Guest Misrepresented Herself

[Ricky94]

[Guest name], of San Diego, made a reservation to stay at my home for 2 nights.  She said there would be 3 people in her party.

When "****'s" party arrived, **** was not present.  Instead, there were 4 teenage boys, one of whom was ****'s son.

Not only were there 4 and not 3 people, as Joyce indicated, Joyce wasn't even one of these people. She had made a reservation in her own name, for 4 teenage boys.

This is NOT cool, as far as I am concerned.  Not only is the room overcrowded, it's overcrowded with  4 unsupervised teenage boys.

I allowed them to come in and stay, but I do not feel good about by mislead and lied to about the reservation.  

So far, the boys have been well behaved, but this is not the way AirBnb is supposed to work. As I host, I have been taken advantage of.  And, I don't like it.

*[Personal information hidden for privacy reasons – in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[John1080]

@Ricky94, third party bookings, which is what this is, are not allowed per Airbnb policies.  If there were to be any issues involving illegal activity, injuries, etc, it would be a serious legal and/or liability issues if the number of guests does not match, and most importantly, if the person booking is not even there. 

If this happens again, I would deny them access altogether and contact Airbnb at once.  It sounds like they are there, but will be leaving soon, so I would personally just let them finish the stay - others might disagree. 

You should certainly give them a low star rating and the narrative should state the facts about what happened, so other hosts can avoid this guest. 

[Ricky94]

Thanks for your comments.

I will allow them to stay.  I'm not going to say anything to them, since it was the mother of one of these boys, that committed the offense.   

So far, they have been well behaved.  It's just one more night.  They will leave in the morning.

[Alon1]

@John1080 

I don't agree that Ricky 'should certainly give them a low star rating'. 

I wholly agree that 'the narrative should state the facts about what happened'.

But I don't automatically agree  'other hosts can avoid this guest'.

   I would rather see if and how Jocye reviews and / or responds to Ricky's Review. Per chance she was apologetic and contrite, stating she was at fault, etc, I believe many people would be willing to give Joyce a 2nd chance.

More importantly for Ricky is if Joyce gave her a less than 5 star review. In that case, Ricky can request Airbnb delete the review due to the violation of 3rd Party Booking. Airbnb will delete if requested as I can vouch from experience. 

[John1080]

@Alon1, Joyce made the booking with the intent of essentially defrauding Ricky and therefore, most of us would want to avoid her - I know I would.

That sort of behavior is a game breaker for me and I would not want her to make a booking in my space. This is precisely why we hosts need to leave honest reviews, so other hosts can glean from them what the experience was like and thus what it would likely be for others. 

I can agree with what you said about looking at other reviews and also seeing how Joyce responds in other situations such as leaving the dishes dirty or the heat accidentally turned up or something along those lines. But, in this case, it is pretty apparent, she knew exactly what she was doing. 

[Alon1]

@John1080 

I agree that Joyce 'knew exactly what she was doing', and that 'we hosts need to leave honest reviews'. 

However, I would still wait to see how Joyce deals with the situation, i.e. if she Reviews what she says, and if Ricky Reviews how Joyce responds.

In short, I won't judge it till I see the final outcome, and until then, leave room for the possibility that people can learn from their mistakes and change their behaviour. 

[John1080]

@Alon1, given the situation, as the OP has said he doesn't plan to make them leave, I feel there is nothing Joyce can do to respond. If the trip is completed without any major upsets such as broken items or excessive cleaning, then the only issue is that it was a third party booking and more guests showed up than were booked. 

In particular, because third party bookings are not allowed, that item needs to be mentioned in a review and I would also leave a lower star rating, because someone who has such a blatant disregard for the community and hosts doesn't really need to be booking on Airbnb in the first place, IMO. 

[Helen3]

As you know @Alon1  reviews are left blind so @Ricky94  can't 'wait to see how Joyce deals with the situation' before posting his own review.

Even he could @Ricky94 has already confirmed that she lied and said the booking was for a party of three including herself.

What is she going to say " Oh I didn't notice that I wasn't travelling and was as suprised as the host when four teenagers, one of whom just happened to be my son, turned up on the hosts doorstep.

[Alon1]

@Helen3 

Of course I know full well how Reviews operate, and what I said is not to judge till both sides load their review and have the opportunity to respond. If ineed it occurs in this instance.

Where we are at odds is the understanding of Ricky's comment:

 'She said there would be 3 people in her party.'

You unquestioningly take it to mean: 'the booking was for a party of three including herself.'

You may well be right, but I prefer to read the actual quote from Joyce Stern.

.

Until then, I can entertain the possibility that there may have been an element of ambiguity in what Joyce wrote that was interpreted or understood by Ricky in a particular way.

This is based on my experience over 6 years and nearly 1,200 Inquiries. I could dig out numerous messages that were ambiguous, requiring me to follow up with 'Please, can you just clarify...'

It's one of the primary reasons I don't do Instant Book. 

I need clarity before I accept a booking. 

[Sarah977]

@Alon1  I agree with making sure all is clear. Many people aren't that good at written communication, which is evidenced even here in the forum where hosts or guests will ask a question, but not give enough information for others to respond effectively. Or someone responds without having thoroughly read the post they're responding to. And messaging, texts, and so on, can be misinterpreted- as there is no voice or facial expressions to read. I once replied to my daughter's text message and she got tiffed because she thought I was being sarcastic about what she had asked, when that was quite far from my reality.

But I still think Joyce was fully aware of what she was doing and that it was intentional 🙂

[Alon1]

@Sarah977 

All I'm saying at this late stage... let's see the quote from Joyce.

If Joyce wrote: 'I will be coming with my son and two of his friends....'

then of course she lied.

But is that what she wrote? Only Ricky can answer.

Moreover, please note how Ricky revises 'She said there would be 3 people in her party....' to

'She had made a reservation in her own name, for 4 teenage boys....'

[Alon1]

@Sarah977 

Possible Correction:

If Joyce wrote: 'I will be coming with my son and one of his friends....' 

But it only heightens the question, what precisely did Joyce write?

[Karl6]

Air bnb is doing a lousy job helping host control and manage those that misrepresent themselves.  It is becoming an epidemic problem and  Im doing all I can to move my business elsewhere.  Air bnb needs to do something to help owners mitigate this problem .  It is a serious issue and I'm certain air bnb could be enforcing penalties to guest but they seem to turn a blind eye.   Not Cool!

[Ricky94]

Thanks for your comments.  I am relativley new to this.  I hope the rest of their stay here, goes smoothly.

Next time, this happens, I won't be as EASY going.

[Helen3]

I hope at the very least you are charging her for the extra person.

Please leave an honest review. 

I am appalled that a mother would make a third party booking for her son and his friends and add a four person to the booking,, knowing this could jepordise the booking and they would be left with nowhere to stay. What sort of parent does that?