Where is the help for hosts. Assistance required.

[Peter671]

What is the recource when additional people turn up to stay? A booking today was made for two people and three adults have turned up. The booking for 3 days! We are currently in drought mode so the extra resources shower toilets etc will be sifnificant. Our listing is for two persons only. I cannot find anywhere on this site where I can either get help or assistance to my enquiry easily. Feeling really peeved and let down.  We pay fees and recieve very little in return. 

[Glen-and-Esther0]

@Peter671

You can message to the guests directly and nicely to tell them that you are charging them an extra amount per night for the third person as they've only booked for 2.  Then you can "request money" and they can responde to it. If they do not respond, Airbnb can get involved and charge them on your behalf. 

If it's urgent, you can try to contact Airbnb directly via the site here:

https://www.airbnb.co.nz/help/contact_us#/%C2%A0

Hopefully you can have this resolved soon. 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Peter671

The only thing you can do in such a case is turn them away or let only two persons enter. Showing up with three persons on a two person booking for a place that is listed as sleeps two is a breach of contract and the third person is literally trespassing. As soon as you have let them pass the threshold the damage is done and might considered an acceptance of the situation.

airbnb cannot do much for you in such a situation other than cancel the booking and assist the guests finding alternative accomodation.  You need to be your own boss and be prepared for any kind of situation that may occur.  You pay airbnb (and other listing sites) to list on their site.

[Robin4]

@Peter671

Hi Peter, Airbnb works well because of 'trust'! Both hosts and guests have an expectation that they can trust each other to do the right thing.

But the platform also revolves around the review system! You are at liberty to either turn these guests away or insist that they declare the correct guest numbers and pay the appropriate amount for the additional guest.

Each approach is going to guarantee you of a poor review. We work so hard for what we get Peter, we need to do everything we can to protect it.

I, through the message stream so there is a record of it, would say to the guest who booked...." Even though you have booked for two people I am only to happy to accommodate the three of you and make your stay one you will remember for all the right reasons, but you have put me in a difficult situation here! The Airbnb protection scheme at present only recognises that there are two people staying in the property! If an issue arrises it is probably that neither you nor I will have the advantage of that protection scheme. Airbnb will write you off because you have not abided by the house rules, and I will penalised for going along with it! I am sure you will understand this. I want nothing more than to help you but l need you to amend your guest numbers so that we can each be sure that things will run smoothly" 

Saying something like this will make them feel guilty! If you start threatening them or throwing water surcharges at them they will resent you, and when their review comes that resentment will be reflected in the review.

The art of being a good host Peter, is to be conciliatory, be a diplomat! It may mean you have to negotiate a slightly higher amount with the guest which you could them obtain through the resolution centre, but the reason we are in this business is to make money, and Peter, 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing! negotiate a settlement with these guests and then you can put that settlement to the resolution centre via this link.....

https://www.airbnb.com/resolutions  or going to the ' Send or Request money' field at the head of the message stream with this guest.

I hope what I have said can help you get around this situation without too much damage Peter.

Cheers....Rob

[Peter671]

Thank you all for the promt feedback.  As suggested I will contact the guest and discuss the matter directly before proceeding with any action. My space is considerably small and really cannot support additional adults. Also being in drought mode at the moment has everyone in our area on alert. Thank you again for your advise. 

[Helga0]

@Peter671, you have a cute holiday home. That would pass for a middle sized space in Paris. Seeing a double bed and two couches, people may think, they can come as a group of four. 

You have already in your text, that three adults are maybe possible  on prior request and negotiations only, but you should also indicate a price for extra people. 

Since the last change, such a fee is no longer visible - it’s simply not possible to choose 3 adults. The number and the price stay at 2 persons. 

[Robin4]

 @Helga0 despite what @Peter671 says in his listing as compared to what he shows, I agree with you that charging is becoming more difficult and more confrontational!

I have a situation where I have a queen sized bed for which I charge a couple $85 AU per night. I also have a sofa bed that will accommodate another one or two people, and this is fine because my base nightly charge is for two people, with a $15 AU charge for each additional person up to a maximum of 5. This is all taken care of automatically through the booking system.

Where my issue comes in Helga, I often get two people who are not a significant couple and require the use of both beds....one in each. I would like to charge the additional person fee when this situation arrises to cover the additional servicing cost attached to the use of that second bed, but that pricing ability no longer exists and my only option is to request extra money through the resolution centre, and doing that is a guaranteed way to get guests off-side and the hosting off to a bad start.

So I just take the hit and absorb the additional work.

Additional @Kelly149 undeclared guests are a problem that has always been with us and I do wish that the Tech Team could come up with a cleverly worded, user friendly way for both guests and host to get around this problem without resorting to 'Special Offers' and 'Send or Request Money' fields.

It could be as simple as a box next to the 'Who is coming on this trip' that says "Are your guest numbers correct? Undisclosed guest do not have Airbnb rights or priveledges and may be refused accommodation by the host"! And when the guest numbers are inserted the price is automatically calculated. It is fine if it happens during the booking process, if it raises itself after booking confirmation, it becomes an issue which almost invariably creates tension.

There some good points here, and I thank @Peter671 for getting this thread going!

Cheers....Rob

[Helga0]

@Robin4, the two persons two double beds is a recurring problem. If they stay a week, extra person fee would be too much. 

Many regions have linnen fees or bring your own sheets. You could add a phrase: the price for two persons is based on the use of one bed. Sheets for a second bed are 15 AUD at arrival (or bring your own sheets for the send bed.) / Variation : price is based one bedroom , use of second bedroom = xxx aud cleaning and washing fee. (And lock it)

if bringing sheets is an option, you need to specify sizes of beds and covers. We had that a few times. Or made deals like: ok, but you wash all your beach towels the evening before departure, hang them to dry overnight. One person has to get up early and wash her bedding, hang it, the second has to be in the machine and turning at key handover. (Washing machine turning was the normal condition for same day switchover between late departure and early arrival) 

[Robin4]

Hi again Helga,

Yeah I can state these things in my listing description, but they do not form part of the automated charging procedure and become something that must be 'thrashed out' with the guest after the reservation is confirmed.

Once upon a time I used to be able to charge by the bed, 1 bed-1 guest, 1 bed-2 guests, 2 beds-2 guests, 2 beds-3 guests...... and so on, I can't do that any more.

So I take the path that is going to give me the best review and just do the extra work at my expence!

Cheers.....Rob 

[Kelly149]

@Peter671 situations such as this is one reason why I have guests sign a contract before they arrive and one of the items there is that they tell me exactly who is coming (name, age, contact#, address). This solves the problem of "oh, well, it's fine, we'll just lay over here on the floor". No, no you won't.

This is a solvable problem, it is just much easier to handle before the guest (& their extra) are already in your space.