Spam inquiries

[Mae592]

I have been getting so many spam inquiries since we listed our new property in May. Never had this issue with our other listing. Has anyone else noticed this as well?

[Fred13]

Note @Mae592  the correlation with 'new' listing and spam (aka hustle), common association; but they have no clue they are dealing with a veteran.

[Jason2342]

Hi @Mae592 - How do you handle these inquiries?  Do you simply decline them?

I received what I believe to be a fake inquiry today.  A new profile (created within the past month), no picture or email address, and they are asking to book for 2 months.

If I decline the inquiry, am I penalized by Airbnb?

[Helen3]

Hello @Jason2342 

If I received your inquiry I would message the guest back and ask whatever vetting questions you have in place to see if the guest is a good fit for your place before making a decision. Like yourself,  many guests are new to Airbnb so this isn't necessarily a red flag.

As a new host I would suggest you keep to bookings for not more than two weeks until you becoming familiar with how Airbnb works. 

You don't receive a guests email ever. And you don't see their photo until after they book.

Do have a look at the Airbnb Help website as it has FAQs about most aspects of managing your STR business on Airbnb. It's good to familiarise yourself with how Airbnb works before letting your listing go live.

For example it would show you how a booking request works

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/28