Biggest Weekend of the Year - Guest Tries to Pull a Fast One!

[Generic]

This has never happened to me before....
Just got an email from a guest. It is the biggest weekend of the year next weekend and the most expensive weekend for reservations. A guest has reserved the room since the end of April. The room is reserved for two people. He sends me an email asking about cribs, a microwave and a refrigerator. We have a policy that is stated when you book online that says:

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Reservation policies:[/td]
[/tr]
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Smoking:[/td]
Not permitted[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Pets:[/td]
Not permitted[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Handicap access:[/td]
Not accessible[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Suitable for children:[/td]
Yes, 7 years old and above[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
What do I tell him? Do I cancel his reservation? Do I charge him the cancellation charge?
It's an expensive reservation to cancel and he won't be able to find another room at my price. But we aren't set up for children, never mind two 18 month olds that aren't on the reservation in the first place.

 

[Don Draper]

Reply to him and re-send his confirmation which outlines everything above. Explain no cribs, no children under 7, and whatever your microwave/fridge arrangements are for your guests. He has time to get a babysitter!

 

[gillumhouse]

IF you think you can rebook - cancel & do not charge the cancel fee - geeze what a nice guy you are! Otherwise, just cancel & charge the fee stating you are terribly sorry but your inn is not suitable for children as stated in your policies. Since there was no mention of children until now, the canellation fee will be charged (and if it is after the cancel period, charge the entire reservation). As you have stated many times - those are your polocies so stick to them.

 

[Paradise]

Reply to him and re-send his confirmation which outlines everything above. Explain no cribs, no children under 7, and whatever your microwave/fridge arrangements are for your guests. He has time to get a babysitter!.

Reply to him and re-send his confirmation which outlines everything above. Explain no cribs, no children under 7, and whatever your microwave/fridge arrangements are for your guests. He has time to get a babysitter!

What he said.

 

[birdwatcher]

Ditto on what they said-seems like they could not find sutible childcare and decided (eventhough they probably know) to e-mail you at the last minute so that you will accept it or not charge the fee.
CHARGE the fee-and like Don said-re-send the confirmation that states all that they should have been aware of..unless you have a waiting list and you can call one of them to re-book the entire original stay. I would charge them.

 

[Alibi Ike]

If it comes down to a baby in the house or an empty room I'd go with empty room. ie- cancel the rez
I would call them, tho, not do it in an email. Call and remind them the information they saw online is factual- no children under age 7. And how does he want to handle that the child cannot stay? (Mind- how does HE want to handle it? I wouldnt offer any solutions, let him.) If he says he has to cancel, remind him of the cancellation policy.
My guess is they TRIED to find a sitter and that fell thru. So, Plan B for them is to bring the baby. OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge.

 

[Don Draper]

If it comes down to a baby in the house or an empty room I'd go with empty room. ie- cancel the rez
I would call them, tho, not do it in an email. Call and remind them the information they saw online is factual- no children under age 7. And how does he want to handle that the child cannot stay? (Mind- how does HE want to handle it? I wouldnt offer any solutions, let him.) If he says he has to cancel, remind him of the cancellation policy.
My guess is they TRIED to find a sitter and that fell thru. So, Plan B for them is to bring the baby. OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge..

I would do it by email...you need this stuff in writing so you never have to worry about he said/she said stuff if they try to fight it later.

 

[Alibi Ike]

If it comes down to a baby in the house or an empty room I'd go with empty room. ie- cancel the rez
I would call them, tho, not do it in an email. Call and remind them the information they saw online is factual- no children under age 7. And how does he want to handle that the child cannot stay? (Mind- how does HE want to handle it? I wouldnt offer any solutions, let him.) If he says he has to cancel, remind him of the cancellation policy.
My guess is they TRIED to find a sitter and that fell thru. So, Plan B for them is to bring the baby. OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge..

I would do it by email...you need this stuff in writing so you never have to worry about he said/she said stuff if they try to fight it later.
.

I would do it by email...you need this stuff in writing so you never have to worry about he said/she said stuff if they try to fight it later.

I'd be worried about the 'oh, we never GOT that email' as they show up with the baby...

 

[Copperhead]

If it comes down to a baby in the house or an empty room I'd go with empty room. ie- cancel the rez
I would call them, tho, not do it in an email. Call and remind them the information they saw online is factual- no children under age 7. And how does he want to handle that the child cannot stay? (Mind- how does HE want to handle it? I wouldnt offer any solutions, let him.) If he says he has to cancel, remind him of the cancellation policy.
My guess is they TRIED to find a sitter and that fell thru. So, Plan B for them is to bring the baby. OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge..

Exactly! It is THEIR delemma not yours!
I would call them, sending an email after the discussion to back up your policies. Keep record of your conversation in case.

 

[Generic]

If it comes down to a baby in the house or an empty room I'd go with empty room. ie- cancel the rez
I would call them, tho, not do it in an email. Call and remind them the information they saw online is factual- no children under age 7. And how does he want to handle that the child cannot stay? (Mind- how does HE want to handle it? I wouldnt offer any solutions, let him.) If he says he has to cancel, remind him of the cancellation policy.
My guess is they TRIED to find a sitter and that fell thru. So, Plan B for them is to bring the baby. OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge..

...OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge.

We are FAR cheaper than any other place they will find in the city. It's hard to find a room for the weekend for under $300 a night at the moment.

 

[Generic]

Guest admitted it was an oversight. Spouse answered and took the cancellation but didn't warn him of the cancellation charge. I charged it, cancelled and sent him the invoice.

 

[Don Draper]

If it comes down to a baby in the house or an empty room I'd go with empty room. ie- cancel the rez
I would call them, tho, not do it in an email. Call and remind them the information they saw online is factual- no children under age 7. And how does he want to handle that the child cannot stay? (Mind- how does HE want to handle it? I wouldnt offer any solutions, let him.) If he says he has to cancel, remind him of the cancellation policy.
My guess is they TRIED to find a sitter and that fell thru. So, Plan B for them is to bring the baby. OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge..

I would do it by email...you need this stuff in writing so you never have to worry about he said/she said stuff if they try to fight it later.
.

I would do it by email...you need this stuff in writing so you never have to worry about he said/she said stuff if they try to fight it later.

I'd be worried about the 'oh, we never GOT that email' as they show up with the baby...
.

Doesn't really matter...you can always ask them to reply for confirmation but for credit card purposes having the date/time stamp on the sent email is usually enough to go your way.
Probably should do BOTH to cover all the bases. But in this case esp since the guest emailed the OP, I'd email back.

 

[Alibi Ike]

If it comes down to a baby in the house or an empty room I'd go with empty room. ie- cancel the rez
I would call them, tho, not do it in an email. Call and remind them the information they saw online is factual- no children under age 7. And how does he want to handle that the child cannot stay? (Mind- how does HE want to handle it? I wouldnt offer any solutions, let him.) If he says he has to cancel, remind him of the cancellation policy.
My guess is they TRIED to find a sitter and that fell thru. So, Plan B for them is to bring the baby. OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge..

...OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge.

We are FAR cheaper than any other place they will find in the city. It's hard to find a room for the weekend for under $300 a night at the moment.
.

...OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge.

We are FAR cheaper than any other place they will find in the city. It's hard to find a room for the weekend for under $300 a night at the moment.

'Someplace lese' did not mean cheaper, just someplace else. Closer to something, farther away from something.
And don't you love how parents overlook their kids? 'Oops, forgot all about Junior! How'd that happen?'

 

[Red Handed Jill]

If it comes down to a baby in the house or an empty room I'd go with empty room. ie- cancel the rez
I would call them, tho, not do it in an email. Call and remind them the information they saw online is factual- no children under age 7. And how does he want to handle that the child cannot stay? (Mind- how does HE want to handle it? I wouldnt offer any solutions, let him.) If he says he has to cancel, remind him of the cancellation policy.
My guess is they TRIED to find a sitter and that fell thru. So, Plan B for them is to bring the baby. OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge..

...OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge.

We are FAR cheaper than any other place they will find in the city. It's hard to find a room for the weekend for under $300 a night at the moment.
.

...OR, they found someplace else and are trying to get YOU to cancel them with no charge.

We are FAR cheaper than any other place they will find in the city. It's hard to find a room for the weekend for under $300 a night at the moment.

'Someplace lese' did not mean cheaper, just someplace else. Closer to something, farther away from something.
And don't you love how parents overlook their kids? 'Oops, forgot all about Junior! How'd that happen?'
.

And don't you love how parents overlook their kids? 'Oops, forgot all about Junior! How'd that happen?'

Well, I know I've mentioned it in the past, but I'll say it again - in so many non-BnB lodgings, kids under 3 "don't count." No, I don't get that, but it's true. And as much as we've traveled since we had children, my DH seemed to maintain blinders in that area for quite a while. I lost count of how many times that I would remind him after, "Did you ask about the child(ren)? Did you ask if they're okay with four/five of us in the room?" And no, they weren't always.
We have reached the point where he is very good about remembering to ask, but our last trip brought up another interesting issue. (We no longer have a 3yo, for the record.) DH let me know he *did* make sure it was all right to put five of us into one (hotel, not BnB) room - he not only spoke with the agent about it, he called the hotel directly - but there was no way to put that into the booking software they travel agent used. So our hard copy reservation actually said 4 in the room. This, IMO, is one of those times where someone else creates a, "Yes, that's what we said, but it's not what we mean" situation that creates fall out for the rest of us.
And...yes, I know these are hotels. Some guests stay more often in hotels. Some don't. Some are careless. Some are trying to get one by. I am NOT making excuses for these people. If I'd realized that we'd made such an oversight, I'd have handled it differently than these folks tried to. Just sharing some first hand experience from the other side of the coin.

 

[Generic]

Guest admitted it was an oversight. Spouse answered and took the cancellation but didn't warn him of the cancellation charge. I charged it, cancelled and sent him the invoice..

Just to put some finality to this.... today I finally decided that I was going to remove the three day minimum and see if I could at least rent two days (they cancelled three and I had two days open after that reservation).... and this afternoon, I got the room rented for four days. Woohoo!
Now all I have left for the entire month of June are single nights, not a single double night left for the month. Here's the best grin I can muster