It’s inevitable that as a holiday let landlord you will have to deal with guests who breach your holiday cottage occupancy limits and bring extra guests.
What typically happens is the lead guest doesn’t include young children in the booking numbers, wrongly assuming that children don’t count as they are sleeping on the couch, on airbeds or travel cot. Another example is the guests have friends who are staying in another property or camping nearby, but they spend all day at your property and maybe stay over.
Whether the guests have not realised the implications of over occupancy or have deliberately sneaked in extra guests to avoid paying extra, it can be a difficult situation for hosts to deal with. We’ll explore the steps to take to deter guests from bringing extra visitors and provide thoughts on how to handle over occupancy.
Why you should enforce a strict over occupancy policy
There are plenty of valid reasons for having a maximum occupancy limit.
Maybe your holiday cottage can only accommodate a certain number of guests. Extra guests mean increased costs, cleaning, wear and tear.
Over occupancy can mean more noise and the potential to upset neighbours.
The extra guests are unlikely to have read your house rules and may breach them, for example, charging their electric car with a granny cable through a window.
How to prevent guests from exceeding your maximum occupancy rule
1. Outline your occupancy rules in the terms and conditions
Clearly outline the maximum occupancy allowed on your direct booking website, on any OTAs that you’re listed on, in your house rules and booking terms and conditions.
For example:
“The maximum number of persons occupying the property must not exceed (X persons) and only those listed on the booking form can occupy the property. If you wish to invite additional visitors to visit you during your stay, please ask us first. Please be advised that no extra overnight visitors are allowed to stay at the property. ”
Also, emphasize that parties are strictly forbidden.
It is important to state clearly in your booking terms what happens in the event of over occupancy e.g. there will be £x per person per night charge.
Ensure your lead guest confirms they’ve read the booking terms and conditions and are aware of any consequences or penalties should they be broken.
2. Include all the guest’s names in the rental agreement
Make sure all the names of the guests are stated in the rental agreement. This way, you’ll know exactly who is staying and the guests won’t be able to justify bringing unauthorised visitors.
3. Charge a deposit
Taking a security deposit is a safety net if someone decides to break your house rules. Being charged from the security deposit is likely to deter guests from bringing additional visitors.
4. Monitor occupancy
A smart doorbell installed on your front door enables you to see who is entering your property so you can monitor numbers and gather evidence if needed. You should set up your system so it only captures images within the boundary of your property.
It’s important that you disclose that you have a smart doorbell on your website, OTA listings and house rules. You should also display stickers on your door or window to let guests know they’re on camera.
5. Ask your neighbor to keep a lookout
If you manage your holiday cottage remotely, having a friendly neighbour to keep an eye on unauthorised visitors is always handy. Similarly, you can ask your property manager to keep an eye out too.
What to do when holiday cottage guests bring extra visitors
Even if you’ve implemented the above, there is always a chance that guests may bring extra visitors. Sometimes it may be intentionally to avoid paying extra, however, some guests might have unintentionally overlooked your occupancy rule. In either case, here’s how you can deal with too many guests in your holiday let.
Stay calm
Try to find a peaceful resolution by communicating with your guests and staying calm. If your holiday home can accommodate extra visitors remind the lead booker of the extra guest fee that will be charged if the extra guest is staying. If you can’t accommodate any more, then let the guests know that the extra visitors will have to leave. If it’s only day visitors then most hosts will allow it.
Remind guests of the house rules
Remind the guests of the house rules and terms and conditions they agreed to during the booking process. Do this politely, emphasising the importance of these to ensure guest safety and to protect your property.
Report to the guests to the OTA they booked with
If your guests break the rules, and there appears to be no amicable solution, then report them to the OTA they booked with e.g. Airbnb. Airbnb allows hosts to set the maximum number of guests permitted and guests are expected to adhere to these rules. They’ll contact the guest and tell them what to do and charge them with extra fees if necessary.
Provide proof e.g. a screenshot from your smart doorbell or a statement from your neighbour.
Don’t throw the guests out
A court case highlighted the danger of throwing guests out after an owner was sued for unlawful eviction and breach of contract. The holiday let landlord was ordered to pay £2,000 damages after forcing a family out of their holiday cottage following concerns regarding over occupancy after a relative temporarily stayed overnight.
Does over occupancy impact insurance?
Holiday cottage owners being concerned regarding insurance issues for over occupancy is one of the most common questions we get. To clarify, a Schofields policy wouldn’t be impacted due to over occupancy where an extra guest stays. It’s important you check the cover with your insurer.
To summarise
Holiday home owners are within their rights to be upset if extra guests are staying but haven’t been disclosed. However, there is a difference between naive guests who haven’t considered the implication of letting a visitor stay overnight and guests who deliberately sneak visitors in to avoid paying extra.
However, it’s essential that your terms and conditions set out the consequences of over occupancy so you can resolve the problem.
How would you deal with a breach of your occupancy limit? please add your comments below.
Specialist Holiday Home Insurance
If you need peace of mind for your holiday home, you may want to consider specialist holiday home insurance through Schofields. With flexible, tailored cover designed for holiday home owners, we can help make sure you're properly protected. Get a quote online today
Please note the information provided on this page should not be taken as advice and has been written as a matter of opinion. For more on insurance cover and policy wording, see our homepage.