Feeling weird about a reservation

[Chantal480]

Hello....   

Wonder if someone has experience this and pointers on how I should handle?   A couple of days ago I received a "Inquiry" from a guest saying they were booked and wanted my address,  then not too long after that the booking confirmation came in. After reviewing the guest profile which she confirmed Identity & phone # there is nothing more... says the email is hidden by Airbnb, there's nothing about her, no info, just joined in 2021, no review, not where she lives it's empty and after sending her a few messages asking for her to share the reason of her visit and asking her if she's receiving my messages, she has not replied nothing until last night asking if she can check in later then 4pm, again not answering any of my questions......  I have a weird / gut feeling right from that first message she send, but she "auto-book" so now not sure what to do?   Thanks for your help.... 

[Brian2036]

@Chantal480 

It sounds like trouble to me.

 The easy way out would be to tell her that she cannot check in late under any circumstances and that she should immediately cancel her reservation to avoid paying booking fees and penalties.

If she won’t cancel then you should do it. If she shows up anyway don’t let her in.

Your reason: Host is uncomfortable with this situation because:

Guest profile is incomplete 

Guest refused to respond to legitimate questions 

Guest has no Airbnb history 

and possibly you suspect that she is planning to throw a party 

[Chantal480]

Thanks Brian for your guidance and suggestions.

Much appreciated

Cheers

[Chantal480]

Thanks @Brian2036 for your guidance and suggestions.

Much appreciated

Cheers

[Colleen253]

@Chantal480 Airbnb doesn’t require much beyond a name and phone number for creating a profile. When you have Instant Book on, you can set all the guest requirements that Airbnb allows for, as well as write a pre booking message. Go and have a look at your booking settings and tweak them. The more requirements you have, the better. The pre- booking message is a good place to ask your question “please share the reason for your visit.” You can also ask for other guest info as well.

Often times guests may not actually be getting your messages, if they don’t have notifications turned on. I always recommend the app to guests, and ask them to turn notifications on. 

If you are uncomfortable with this booking, you have some leeway to cancel, since it’s an Instant Booking. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2022/can-a-host-cancel-a-reservation-without-adverse-consequences

[Chantal480]

Thank you @Colleen253 

Your guidance is much appreciated....  Good suggestions that I will apply.  I have followed my guts and cancel the reservation.   Always follow your guts right?  

Thanks again 

Cheers

[Colleen253]

@Chantal480 Yes, that’s a very good rule to have. Never ignore instincts or red flags. 

[Brian2036]

@Chantal480 

I suggest that you disable instant booking because you are opening a room in your home to strangers.

 You should be extremely careful about who you admit to your home.

Anyone who ignores your questions is not someone you should trust. 

I have a strong suspicion that the person who is trying to get into your home now intends to bring someone with her that she “forgot” to mention.

 You should never admit any “friends” of a guest. You have no way of knowing who they might be.

[Chantal480]

Totally right @Brian2036 

I appreciate your concern and totally thankful for the guidance.  I have cancel the reservation and followed my guts, always good thing to do, right. 

Thanks again

Cheers

[Brian2036]

@Chantal480 

Excellent.

 I predict that you will do well in the future.

If your instincts say “NO WAY” listen to them, regardless of what Airbnb says.

[Claudia287]

Something similar is happening to me right now. The guest was veré responsive but didn’t checkin. I sent several message but no answer back. And I got my payment. What should I do?

[Brian2036]

@Claudia287 

You don’t need to do anything.

This happens from time to time, and if you don’t hear anything more about it, be happy.

You have just hosted the perfect guest!

[Inna22]

@Chantal480 this person is clearly new and might simply not know how airbnb works, that it is customary to communicate after booking and before arrival and that host may want to know more. She might not have her messages set up to show in her email or text. There is no reason to assume there is a conspiracy to be a bad guest or that she will turn out one. All of us were new to something at one point in our lives or anther. Just imagine if other people "cancelled you" every time you were new at doing something and were not just perfect at it.

Why not pick up a phone and give her a call? Very simple. Ask all the questions you need and get a feel for this guest. So much gets lost when emailing/messaging anyway. 

He/she might also just be busy. This summer I had to travel for work and neglected to respond to my hosts until right before check in. Yes, I should have known better but I worked 16 hour days. I am sure it was super annoying to hosts and I had many reviews as both guest and host to back me up but it also did not make me a bad enough guest to cancel. 

You are in hospitality business. You should not follow your gut when you have zero facts. If the conversation truly does not go well (not because you get into it looking for proof of your gut feeling), then you can make a decision. If you cancel now, it is not your guest who is bad, it is you being a bad host.

If you feel you need to screen your guests very thoroughly and only want a certain type, you should remove IB and set different settings (only guests with reviews etc). You can also inlcude questions every guest must answer as well as a blurb in your listing: "please let me know the reason for your visit when you inquire" or whatever else you would like to know. You will probably have fewer guests, at least at first but you will be in full control of who comes to your home.