Too many guests.

From the moment they step through the door your bookings become guests, and their experiences determine whether they ever come back.

What would you do?

Poll ended at Sat Aug 24, 2019 4:32 pm

Demand everyone who doesn't appear on the booking form leave immediately?
6
26%
Ignore the problem, hoping everything will be alright?
3
13%
Charge a security deposit that will be refunded if everything is fine when they leave?
6
26%
Charge them for all the additional guests they have invited?
8
35%
 
Total votes: 23

Dusty
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Too many guests.

Post by Dusty »

Asking for a friend :D
You have booked your 8 bed place out to 7 people, 6 adults and 2 children. The guests arrive in their cars, first one car, then two, then three, then four! It transpires there are 10 guests in the house, 6 adults and 4 children. "Oh, I thought children under 3 didn't count!"
It then transpires that you have forgotten to ask for a security deposit!
GillianF
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Location: Dordogne

Post by GillianF »

I would actually do options 3 and 4. Charge a security deposit and for the extra guests.
LotBoy47
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 12:40 pm
Location: SW France

Re: Too many guests.

Post by LotBoy47 »

Dusty wrote:Asking for a friend :D
You have booked your 8 bed place out to 7 people, 6 adults and 2 children. The guests arrive in their cars, first one car, then two, then three, then four! It transpires there are 10 guests in the house, 6 adults and 4 children. "Oh, I thought children under 3 didn't count!"
It then transpires that you have forgotten to ask for a security deposit!
Does your friend charge per night for the entire property or per person per night?

Tell him/her to ask for a security deposit either way.
zebedee
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Location: yorkshire dales

Post by zebedee »

What does your friends terms and conditions say about the maximum occupancy?

If it is silent, then your friend needs to change them ASAP.

If not, the guests are in breach of contract so your friend could tactfully negotiate some extra payment for the wear and tear on towels, water heating costs etc......oh, and take a security deposit because the guests worry me a little with their attitude so far.

(Also, the children are under 3 so I do hope that there are mattress protectors on all the beds?? How are they planning to manage the sleeping arrangements?? - another conversation to have)
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

Does your friend’s fire risk assessment allow for more than 8 sleeping guests in the event of an evacuation in the dark? That’s the deciding factor in how many guests can stay.

Just a thought, if your friend can suggest anywhere locally where the extra children can be sold into slavery, end of problem! ;-)
Drax
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Location: Yorkshire Dales

Post by Drax »

If you ask them to leave there is a real possibility they could damage/trash the property, especially as they did not pay a security deposit up front.
Taking everything into consideration and because the 'extra' guests are small children, I would allow them to continue staying in the house for their holiday and ignore the breach of the rules.
Keep your powder dry.
Dusty
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Location: St Cernin de Labarde, Dordogne
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Post by Dusty »

Thank you all for your responses.

GillianF - after I created the poll I did think I should have put your option in there as well.
LotBoy47 - we charges by the week and tend not to discount for under occupancy in peak season.
zebedee - the Ts&Cs cover this very clearly so they are in definitely in breach
greenbarn - that is my main concern with over-occupancy, that and the increased risk of damage/extra cleaning

I thought a bit of an update might be in order.
We gave it a lot of consideration over night and in the end decided that they should pay a security deposit that they would get back at the end of their stay if everything is ok. They were very good about it, understood why we were concerned and were happy to give us a 300€ cheque. They also apologised for causing us so much heartache. I think they are really nice people and will leave the place in good order so am far more relaxed about it now but.....

They did say they had friends staying close by and would it be ok if they popped in for dinner? No problem we said, but they could only use the pool if the other guests were out. We came back one day and found a family (2 adults/2 kids) in the pool who weren't staying in the gites and there was no-one from the gites there with them, they were getting ready to go for a bike ride! I politely told them that the pool was for residents only and that they should leave. When they were packing up it was clear from the car that they were camping in the area and had come over to use our pool! And probably our showers as well for all we know! How cheeky is that!

Even after 6 years we (oops, my friend) is still learning.
GillianF
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Location: Dordogne

Post by GillianF »

There's a saying "Give them an inch and ………." I think you can fill in the rest!
amandajane
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Post by amandajane »

I do wonder if the answer to these type of problems is to make your T’s and C’s very strict. Mine say that the cottage - and it’s facilities - are only for the use of guests named on the booking form. Of course we don’t mind when gusts have friends in for supper but at least it covers a situation where they are just taking the p.....

