Key points
- The guest wants to host their friend without breaking a rule.
- On building rules: in Thailand the juristic office often holds the real line on who may stay and how many key cards exist.
- No greeting, a clear answer, the cost in the same message, and the building as the reason when the answer is no.
On this page
"My friend is in town, can she stay with us for two nights?" It sounds like nothing, and sometimes it is. But the answer touches your building's rules, the key card system, the price you set, the bed you have, and the cleaner who will find one more towel on the floor. Hosts who have not decided their policy in advance tend to say yes to be nice and regret it, or say no abruptly and lose the review. This page is about deciding once and answering well.
What the guest actually wants
The guest wants to host their friend without breaking a rule. Most are asking because they are honest; the ones who are not do not ask. They are worried about three things: that the answer is no and they look bad to the friend, that there is a fee they did not budget for, and that asking marks them as a problem guest.
A good reply respects the asking. It says yes or no clearly, states any cost in the same message, and never makes the guest feel accused. If the answer is no, it gives the reason briefly, usually the building, which guests accept far more easily than "because I say so".
Questions to answer for yourself first
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What is the maximum occupancy? | Set by the beds, the fire rules and the listing. It is the hard ceiling. |
| What does the building say? | Many condos register guests at the juristic office and issue key cards per person. Some limit visitors after a certain hour. Know the building's rule before you decide yours. |
| Do you charge per extra guest? | Many hosts set a per night fee from the third guest. Decide the amount and from which guest it starts. |
| Daytime visitors: allowed? | Most hosts allow visitors; some ask that they leave by a set hour. Decide. |
| Where will the extra person sleep? | A sofa bed with linen, a spare mattress, nothing. Do not say yes if there is nothing to sleep on. |
| What does the cleaner need to know? | Extra linen and towels, a sofa bed to make up, one more set to wash. The cleaner should hear about it before, not after. |
| What if the guest did not ask? | Decide what you do when the cleaner or the building reports more people than booked. One message, calm, with the rule and the fee. |
On building rules: in Thailand the juristic office often holds the real line on who may stay and how many key cards exist. Hosts commonly follow it exactly, because the building can make hosting impossible. If the rules are unclear, ask the juristic office and a local lawyer. See condo rules for short-term guests in Thailand.
Three replies you can paste
No greeting, a clear answer, the cost in the same message, and the building as the reason when the answer is no.
Yes, your friend is welcome for the two nights. The apartment is listed for up to three guests, and there is an extra guest fee of 500 THB per night which I will add to the booking. The sofa bed has fresh linen in the wardrobe. Please send me her name so I can register her with the building for the lift card.
I am sorry, the building only allows registered guests to stay overnight and the apartment is booked for two, so your friend cannot sleep here. She is very welcome to visit during the day and evening; visitors can come up with you until 10 PM. If she needs a place nearby, there are good hotels on the same street.
Let me check with the building whether we can register a third guest for those nights and what the key card rule is. I will come back to you by this evening with a clear answer.
If you find out after the fact, keep the same tone: "The building told me there were three people in the apartment last night. The booking is for two and the extra guest fee is 500 THB per night, which I will add. Please let me know in advance next time so I can register everyone with the building; it keeps us all out of trouble."
Mistakes hosts make
Saying yes with no idea where the person will sleep. Then the guest asks for a mattress at 11 PM.
Not checking the building. A guest turned away at the lift because there is no card, after you said yes, is a bad night for everyone.
A fee that appears later. If there is a charge, it goes in the yes message. A fee mentioned at checkout reads as a trick.
Not telling the cleaner. An extra guest means extra linen and extra towels. The cleaner finds out from the laundry pile unless you tell her.
Being accusatory. "You had someone in the apartment without permission" starts a fight. "The building told me there were three people; the fee is X; please tell me next time" states the rule and the cost without the drama.
No written policy. If the limit, the fee and the visitor hours are not in your house rules, you are negotiating every time.
How Tokay handles it
Extra guest requests are a rule question first, so Tokay starts from your rules. During setup you say the maximum occupancy, the extra guest fee, the building's registration rule and the visitor hours in plain sentences. Pam, the front desk agent, then answers from those rules, in the guest's own language, with the cost stated in the same message. If the situation is not covered, for example a fourth guest when your rule stops at three, Pam asks you rather than guessing.
When an extra guest is agreed, Sam, the operations agent, updates the cleaning brief so the cleaner knows about the extra linen and the sofa bed. Cleaners are reached on LINE.
Anything unusual, upset or sensitive comes to you first: a guest who argues with a no, a report from the building that there are more people than booked, or any request for an exception. Pam never promises an exception you did not agree to, and never waives a fee on its own.
Questions hosts ask
Should I charge for an extra guest?
If the extra person costs you something, yes: more cleaning, more laundry, more wear, and in some buildings a registration step. Many hosts charge a flat fee per night from the third guest and say it in the listing. If a partner joins for one night and the apartment was listed for two anyway, some hosts waive it and say so. Either way, decide once and apply the same rule to everyone.
What if the building does not allow unregistered guests?
Then the building's rule is your rule. Say so plainly in the no reply; guests accept "the building requires every guest to be registered" far more easily than a personal refusal. Offer daytime visiting if the building allows it, and a nearby hotel if it does not.
How do I handle an unregistered guest I find out about afterwards?
One calm message: what you were told, what the rule is, what the fee is, and a request to tell you in advance next time. No accusation, no threat. If it repeats, be firmer in writing and consider involving the platform. Keep the exchange in the platform chat so it is dated.