New to Airbnb

[Maria13410]

I Am brand new to Airbnb, and after attempting to reserve a location I was told by a Hostess that I'm not able to reserve due to new guidelines and needing to have reviews from previous hosts before I can rent her location. My question is how, if I am new would I get a review or are there any extenuating circumstances that will waive that provision?

[Colleen253]

@Maria13410  Some hosts do require guests to have positive reviews from stays with other hosts. Once a stay is complete, the host and guest are each given the opportunity to write a review. Try another place. There are many hosts who happily accept new Airbnb members. It helps if you have a complete profile and engage the host with a friendly introduction of yourself and any other guests who would be joining you, the purpose of your trip, and why you are interested in their place.

[Sarah977]

Your profile write-up says nothing but "Lives in Phoenix". There are plenty of hosts who will accept a guest with no reviews, but showing that you understand that a host would want to know something about the person who is requesting to stay in their home would at least inspire a little confidence. You don't have write an autobiography, just state in one or two short paragraphs a bit about yourself. Just be as natural as possible-it can have a humorous element if that is your style, or just be factual. The main thing is to let a host get a sense of who you are and what sort of work and activities you do.

Airbnb should really make this sort of thing known to guests, but I guess they don't, or guests don't pay attention to it.

And, as Colleen said, make sure you communicate nicely with the host. Let them know what attracted you to their listing, address them by name, and mention why you are travelling to their area or what your general plans are while there. I've accepted several guests who had no reviews, but they sent me an informative message when requesting to book, and had a profile write-up.

Some hosts have had some pretty bad experiences with sketchy guests, or people who misrepresented their intentions and threw wild parties and trashed the place, so those hosts may indeed not be willing to accept guests with no reviews- don't take it personally.

@Maria13410

[Lorna170]

I am a host who likes to know a little bit about why the guest is coming to the area and wants to rent the whole house property.  Just a few simple sentences, like "we love to hike and want a weekend getaway with our pet" or "I want to surprise my girlfriend with a proposal at your waterfall".   If you share a little about yourself, the host is more likely to rent to you.  I have very happily rented to brand new AirBnB guests, as long as they are communicative and have filled out their profile.

A host who is sharing the common areas of the property with you, i.e., renting a bedroom space within their home, would be much more likely to not rent to you until you have reviews, etc.  I would want to know quite a lot about the guest before I let them in the door of my home, so reviews from previous hosts and full profiles and a government ID available upon request would be important.  Good luck!

@Maria13410 

[Sarah977]

As a home share host myself, I don't necessarily think that home-share hosts are less likely to accept a guest with no reviews. As I mentioned above, I've accepted several guests with no reviews. I don't even pay attention to whether they have verified ID. It's how they communicate with me when requesting to book (I would ever use IB), ad how they present themselves that is important to me.

The thing is, home-share guests can't sneak in extra guests, pets, blast the music and disturb the neighbors, or throw a wild party and trash the place. And they tend to be respectful and leave their space clean. Also if the host sees the guest is doing something unacceptable or annoying, we are right there to speak to them about it. I would think it is hosts of entire places who are more cautious about accepting guests with no reviews.

@Lorna170