated the reservation guest count. The booking guest would then “accept” the reservation change. If he did not accept the change this could be grounds to terminate the stay as a violation of Air policy (someone already said this above in a little different way). You likely could still use this as a way out, although some may find it ethically questionable since you verbally accepted her. No matter what, you should update the reservation, IMO.
If any guest calls or messages outside of AirBnB, please message them on AirBnB reiterating the conversation or in response to the query. You may need this documentation later. I always tell the guest this is what I am doing for consistency.
Besides her pestering you, if she (they) are damaging the home, you can get pictures and contact AirBnB to get their stay terminated early. Be prepared you may have to refund any unused days as AirBnB is not sympathetic to hosts usually & consider if you wish to charge for the damages (you’d use the Resolution Center and if you have good documentation you usually get obvious damages reimbursed but anything else - like extra filth, sneaking in pets or people, smoking, etc. will only be paid if the guest agrees, even if they are in the wrong).
Because of all the complaining, you are likely not getting a good review from them anyway, so why suffer through the entire stay? For the money? A personal choice - no judgement here.
You seem to not want them there but your empathy for the girl is making you want to find a reason to let her stay (hence all the analyzing)? This is your business and it will not last long if you tie your emotions to your guests this way. Although, I do admire your heart for other’s plights, it’s a hard way to be able to stay in business for very long.
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Thank you for the time spent by advising me. Beautifully said and very helpful! Thank you!
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Just to conclude the story: The reservation was cancelled by the guest under my pressure after a bunch of costly damages (most likely they tried to implement some blog advises on “how to stay on Airbnb for free”). The guest was partially reimbursed with my consent even if he bought a non-refundable reservation… I was sure that for them not having a place to stay is the maximum possible punishment… Airbnb told me that they removed this person from the system but I’m not sure at all that he was who he claimed to be… Airbnb compensated me with a symbolic amount after half a year of explanations and another half of waiting. The girl is still free on the market and libre to enroll on Airbnb platform 
so… if a Romanian poor young girl called Ana-Maria, speaking Japanese and Korean is knocking your door, better remember that you’ve read this forum story before opening the door.
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I would have done the same thing 
Funny… Glad the whole thing is behind you right now @Ola. FYI, I also tend to be ready to bend rules for people who remind me of who I was (or my sister was…). I am not always happy about the results but I still feel like I need to do it.
How is your hosting experience so far, after a track record longer by 2 years?
Thanks @KasualObserver, for acting like my eldest brother I didn’t had
Because of my long experience I tend now to mainly consider “my rules” over any “platform rules” and occasionally give a chance to a poor girl who really wants to learn and improve herself. In my opinion she was paying too high a price for the chance of speaking Japanese and Korean. What I hope for her is that the fake Japanese male to be caught, packed and sent back to his origins 
My whole hosting experience is longer than 2 years, thank you for asking. In a single word: funny (but not so rewarding). We are caught up inside these platform’s like mice on wheels.
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Turn off Instant Book, and review guests’ history before you accept. Do they have a history with Airbnb, and what have previous hosts said about them? You can get a feel for the sort of person they are with just this simple screening. If they don’t meet your needs, politely decline. And I’ve found that working hard to get 5 star ratings from guests (Superhost status), means you have people practically begging to stay with you. So screen people thoroughyl, is my advice.
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I also don’t use IB, and while the majority of my guests have had a history as guests, with good reviews, I have also accepted guests with no reviews and they have been lovely guests. To me, the communication is key. If they send a nice, informative, friendly request message, answer any questions I might have in a timely, thorough manner, I have no qualms about accepting them.
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