Very new to Airbnb - first week and I think I got a solicitor, that acted like a booking . Please advise.

[Laura7817]

Hello everyone. I literally just posted my house this week, and asked this lovely community to critique my listing. But today, someone pretended to book my house for a week, but instead posted this message (saying this is not a booking but if you want me to audit your site etc). Please advise. I reported it but wanted to hear if anyone experienced this? I was kinda worried because I am being graded on my response rate for a fake booking? Any tips? Should I set the need for approval for bookings? Sorry for all the questions. 

: It kinda of sucked because I thought I actually got a booking and then they lead me to this fake account telling me to go to their scam website. I reported it. But help with advice for any other things to watch out for or prevent these scammers. 

Anyways....here is my fake booking message

Hi Laura, I came across your post about listing critique you can check my website there's a free listing optimization Audit where an expert from my team will go through your listing and give you a couple tips. and If you want a thorough optimization you can check the premium service.

PS: This is not a booking you can send an invite if you want to it's better for the algorithm

[Alicia753]

Hi Laura,

That’s definitely a tough start. It’s common for scammers to send fake booking inquiries, trying to sell services under the guise of an official booking, so reporting it was a smart move. To protect your response rate, consider responding briefly without engaging directly, like, “This doesn’t appear to be a genuine inquiry, so I’ll be reporting it. Thanks.” Airbnb’s system generally views a short acknowledgment favorably for response metrics, even if it’s not an authentic booking.

Remember to still respond to the message within 24 hours as Airbnb system still recognize them as inquiry and still part of the response rate: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/430

Setting your listing to require approval for bookings can be helpful but may limit spontaneous bookings, so it’s often more beneficial to use Airbnb’s “Reservation Requirements” to screen guests effectively.

Going forward, be cautious of messages with vague language, off-platform links, or offers to “optimize” or “audit” your listing, as these are classic scam tactics Airbnb warns against. Keep reporting similar incidents, as this helps both Airbnb and other hosts stay protected.

Hopefully, your next notification will be a real booking—good luck!

All the best,

Upfish Management

[Laura7817]

@Alicia753 

Hi Alicia.

Thank you so much for taking the time and listing out, all the things to think about. I really appreciate the help and advice. This community and community members, like yourself, really make me feel part of something. It is really comforting to do something new and get this support along the way. 

I guess the postive from this little spammer, is that I continue to learn and make new friends.

Best wishes to you. I hope you have a spectacular day and weekend!

Kind regards, Laura

[Shelley159]

Hi @Laura7817 

See this community guide - it should be useful regarding the response rate:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Community-Guides/Difference-between-a-Reservation-Inquiry-or-Req...

To answer your question, turning off Instant Book is not a solution for this issue. You did the right thing by reporting it!

[Shelley159]

@Laura7817 

In short, it sounds like you have Instant Book on and you received the spam in the form of an enquiry. You can just report it and type a response to the message stop the clock. You don't have to pre-approve or decline.

[Laura7817]

@Shelley159 

Hi again Shelley! Thank you for the extra tip about approving or declining. I had already declined it, as impulse. In addition, I wrote them a message that said please do not write me about these things. I hope it was ok, to decline?

[Joelle43]

Hello @Laura7817 

This type of thing is all too common when we first start out on Airbnb unfortunately😡 

When you declined, you can give a reason for declining so what did you say?  Scam?  You did great in declining but this person would never have gone on to booking so in fact all that was required in this case was to reply quickly and no further action needed with an enquiry.  To learn more here is another link that talks about the difference and the implications of refusing an enquiry versus a booking request:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Community-Guides/GUIDE-Handling-Enquiries-and-Bookings/td-p/1895...

All the best with your hosting

Joëlle

[Laura7817]

Hi @Joelle43 

Thank you so much for the tips and advice. I feel more leveled now to understand the process and different ways to approach the situation.

In my decline message to the person, I just wrote, Please do not send me these type of advertisements through my bookings. That's it.

I didn't want to step on any toes, but also, did not want my limited calendar to be blocked by a fake booking. They could have just emailed me through through this community. Oh well. Lessons learned. Moving on. 😉

Thank you for your kind support. Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Kindly, Laura

[Joelle43]

Hello @Laura7817 

They wouldn't use the community forum as you can't sollicite or advertise your services according to the rules of the CC!

Even if it's an enquiry Laura, the guest (or spammer in your case) has to put in dates to message the host but these dates on your calendar are not blocked for an enquiry.  It's only with a request to book that the dates are blocked until you either accept, refuse or the other option is to ask your guest to withdraw their request so that they can find another listing that is a better fit.  Something to consider if the situation warrants it which avoids us having to refuse a booking😉

[Shelley159]

Hi @Laura7817 

Here is the Airbnb text. Since you're not declining many enquiries, you should be fine!

You can also decline an inquiry, which prevents the guest from sending a request. Make sure to review our Nondiscrimination Policy before you decline. Turning down a lot of requests can impact your reservation rates and where your listing shows up in search.

[Laura7817]

Thanks @Shelley159 for the extra note about declining. I appreciate the help. 😉 Best wishes to you. 

[Laura7817]

@Shelley159 

Hello Shelley

Thank you so much for chimming in. I appreciate both the feedback and guidance with the link regarding inquiries.

It is fun to learn all the details but I am feeling the heavy upskilling. 

Have a wonderday day and weekend! Best wishes to you!