Two guests, let’s call them Adult A and Adult B, sent an inquiry for their first Airbnb stay. My guest limit is 2. They asked, nicely, if they could bring a child and air mattress, and I agreed.
I ran into them as they were self-checking in, and they had an extra relative with them, an older teen. It was very late, they had tickets for an event the next day, so I thought OK, I’ll address this in the private feedback.
They were very excited about the event and staying in an Airbnb, the kids were super polite, they all spoiled my dogs, they bought things off my souvenir sale shelf.
However, the compliments came with requests from Adult A – more trash bags (the first morning? with 3 trash cans in the suite and more in the driveway?), more towels (10 sets of bath towels and washcloths in 3 days?), instructions to me to reset the WiFi (um no, the carrier reported some problems but it was working, and didn’t you say you’d be out touring all day?).
Check out day and I was not surprised to see them still there at check out time. Just as I was about to go bang on the door, Adult A approached and asked if anyone else was checking in that day. I replied that if they were asking to stay another day, sorry, I couldn’t accommodate them. They packed up their vehicle, then there was another knock on the door. this time Adult B, who handed me quite a bit of cash. I told them it was not necessary, they insisted, told me it was for all my trouble, and they hoped to be able to book again.
Would I host them again? Probably. They were inexperienced guests. They would have to agree to no extra people and there would be a towel limit. There’s a Dollar Store nearby if they need more.
Would a review of “Friendly folks, nice to my dogs, tidied up. They brought an extra person, so there were requests for more supplies, which we worked out.” give enough information?
First timers expecting hotel service.
My question to myself is -would I have them back?
Sounds like they paid up and 4 guests over 3 days and 10 sets of towels…not so bad,
they get new towels at a hotel.
I would leave them a reasonable review and do an explanation of how things work in the private feedback. We don’t want to scare them off!
I am not keen on them bringing another person without asking properly.
I would be upset about the extra person, but since you did not address it upfront you allowed it. They stayed, they paid and you would have them again. Not sure what the issue is.
RR
There’s the problem. You broke your own rules. Now you’re complaining that they broke them too? When they brought the “older teen” at check-in you should have refused them entry, and called Air immediately.
Rate them 1 star in Communications. 1 star in Cleanliness, and low in everything else.
“Guest was nice enough, but is new to Airbnb and does not really understand the Home Stay concept. Among other things, they brought not one but two extra guests (children) to a space intended for two adults and expected us to just accommodate them. Guest might be better suited to a motel.”
I’m in the camp of these guests are okay. So I’d include what happened (briefly) in the review and let the next hosts decide if it works with their rental. We’ve heard of it before and we hear it again, if you give in on one “rule” it signals that it’s not a rule and other rules can be bent. If you had stuck to no, it’s a two adult limit they would have booked elsewhere and you could have gotten a booking that conformed to your rules. But you would have made a good bit less money.
OTOH, they in every other way sound like well above average guests.
I’d be happy to host them #cash send them my way!
Maybe mention in the review that they turned up with extra guests but it all worked out fine, which I think it did
Thanks much for the varied responses, good food for thought, RRR, the issue is at the end “Would a review of “Friendly folks, nice to my dogs, tidied up. They brought an extra person, so there were requests for more supplies, which we worked out.” give enough information?” for YOU as a possible future host?
Yes, that would put me on notice that they snuck in an extra guest which would be important to know.
RR
To close the thread – I submitted the written review about as I had drafted it, but gave a thumb’s up. I considered addressing the extra person privately, but felt I owed it to other hosts to be public. Some hosts, and they would be completely within their rights, would have just turned the group away when they arrived at midnight with too many people.
The guests were what I would call open-hearted people and I think sincerely wanted to have a “like family” experience where the rules didn’t matter. However, I am running a business here. The number of guests is limited under my local government lodging permit, and my house rules are quite clear.