AirBnB

[Beerwife]

We (myself, husband and 17 dd) have booked a house in Scotland for 3 nights. It has 3 bedrooms and sleeps 7. It is quite isolated so I said Dd could bring a female friend same age. I’ve let the owner know friend is coming and he said fine but it will be extra £60 - £20 a night. I’m a bit taken aback at that as it says we have rented the whole house. Obvs I will pay it but AIBU to think it’s a bit cheeky? Or am I cheeky to think I shouldn’t have to pay it?

I’ve stayed in AirBnBs where although you get the whole house, the amount does vary depending on the people you add - linen / cleaning charge, I suppose.

So if you check it for another date and it does that - I’d suck it up.

If it’s definitely priced for the whole house, I’d reply that you had paid for the house, and was letting him know as a courtesy.

If he tries to insist - I’d complain to AirBnB.

I’d personally rather check with AirBnB that they support full refund, and cancel, than let him take the piss.

Did the listing specify the number of people covered for that price? I think it is cheeky as you would assume that up to 7 people can stay in a house that sleeps 7 for their given rate. To be honest, it probably wouldn’t have even occurred to me to tell them there would be an extra person.

Even if you have the whole house the price does depend on how many people are in there (so a whole house for 5 people is more expensive than the same house for 1 person).

I thought the airbnb cleaning fee was fixed per place not per person don't think I'd have thought to let them know either, I'd have assumed there would be no extra charge

Does it state an extra cost if >3 people on the listing? If not I'd contact Airbnb and ask them what they think. I think that's cheeky and would leave a sour taste in my mouth

I have an Airbnb and you have to put in the total amount of people staying when you book. I really don’t like it when people try and add others in after.
An extra person means extra hot water , maybe they could stay in all day while you are out so possibly extra heating, electricity etc. But of course an extra person adds up to more for the host.

Also extra linen cleaning!

Thanks. I told the owner because i thought it was a courtesy to let him know who was staying in his property. I genuinely thought it would be fine as she will be sharing a room with dd. I don’t want any bad feeling before the holiday so I think I will have to suck it up and maybe query it later!

I would say fair enough if it was a fiver per night for extra washing and linen and hot water, but £20 is a joke

Grow a pair, or give up any hope of, “querying it later”. It’s really quite simple - go into AirBnB and run the numbers for the next available run of same days. If there’s a surcharge for 4 - pay it with a good grace. It there isn’t, reply back and say you’ve booked per property not per guest.

@Thefab3 at your property, do you ask for numbers and vary the price based on that? If you don’t, then why should you charge more after the fact? Yes, more people = marginally more cost to you. But I presume you’re not refunding where the booking is under your average occupants rate?

Airbnb often have a per person price and if you hadn't told the host about the extra person you would have been breaching the terms. You can't bring an extra person into an Airbnb without adding them officially to the booking.

I’ve tried rebooking for different dates and the price is £110 for 3 guests and £130 for 4 so I guess it’s right! Sorry everyone. Will make sure i book for correct number at the time next time. It was an after thought to invite a friend for dd and I genuinely didn’t think it would cost extra. There already is quite a hefty service charge AND cleaning fee!

It’s fair then, though annoying! At least now you can pay it and enjoy the holiday without feeling taken advantage of!

Nah ellisandra I still feel taken advantage of !

Airbnb is no cheaper than other sites for holiday lets. I don't like the cleaning fee option but you'd probably pay the same in total if booking through another site like home away

Why though? It’s perfectly fair. I’ve changed my YANBU to YABU 🤣 (to feel it’s cheeky) - though I do feel for your annoyance!

Yeah I suppose it’s more annoyance I feel! And that it will be £60 less to spend on wine!

Sorry, but as you've seen, this is how the AIrBNB platform works, hence when you initially book, you put in the amount of people going. It often has on each lisiting 'additional guests charged at £x per night'.

Similar to when I've booked into a hotel room. I've book for 1 person, but there might be a double bed, or a double and a single. IF I wanted to add another person, I'd pay more. Unless the booking is for the property only, its usually calculated per person.