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This just amazes me. I think I have seen everything then I get something like this…
I have a 2br unit that sleeps 8 guests. I have it listed with max # of guests = 8.
I charge the same for my unit whether they have 1 guest or 8. This is explained in my listing and my rules.
A guest booked, choosing 8 guests.
Guest: “what the max amount of people is allowed? You had put no extra charge for people.”
Me: "The unit can have a maximum of 8 guests. I charge by the unit, not number of guests, but you can not exceed the maximum. "
Guest: “My group is bigger than the 8. My group has 11. It states no extra charge for extra guests but yet you’re saying only 8 are allowed. It doesn’t make any sense to be honest.”
Me: "Here is the rule you accepted when you booked: All guests of all ages including infants must be included in your total guest count - I do not charge extra per guest but the total guest count may not exceed the maximum allowed for the unit. "
They ask about cancellation - I have strict, and if they cancel they would lose money. I tell them if I can resell I will refund them… Then, they get airbnb support involved. And I am sure airbnb had fun explaining to the guest how this works. This group had previously been cancelled on, and found my listing, and totally misunderstood thinking that I just put 8 because it was a nice number, and they could pack their 11 in the unit.
Wow. Just Wow. Yes I have had to deal with the group of 8 that also brings an infant or two - that is more palatable since airbnb offers this and it is difficult to explain this to people. But the misunderstanding of this guest just amazes me. I thought I would share as others might also get some amazement or amusement from the situation. Airbnb must have helped them get another unit for their extra 3 guests - as airbnb support messaged me that all was good, and to send a “request money” to the booking that airbnb would pay for a late checkout charge for the group of 8.
Sorry for your frustration with mental midgets. Nothing surprises me as far as guests go. Some try and change the rules to get what they want and then play dumb.
Without seeing your listing, it seems like the confusion is over some wording around “no extra charge for extra guests”. I don’t think you need to put anything about “extra” guests at all, just state that the maximum number of guests is 8. There is no additional charge for up to 8 guests, and that more than 8 are not allowed. Maybe you can post the exact wording you currently have in your house rules? The infants part is a little tricky because Airbnb doesn’t count infants as guests, but as you said, it’s more palatable.
It’s an unfortunate problem that there are some guests that try to stuff as many people as they can into as cheap of a space as they can. You need to make sure your wording is very clear on what you will except. Without seeing your exact wording, we can’t be sure if it’s really clear.
I encountered this confusion very often.
Until I put extra 100$ for additional guest after 8th.
I think it’s confusing for many people. It doesn’t make sense why they don’t pay attention to maximum amount of people, but the fact is they don’t.
Also how they can imagine to fit 11 people into 2 bedroom .
I think even 8 is a lot.
It’s phrased a little differently, but it makes sense. A lot of people would welcome thi as eight is a big group. My guess is that with a party of 11 chose not to understand. Won’t be the first.
Oh dear, it sounds as though there has been a bit of confusion - when it comes to guests it’s always wise to go for making everything crystal clear - from listings to booking restrictions and house rules.
I agree with Brian, maybe make it even more clear in terms of how many guests you can accommodate e.g. this unit accommodates from 1 to 8 people (maximum) - and just state the total cost.
Potential guests may be zooming in on the words “no extra charge for extra guests,” taking the sentence out of context and drawing their own conclusions! Make it as simple as possible!
I have a max of 6 in my 3 bed 2 bath and a $500 per guest extra charge per night for extra guests. This is in place for the sneaky ones who bring without disclosing as the charge would never show up because you cannot book more than 6. It is in my house rules as well. Since I put it in house rules I have not had anyone sneak in a guest, yet. I also have no pet policy and a $500 pet fee for undisclosed animals in the house rules. So far, knock on wood, nobody has tried to sneak in animals. Cameras are a hosts friend.
And I once had somebody who tried to book for Mum, Dad and 7 children in my 1 bed unit… he told me the children would sleep on the floor - no, they won’t!
My very first Airbnb guest wanted to have 14 people sleep in my 4-bedroom listing which has max of 10. They also wanted to have an additional 12 people over for dinner for a total of 26 people! It turned out OK, because more than half of the people they wanted to invite couldn’t make it.
i’d say something like “The place can accomodate 8 people max, including children and infants” and I’ll take the no extra charge out. keep it simple so people can understand at a glance.
I too had inquiries from people wanting to book 2 people and their infant in my spare room in the house i live in, which spare room is listed for max 2. When I reply to them where the baby is going to sleep they are either clueless or they ask if they can bring their own foldable bed. To which I say no, there’s no room, there’s a reason why I limit the number of people to 2.
We charge for people over two, so I have in the house rules “we will deny lodging to any person that exceeds our maximum of six guests”. Also that we charge $200 per night per person over what they booked and paid for - unless they tell us and pay our standard fee BEFORE they arrive.
I think the problem is that if a host does not indicate a charge for extra guests (like in your case because you include all of your 8 max in the price) Airbnb publishes “No extra charge” in the Extra Guest Fee slot instead of “Not allowed” or “Not allowed over max” or something similar. That is why I recommend that hosts ALWAYS include an extra guest charge. But that doesn’t really work for you and so you get guests seeing this and wanting to bring in extra guests at no charge, just as they are reading that Airbnb wrote.
Of course there are also those guests that will see a $20 per night after the first guest listed under that Additional Prices heading and say, yay! I can just pay the $20 each for 20 people…it does not show what the listing max is on that page.
And all this is only on the app. I just went to the website on my laptop and I can’t even find the Additional Prices section!
Yes they amaze me too, I state, my place is a perfect getaway for one couple or a nice vacation spot for a small family. I have one queen and a bunk bed and pull out trundle. (3singles)
People continue to try and book 5-8 adults. I will make exceptions for adult children and other family members.
I asked one fellow, where were you planning to sleep? He said camp on the couch. I said we have a love seat. I have had young people try and sneak extra guests. We live on a dead end road in the country and I live on the other side of the house. I gave them both a lecture and collected the $20. I am way more careful accepting now, if the the word cool or dude comes up alarm bells are ringing.
I don’t need cameras, I greet my guests and give them a short tour on how to’s, hot tub etc.
I am astonished at how often I find myself editing my listings to improve them from a communication standpoint. Just when I think I’ve got it down, someone comes along who completely misses or misunderstands a key point. I think it comes down to the busy world we all live in - it is hard to pin people down long enough to fully read something. I love staying in Airbnbs in part so I can glean communication tips from other hosts.
My listing says expressly four is max, only one extra beyond that, and you’llbe Charged 25 a night for that extra person. No children from 0-12 years old.
And they tried to bring two adults, three children under four, and five adults. And I was supposed to be happy about it.
Lost the booking because Air Bnb got THEM to cancel.
Not letting these people stomp all over me.
Eight is too damn many in a two bedroom two bath. Think of the utilities, hot water, abuse. I wouldn’t dream of having eight people in my two bedroom one bath.
