One of the major frustrations that Airbnb hosts face is when guests sneak in more people than they booked for. Airbnb guests do this to save money, and this can come at the expense of the host. Guests bring secret extra visitors to avoid the extra person fees or to ignore the max occupancy of your rental.
As a host, you should be proactive in discouraging guests from doing this because it will add to the wear and tear on your property and increase your utility costs.
How Will I Know if a Guest Brought Extra People?
If you use self-check-in, you might not know if guests are ignoring your maximum occupancy. To ensure you’re always aware of the number of guests in your Airbnb consider installing an exterior camera.
If you don’t have a camera, your cleaner will usually have a good idea of how many people stayed. They can judge by the amount of mess left behind, the number of linens that need washing and how many provisions need replacing.
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How Can I Know for Sure?
If you’re running a self-check-in listing, you should invest in a camera for each entry door of your Airbnb for security reasons. Once you have a security system set up you can also use this to monitor how many guests are using your Airbnb.
With extra people staying in your rental, they’ll be increasing the wear-and-tear on your property, using extra provisions at the cost to you, and increasing your liability. As the number of guests increases, so does the risk of an injury or accident on your property.
What Should I Do if They Bring Extra People?
It can be daunting to approach a guest who has broken the house rules, after all this always comes with the risk of a bad review. However, it’s best to confront them anyway as they’re breaking the rules they agreed to when they booked with you. If they do write a retaliatory review, you can contact Airbnb to have it removed.
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The best way to confront a guest is to give them the benefit of the doubt. People are more likely to respond well if you approach the situation by assuming their rule-breaking was an honest mistake.
For example, you could say: “I’m sure it was just an honest mistake, but I’ve noticed you have more people staying than the booking allows.”
By handlining the situation this way guests will usually be apologetic and agree to the extra person charges relatively easily. If guests have brought a lot more people than the max occupancy, the next step is to contact Airbnb to cancel the reservation and assist you in asking the guests to leave.
How To Avoid The Situation
Not all Airbnb properties will encounter the issue of extra guests. But if your rental is quite spacious people might be more likely to bring air mattresses for extra guests. Or, if your listing is particularly cheaper than other similar properties, it might attract guests who will try to avoid the extra person fees.
To discourage guests from bringing extra visitors add the following rule to your house rules:
- Any guests beyond the number listed on your itinerary will be charged a penalty of £50 per person per night.
- We reserve the right to terminate your stay without a refund if you exceed the maximum occupancy.
This should reduce the number of guests sneaking in visitors. If you add the rule to your automated check-in messages, any guests who have unknowingly missed the rule will be able to disclose their guests to you and adjust their booking accordingly.
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Unapproved extra guests in your rental can be frustrating for hosts to deal with, follow the steps above for a simple stress-free guide on how to manage it.
For further advice for managing your Airbnb speak to one of our advisors today at Keey.