Guest vetting

[Mandy359]

Hi, I'm new to hosting myself as previously I've used a company co-host. 

I seem to think that Airbnb do some kind of guest checking but cannot find specific info on the site despite looking. Can someone direct me and can you also say if you do anything beyond this in checking your guests?

[Sarah977]

@Mandy359  You absolutely cannot rely on Airbnb to do any background checks on guests- they don't. In fact, guests can open a new account and immediately book something.

[Judi29]

This is true, found out recently. A guest turned up and his profile pic didn’t match the person. When I questioned the guest about this and the fact that they had two extra people staying bringing the total up to 10 in a three bedroom house, they accused me of entering illegally. My account has now been suspended. This person is still in my home and upon checking his account there is NO verification from Airbnb. Don’t know how we are expected to police this issue as a host. 

[Robert6322]

Wow, that sounds awful.

[Robert6322]

And speaking of police, maybe what I'd do in your situation is call the police to remove them from your house.

[Mandy359]

@Sarah977   

Thanks for taking the time. I just had a search of the site and saw under Resource Centre the piece below (for some reason I can't attach the link).

If this is not strictly correct, how do you vet your guests

"Guest identification and other requirements

Guests provide their full name, date of birth, phone number, email address, and payment information to Airbnb before booking. Hosts also have the option of requiring guests to provide Airbnb with a government ID before they can book."

[Sarah977]

@Mandy359  Even if they collect all that info, which they don't ( hosts get booking requests from guests all the time where the guest shows zero verified ID, no phone number, just an email address, which is hidden from the host), all that means is that there is a match between the name and the ID. They don't do criminal record checks, for instance. And they don't release all that info to the host, like the guest's full name.

Hosts vet by a combination of using the photo, verified ID, recommended by other hosts settings if they use Instant Book, and communicating sufficiently with the guest, asking questions, reading any reviews the guest has, and being aware of "red flags". Some hosts do a bit of sleuthing on social media.

You can require guests to show you ID on check-in. But you have to make any requirements like that clear in your listing info.

[Judi29]

When I joined I had to give three Government ID’s with photos. What has happened to that procedure? This person in my house admitted the photo was of his son and he signs into Airbnb via Facebook! Airbnb have asked to to take a photo of the guest which is completely illegal without prior permission here in Australia .

[Mandy359]

@Sarah977 

Ok, do you just use instant book and rely on past positive reviews or do you make others checks, ask questions which I presume means you cannot use instant book?

[Sarah977]

@Mandy359 I have never used Instant Book. I communicate with guests before accepting. I've been lucky- most of my guests have been seasoned travelers with quite a few good Airbnb reviews and I've never had a bad guest. But I just host a private room in my home for 1 guest, so I don't have to worry about guests who throw parties, sneak in more people or pets, etc.

Hosts who do use IB can cancel 3 bookings a year penalty free if some red flags go up after a guest has booked, and if hosts need to cancel more than that, they can call Airbnb and explain that the guest's communication or something is making them uncomfortable and they'd like to cancel, but dealing with Airbnb CS isn't an easy thing so you should really try to set things up so you don't have to rely in Airbnb to get you out of a jam.

[Mandy359]

@@Sarah977 

I will probably avoid IB so that I can ask questions etc as this I feel will give me a bit more security.

Thanks for sharing your insight!

[Ana-Luisa16]

Hi! I have a Home family vacation home, I usually rent to families, but this time I have 12 guests all under 22y going for spring break... I feel stressed about them having a party, or damaging the home. I realize their age after the reservation was confirmed.  How can I prevent this from happening? I think the rules were not on the listing. 

Thanks. 

[Sarah977]

@Ana-Luisa16 12 under-22s coming for spring break? Partiers for sure.

If this was an Instant Booking, call Airbnb and say you aren't comfortable with the booking and say you need to use one of your 3 penalty-free cancellations.

If it was a booking request that you accepted, why didn't you dialogue with them before  accepting? The whole point of Requests is that you have a  chance to vet guests before deciding whether to accept or not.

[Ana-Luisa16]

Hi! Thanks so much for responding. I was not aware of the age until after the reservation. I am still 10 days away from the reservation, but I am not sure on what to tell them to cancel.. How can I. Do this in a polite way? Thank you so much. Ana. 

[Sarah977]

@Ana-Luisa16  You didn't answer as to whether this was an Instant Book or not. That is important to know in order to advise you as what to do about this booking.

I was not suggesting you ask the guests to cancel, I said if it was an instant book, you have 3 penalty-free cancellations available to you- you contact Airbnb and ask them to cancel, stating you are uncomfortable with the booking, as you have reason to think they will be partiers. If you do that, you don't need to communicate with the guests and give them a reason.

So was it an Instant Booking?