Would you take extra guests to a holiday let?

It's bad manners if nothing else. What if the owners call on them to make sure everything is all right and then see the extra 'guests' - they'll be caught out then, won't they?

No I wouldn’t. We always book for 2 more than we need and tell the owner that my DD might be there for a few days, but we wouldn’t overbook.

Its like going shopping and paying for six cakes and taking an extra 3 without paying. She has no redress if the owner finds out, cancels the booking with immediate effect, keeps the money and even considers suing her for breach of contract

I have once taken an extra child to a holiday let but I messaged the owner to ask before hand.

We regularly go to the same caravan park every year with DD, her DH and 4 children-they have a 6 berth. DH and I book a 4 berth. DGC often come and have sleepovers with us but the owners know and often ask smilingly any idea who’s sleeping where yet? We’ve been going to the same site for about 20 years so we know what to do and wouldn’t abuse the system.

Hope they get caught and the owners through them out, hate people like that.

We have a sleeps 6 gîte and I would be very cross if this happened. Our gîte is set up for 6 (plus a baby) and would be unsuitable for 9 - we have to register at the Mairie (registered for 6) plus then there is the taxe de sejour...

I don’t mind our guests having friends over for a meal- but that’s it. Luckily I live next door so your friends would be evicted tout suite!

I definitely would not bring extra people.

In the past, I have booked a large cottage with a pool, and I included my brother and his family on the booking form, even though they were only coming to visit during the day.

I think it is a very risky strategy. It is not in accordance with the details provided and it may give the owners a reason to terminate the contract and ask them to leave. Also, as has already been said, they will not be insured.

We are going on holiday shortly. It is for 6 people and I was thinking of adding another person but I would have checked with the holiday company first to see if the owner was OK with this. Presumably there would have been an additional charge. As it has turned out, the person we were thinking of inviting cannot make it.

An ex friend of mine rented our holiday home for 2 weeks, I thought it would be for her, her two daughters their husbands and 4 children. When they arrived I discovered that she'd also invited another family, 2 adults and 2 children and a single friend. Also a stepson was included in one of her daughter's family. So the amount of bodies rose from 4 adults to 8 and children from 4 to 7. There were also people visiting for the day/evening and they camped out in the sitting room overnight.
I was staying in other accommodation in our garden. That's how I knew how many people were there. Also all the posts on Facebook gave the game away!
Lesson learned by me, never do a friend a favour ever again. They arrived late a night so I felt uncomfortable refusing them entry, especially with all the children, I'm sure my ex friend had factored that into her rudeness.
I think that it's incredibly cheeky and very rude to add people to rented accommodation without informing the owner, as pp have said the insurance will be invalidated.

I wouldn't. If I thought I might want to invite others I would rent an appropriatly sized property and ask the owners if it were ok to have the odd ad hock guest. Simple good manners to do so.

Kamiso

An ex colleague used to go on several last minute bargain cruises every year and put her 16 and 14 year olds down as under 12s.

She thought we should lie about DD2’s age as she was 12 whilst we were away. Luckily we didn’t as the steward wished DD a very happy Canadian 12th birthday on the flight out.

How did they get away with that? Surely passports are checked for cruises!

Dear me. What a nasty thing to do. When you consider the shocking time hospitality has had and how people are only just tentatively getting back on their feet, this is such selfish behaviour. Says much about Britain today… the “something for nothing” grabbers.

Lots of people who own Holiday Lets have an 'arrangement' with close-by Residential Neighbours. If those neighbours suspect that something 'untoward' is going on, then they'll contact the owners with their concerns. Those concerns would include rowdy parties and overcrowding.

The problem of over occupation is not just resolved by asking people to leave.
For a start it puts the owner in a very difficult position if they refuse and can turn nasty very quickly.
Secondly the police will not intervene for you unless it really has gone badly and people will take revenge. Once a bad review is out there it can rarely be got rid of no matter what!

She’s obviously not taken into account they could have door security and owners can see them arrive. It is wrong you pay for 6 so 6 it should be.
My DD owned and Airbnb in Australia it slept 4 and 14 turned up they were travelling surfers. The neighbour informed my DD, she gave them 24 hours notice to leave and warned other Airbnb’s in the area.

This reminds me of when DH & I were much younger and we took our cat with us to a holiday let. Got found out by the owner and had to pay extra! Wouldn't dream of doing anything so stupid now.

My youngest son and his friends have been to Glastonbury Festival for six years on the trot. Usually, my husband and I will rent a caravan for the week, and the youngsters will stay with us in the caravan on the first night, then one of us with drop them off at the festival site the next morning, have our week away, and pick them up on chucking out day. It was a four bedroomed caravan, and slept up to 10 so plenty of room.

Last time they went, we fancied a change from the usual caravan, so we rented a small two bedroomed cottage.

I emailed the owner asking if she would mind if they stayed with us overnight on the first night, and explained why. Her only reservation was that the cottage was very small and they'd not have much room, but she was ok with us going it. She asked if we minded if she didn't provide bed linen or towels for them. In fact, they all used their sleeping bags and it hadn't crossed our minds for them to need bed linen.

So yes, I have taken extra people, but would not do so without having the courtesy of checking with the owner first - and not for the entire duration of the rental.

No! I would NEVER do that.

I wouldn't want to be on holiday with nine people anyway. The person who booked has what is in effect, a contract for the use of the property that week - by a specified number of persons!

This is wrong on all counts.

Well, let's look on the bright side- the first time in a long time we are all agreed on this one

Definitely not, I wouldn' t even add one person.

My friend's family do this every time she goes on holiday, her sisters and their DHs rock up and enjoy the hospitality. She always books top end holiday lets and they think it is fair game to tag along.
It is not something I would ever do.

Next door is let through Airbnb. Once the owner contacted me to ask if I’d happened to see how many people had stayed the weekend before.
I told her that I’d had to ask twice for the group of about 10 older teens to be quiet very late at night.
She said that the house was booked by a man and his daughter but the amount of mess they left behind made her suspicious.

harrigran

My friend's family do this every time she goes on holiday, her sisters and their DHs rock up and enjoy the hospitality. She always books top end holiday lets and they think it is fair game to tag along.
It is not something I would ever do.

nothing wrong with that if they stick to the capacity booked and paid for.

No, I would not. We often book a house for 6 for just the two of us and some companies give you a discount A few times my dd and her husband have asked if they could come for the middle weekend, we always tell the company and lose the £50 discount although one lovely lady said it was alright as it was only for three nights.
I did work with people who declared their children younger than they were to get discounts and also smuggled a toddler regularly in the babies pram into day activities like zoos etc. They told us we were all mugs. Like others, we told her what we thought of her morals but she did not care. When they went abroad they always asked extra people to join them mid-week and always seemed to get away with it
I have been in cottages where we did not realise the owners were literally next door and also others where owners have turned up mid-week to make sure we were alright, maybe they were checking on us?