@Charles307 I had a situation 3 days ago where a man booked for 1, then showed up with his wife. Straight away I said he must amend the booking (double bed, so room for her if they pay!) He made excuses, saying what he paid (£21 +£3) was for the room! I said not in Airbnb, you pay per person... Then he said they weren't having food, so had paid enough! I said 'No', my listing states another £10 for a 2nd person. He said we could sort the next day! I said he must pay immediately, by amending the booking via Airbnb. He tried, but the system would not allow it cos THE RESERVATION HAD STARTED. (They checked in past check in time!) I thought about phoning CS, but did not want drama, nor to inflame the situation. (-Easy to say 'Put your foot down' in this forum, harder to actually do.) So I asked for the £10 cash. (I know this is frowned upon, but as the system would not allow us to do it properly, I could see no other alternative, having to think fast. - Had I gone for the Resolution Centre, he might never have admited responsibility to pay..... He said the cash point 2 miles away was too far, didn't we have one at the end of the road? - No, we are 8 houses surrounded by fields! Then his wife said she might have some cash & scrabbled around for 2x £5 notes. - Result! In my flustered state I did not notice that one was obsolete, no longer legal tender.
They turned out to be my least respectful guests ever, they were stomping around at 2.30 am, banging doors, - above my room, they TOOK a large wall mirror from another room & put it in theirs, they left the toilet in a foul state in a shared bathroom. Then they ambled down to breakfast in their dressing gowns 20 mins before 12 noon checkout, eventually leaving 1 hour late.
Problem is, in yours & my situation, the host needs instant payment thru Airbnb BEFORE the extra guest(s) are allowed to stay...... It's a problem when the platform does not facilitate this. A CS rep phoned me earlier today on a different minor matter we'd discussed online. I mentioned this tale.... of course she chastised me for resolving the matter in cash, but was understanding that I had to think on my feet - FAST! - to stop guest's wife having a free night - or chucking then out = draconian + bad review (held hostage again!) I said if only the website allowed the extra to be paid thru the proper channels; She agreed!