Guests Not Reading What's Included B4 Booking?

I have a studio that I just dumped a ton of money into over the past 6 months that I’ve listed on here. I want the point of entry to be affordable for people in the area, but have a ton of additional options if needed. I include 3 white LED lights with the rental, but no one reads that and assume all of my other lights are included, even though I super clearly have it listed in the description as well as my message back to guests that not all lights are included. Anyone have this problem?

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I would put it in text in the description, make a picture(s) with all the included items, another picture(2) with all the rental/fee items and in the text which is emailed to the customer what is included in the rental. This way it is OUT there!

Good luck. Let me know if you need help.

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No one reads. I’ve been on Peerspace for 3+ years. Our listing includes a long list of things that come with the rental, and at least once per booking I have to go over what they get.

What I have done is to create 1) a list I send out of “What comes with your booking” (including photos, as much of it is furniture), and 2) a Google Forms survey that captures their basic contact info outside of Peerspace (so I can call or text if a problem arises on the day of), as well as their headcount, and a series of checkoffs for included amenities (tables needed, chairs needed, how they should be set up, etc.). At the end of the listing is an “also available for a nominal fee” section. I also include a place for them to upload any permits or licenses they need (for instance, people serving alcohol in California need to have either a licensed bartender or a one-day event permit).

And all of this doesn’t actually solve the problem of no one reading. It just makes it less time-consuming to deal with them down the road.



Thanks for the suggestion, @Eli_P!

Great, thanks @Madeleine_R!

Hope it helps. Sometimes you just have to come up with ways to make the irritation less… irritating.

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I had a client who found a loop hole in my system. In the pictures with the free items I clearly put part of the rental, on the other pictures(which are rented out) I did not put anything. The client said I thought all were free, I now have to change all the pictures to say these are rented so this doesn’t happen again. We both had a clear understanding. You lose one and you gain one. Always remember if you are stuck work with the client(ie. offer a percentage off) then go into your system and change it so the next guest can’t do it again.

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Yikes… it’s really complicated. So THIS new thing just happened this weekend.

I have a strict non-drinking / non-smoking policy due to circumstances in the past where people have been aggressive, violent and have even stolen things from my studio as a result of being under the influence. I have it stated in the rules that if I catch either or, that it is an automatic charge of $1,000 and all guests will be asked to leave. I also reiterate this rule to guests two times via message before they show up.

So basically a guest was here, then had two guys who were obviously intoxicated. I saw them drinking Hennessy and notified the woman who booked after she went nearly an hour over her time without saying anything or acknowledging my time warnings. I asked her to please leave and I would only charge her the over time fee and not the $1,000 drinking charge. She THEN began to contest me, saying that she wasn’t going to pay anything more than her time, and stated that the rule was stupid and that’s why they didn’t comply… then questioning me if I felt threatened and that’s why I don’t allow drinking. Eventually she left and I submitted the full fee to peerspace including the alcohol charge. Did I handle this appropriately?

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Hey Lance. Sounds like you handled it just fine. Our ultimate recourse is having it documented that we told them the rules, and told them, and reminded them, etc. Some people think the rules just don’t apply to them.

Were you on-site? How did she go over “without acknowledging your warnings?”

I encourage my guests to identify a second person in their group to keep an eye on things like trash, noise issues, end time, etc. I also make sure we are in each other’s phones so texting is easy, for things like communicating about end time.

We as hosts have a general idea about how long it will take a certain type of event to pack up and load out, so that is the time to have the conversation that the party is over and determine if they want to add time to their booking. They will typically underestimate the time it takes to break down, pack up, load out, and sometimes most difficult of all: get all their guests out of the space.

My party last night was supposed to end at 11pm, with everyone out by midnight. At 11:08 I was annoyed and asked the DJ to start winding down, and was happy to see the party hosts were already breaking down. They were out promptly at midnight.

I normally have a 5-hour minimum. A man inquired about a Saturday morning political event, and I said I would so them a favor and book a shorter period for them, with all the usual explanations that they need to have everyone out by their end time, and overtime is billed at time-and-a-half.

On the day, I got them situated, and left. I have cameras, and as their end time approached, I could see they would not be finished. As I was looking at the camera view, I sent a text asking how much additional time they would need, with another reminder about overtime.

He looked at his phone, and put it away without responding. I was pissed! I came back to the space, and they were in the space an additional 45 minutes or more. I just charged them for 30 minutes, and at straight time. In his review, he only gave us 4 stars because “I wished it was more clear that we had to pay for overtime.” More clear? I knew, I just wish I knew more. Once again, no good deed goes unpunished.

Many studios have historically had high penalty fees for not following certain rules. I don’t know how that normally plays out, perhaps someone can comment who has had more experience with that. In every situation, we decide how strict we want to be.


Hi Brad, thanks for the insights. She disregarded the warnings as she did the rules unfortunately. And after stating that she wasn’t going to pay anything extra is the only thing that prompted me to actually bill her for the penalty (strict I know, but I have it at that amount to deter people from even thinking about it). Just now, I had to write a whole response to Peerspace to further explain the issue, as well as show evidence of the violation (took me about an hour to go through all the footage from multiple cameras to provide it to them). The thing is that I felt like this was going to be “one of those renters” due to the complete lack of communication and/or responses, and same day rescheduling of time, not once but twice. I try to go above and beyond, but at some points certain renters treat you like their servants and don’t feel like any rules apply to them. I really wish that we could cancel on folks who show these types of tendencies prior to their bookings to avoid the inevitable without being penalized. I REALLY think that Peerspace needs to allow hosts to cancel should they feel that a guest is going to be problematic…

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There’s only so much you can do in writing. I have things that are/aren’t included:

(1) Mentioned in my listing
(2) In my initial message response
(3) In a “Policies & Rules” document that I make the booking guest sign before coming in
(4) On the sign in/out sheet that I have the first/last person sign

Still, people misunderstand. Their attitude determines if I actually charge them and how tight with the rules I am. I once had a shouting argument with a father of the groom about the definition of the word “now”. He thought it meant “soon”. He was wrong.

All you can do is document things the best you can. Then, when they complain, simply refer them to the multiple points where you spelled it out. Never agree to anything in person or on the phone. If you do, write it in a message and have them respond to it on Peerspace confirming.