Inquires for Additional Guests

[Derek Miller]

We've officially listed our first property on AirBnB, and we have began to receive our first reservations. What seems to be a common thing already is guests inquiring about the number of people the house can hold. It is a 3BR, 2BA house, so it is not a large house by any means. We have it listed as sleeping 6, but I'm sure an air mattress for an extra 1-2 people would not be a big deal. 

So far, we've had one inquire for 9 (4 adults, 3 kids, and 2 toddlers) and another for 12 (6 adults and 6 kids... which sounds crazy to me). 

We've taken the approach to respond and kindly let them know we believe it will feel like a crammed house, and reiterated our sleeping arrangements. The responses we get to those messages almost sound like they are trying to reason with themselves on how they can make it work.

As new hosts we don't want to put a bad taste in anyone's mouth, but also don't want to jam a ton of people in here. For multiple reasons.

Does it sound like we're handling this correct, or is there a better suggestion? Is this common?? Do you use the feature to tack on cost for extra guests, or does that deter people who may have only one over the limit?