I have had a number of requests for exchanges which include children for whom there are no beds i.e. a family of four, 2 adults and two children when in my listing it states that there is only bedroom and one double bed. is this allowed and how do other members manage these requests?
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That is strange. Did they say anything about it? Maybe they wanted to bring air beds?
I have a big home myself, but I have heard before that people ask for more people to stay than possible in the home. I think many people don’t read carefully … You can just auto-decline if you want.
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I get this constantly and it drives me bananas, especially because the very first line of my profile says I can only accommodate adults, not children. I guess they are thinking the kids will sleep in the bed with them, or on the couch, or something.
I usually respond by pointing out that my listing says I cannot accommodate children. One person recently tried to argue with me about it, which is insane. My home is not a hotel! You are not entitled to stay here just because your think your kids are well behaved.
As of this week if someone who has clearly not read my profile sends me a request, I just use the automated response, which I otherwise avoid because I hate how impersonal it is. But I figure if they can’t take the time to read even one line of my profile, I don’t have to take the time to write a personal response.
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I have had requests like this one time and the extra child was staying with grandma (visiting local family). I have also had requests where people obviously missed the occupancy or bed configuration. I would just reply there is insufficient room for x number of people. I learned from the first request where they had several small children. I looked at my house with lots of stairs and high decks and what we didn’t have for kids (we have no small children or grandchildren) and added an age limit. I had to wonder what were they thinking (and people have told me I was a pretty relaxed parent so not overly cautious). It is a beautiful area for kids but I do not want peoples children hurt on my property. Sometimes you go back and find more information that makes it make sense and sometimes you just say no.
I think the important thing here would be to communicate more with the guest. Point out that you only have one bedroom with one bed and see if they explain. Co-sleeping is quite popular too, so perhaps they plan to all share one bed. Obviously this would be completely up to you whether you would wish to accept this in your home or not.
Also the age of the kids matters. Little children they may plan to bring a portacrib.