Questions about a booking.

[Joey210]

Hi. Hoping this isn't posting numerous times; getting error messages. We're new to the site (hosts). Just had our first guests this past weekend. Got a second booking for 2 weeks, starting Oct. 17. On its face, this is great. But a few people have suggested that I make sure it's not a scam (how? For what?). The guests are coming from overseas. We live in a TINY (pop. 750) town in rural Wyoming. Not many amenities, but a larger town about 30 miles away. This is definitely not tourist season and the weather can be nice, iffy, horrible this time of year; we never know. They did contact me a few days ago about adding a day. Sent the request and I accepted, but for whatever reason, the dates didn't change. They asked why, I couldn't answer, suggested they try again. Never heard back. Is there anything I can do to check the legitimacy of this booking?

[Emiel1]

@Joey210 

You can see at the proflle if there are reviews, and also when they became a member.

When they have reviews, you can click on the host who left the review and see if they left a review also.

At least ID should be verified. When people book for longer time periods I always ask what the purpose is for there stay, before accepting. If the change of the reservation did not process, you can also sent them the change yourself ( "change" option). BTW Adding a "day" means actually adding a night to the reservation, so the check-out date must be choosen correctly.

If the booking is confirmed, it is paid to Airbnb and the amount is in your Transaction History (upcoming transactions). What makes you think it is a scam ?

Best regards,

Emiel

[Joey210]

I checked a lot of that. Member since June 2019, no reviews (but Covid could have jacked up any plans they had to travel). Not much else on her profile, but it does say "confirmed." Got a message from Airbnb that the attempt to collect didn't work, but that they were sending the bookers a message about it. Haven't heard anything else. There is a pending payout in Tran History. Scam didn't cross my mind until a friend who hosts said she'd had a couple. TBH, I can't figure out what the hell the scam would actually be. Like Mike-and-Jane0 below, my first thought was that they thought they were booking Dayton, OH and is why I sent a message asking if they were familiar with the area and what to expect. 🙂

[Emiel1]

@Joey210 

OK. "the attempt to collect didn't work". The guest is useally granted 24 hours to finish payment, otherwise Airbnb will cancel the reservation. If no ID verified i would still ask for it (politely) to do so. 

[Joey210]

Thank you. It has been a few days, but Airbnb did not cancel. I'll give it another couple of days (just sent her a message) and then move forward. Pretty sure most of us have had issues taking/making payment when purchasing from other countries (my bank tends to stop EVERYTHING that isn't part of the US; have to call and authorize ahead of time), so that wasn't a big concern. Mostly, if this isn't going to happen, I just want to open it back up since we'll be in full-on hunting season then. Too cold to camp, so would like the house to be available. 🙂

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Joey210 I can't see any reason why this should be a problem. Whereabouts is the guest coming from? Is there a chance the guest has mistaken Dayton WY for more famous Dayton in another state?

[Joey210]

HA! That was my first thought, so I did send a message letting them know where we are, what's available (and what's not) and what the weather might look like. I have not heard back from them yet.

[Colleen253]

@Joey210  “Not much else on her profile, but it does say "confirmed." Got a message from Airbnb that the attempt to collect didn't work”

Thats something to keep an eye on. The booking is confirmed, but the payment isn’t. 

It’s a good idea to require that guests at least have ‘verified id’ on their profile. It doesn’t guarantee anything necessarily but it’s a good start.

How do you know they are coming from overseas? Did they tell you? Guests often don’t have an up to date location attached to their profile. Questions, questions questions. Always ask as many questions as you can before accepting a booking. Answers  reveal valuable and useful information, and the quality of communication can reveal a lot about a guest as well. 

[Joey210]

Her profile is pretty spare. "Hi, I'm (her name is in Chinese, so I can't read it)," Says 'lives in China,' no reviews.

[Ann72]

@Joey210  Like you, I doubt it's a scam.  It's unfortunate though that (a) Airbnb is having trouble collecting funds and (b) the guest has been so mum about reasons for the trip!  

I feel that you're not getting enough red flags to say it's a scam, but you're suffering from a general lack of information.

I love your part of the world and have visited a friend in Ucross a few times as well as a friend farther south in Saratoga.  Definitely not in late October, though 🙂

[Joey210]

Thanks! After chatting with all of you, I feel good about going forward. They're not supposed to be here for almost 2 weeks, so there's time to iron it all out. 

Ucross. Local or at the Foundation? Pretty spectacular place. So far, October is being super nice, but it IS 2020 and Mother Nature has been known to go off her meds here during season shifts, so we never know. 

We've rented the little house next to our store since we bought the place. Figured we'd give this a try for a year to see how we like it. And if it's needed. 

[Ann72]

@Joey210  My friend runs the foundation, but I stay at the guest ranch nearby.

I think you'll have fun doing this.  I host in a remote vacation area that is booked seasonally (Maine).  The nice thing about hosting in areas like ours is that people can get away from it all and relax, and usually don't have too much to complain about.  Hosting in 2020 has been different in too many ways to list, but suffice it to say I have more bookings in November than ever before.  People continue to be desperate to get away.

[Joey210]

Good to know, thanks! That's what we're hoping. We own the only C-store/gas station in town, so we have a pretty good barometer of who's traveling and when these days. We have a few "seasons" that we'll be watching. Summer tourists, obvi. Then hunting and snow machine season (am sure you have the same). No motel/hotel in town and only a couple of other Airbnb options (more in the outlying areas). Hoping this will appeal to travelers and family/friends of locals coming in for events, etc.

[Helen3]

I always ask guests what brings them to my area and plans for their stay - helps ensure there is a good fit. 

[Joey210]

🙂 Thanks.