I guess strictly you also need a clause that allows any breach to result in a reasonable deduction from the deposit.

Typically the one and only time this year I would have made a deduction (for additional cleaning) was someone who had clearly let a very hairy dog sleep on the bed and the whole bedroom was hairy despite having signed a booking form that clearly states no dogs allowed upstairs! I too had forgotten to take a deposit that time!
Martha
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Location: Chamonix

Post by Martha »

Sorry to read this and I am not at a all surprised at the update :(
They are clearly people who like to push what they can get. No-one turns up in good faith with extra kids without checking where they are going to sleep.

I would double check that the policies on kids are extremely clear - that they may be accepted as extra (e.g. a baby in a cot) but must be named on the booking form.

I actually have a section that asks this specifically on the form - Do you have babies/toddlers? If so, what family equipment do you want provided. (list here). So it can't be missed in the T& Cs.

I've never had this issue happen, I have always found that they are very keen our arranging the equipment. Either the kids are babies, in which case they really need the cot, or toddlers, in which case they really need the child gates! So I'm always asked for one of these two things. But maybe something to consider for your friend?

Myself, I wouldn't charge, since they would be free anyway but I would mention why it is important, get the names and DOB of the extras, see if they need family equipment EG child gates, check where they are sleeping and if it's in the parents' bed, check the mattress protectors are in place. And get the deposit pronto! Glad you could do that.

I'd also ensure that never again did anyone check in without being asked for a deposit. As sadly my experience has been that those who 'accidentally' forget are those who abuse it.
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
SW31
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:02 pm
Location: Haute Garonne, France

Post by SW31 »

Well, we thought we had cracked it. French guests were treating the Gite like it was a hotel. The Gite adjoins our house and we live here full time.

We added a clause that any other guests, other than those who were booked for will be charged 100€ per person per night. Yes, it has stopped some.

But now I have a booking of four French guests in a Gite with a stated maximum of four people, booked for three weeks. All are very nice. However, returning to home we were surprised to see another car turn onto our property. Their friends have arrived. They are usually here every day and freely use the pool. Did they ask first - no, not a work if it’s ok. The friends leave around 11pm. I know what they’re up to.

We have two double en-suite bedrooms but we also have a large mezzanine area with two single day beds. To the French that means 6 could sleep in the Gite. This is despite their being just 4 sunbeds, 4 chairs around the kitchen table. On the guests terrace there are 4 chairs around the table but we put another two matching chairs under the barn. These two chairs (heavy) are being walked around the back to their terrace for lunch, back again to the swimming pool, back again to the terrace again for the dinner and finally back to the front again at night!

They have been rumbled, they didn’t read the details properly as I made it clear we lived on site. They probably thought we were naive English second home owners who had no idea how many could stay.

I call this time of year Itex season - all the supermarkets are flogging blow up Intex beds that the French buy when they want to crash out somewhere!
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

We are caretakers for gites. Had a family of 5 booked in one (2 adults, 3 kids) according to the booking list the owner supplies. OH drove past towards end of their 2 week stay and 2 estate cars in drive. Odd that they would come in 2 cars! We called in day before they left to check if all ok and no breakages. Husband answered door but quickly stepped outside and pulled door to .. obviously we are not going to be invited in. OH asked how many people staying .... "oh we invited my parents to stay ... I did tell the owner". We have yet to have this confirmed by the owner, who if they did agree to this, never told us. I told the guy that the house only sleeps 6 .. "its ok we brought an inflatable with us". If the owner had agreed and not told us I will not be happy. If, God forbid, there was a fire we would have told the emergency services there were 5 people inside .. not 7. Will be interesting to find out if they did have permission.
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

As our place is small it is difficult to over-occupy, but the French have managed it on a couple of occasions. There are in theory beds for 5, although it is only advertised for a maximum of 4 including babies. M turned up on departure to find 4 adults 2 children and a baby. Although they insisted grandparents were just staying in the area, it was obvious they had been there for at least part of the week, as they were putting suitcases into their car.
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Owners did confirm that guest had asked for 2 extra guests, BUT owner was told they would visit for 1 day!!!! After they had gone we found a dry stone wall in the garden had been knocked down, presumably by the kids walking on it ... nothing said, just left a pile of stones .... another little job to do.
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