Guest requesting additional information

[Lorena596]

Hello! My name is Lorena.

I'm new to hosting and recently added a listing on airbnb that's in Mexico. I live in the US, and the guesthouse listed is on my Grandma's property. I got an booking inquiry and the person who is going to be my guest had many questions and requests. I'm just wondering how far is too far with her inquiries. She's requested to go outside the app for payment due to the taxes and fees, she also requested my grandmother's full name and phone #, and the last thing is the account # for the wifi we installed, per her request. I can understand the request for my grandmother's information as the listing is on her property, but grandma doesn't speak any English and the guest speaks limited Spanish, so I'm not sure what help it's going to be ? I'm also getting uncomfortable with the other information being requested. Is it too much? Please help as I'm conflicted and honestly just don't know what to do or how to move forward with her. She booked a month on the app but is hopefully wanting to stay 5 months total, paying 4 months outside of the platform.

TIA

[Helen3]

Any guest asking to pay outside of Airbnb and wanting your contact outside of airbnb raises major red flags.

if it's an inquiry decline the booking and report the guest to airbnb 

[Sarah977]

@Helen3  Declining an Inquiry isn't necessary and lowers one's stats. All the host has to do on an Inquiry is message back.

[Ann72]

@Lorena596  All of it is too much.  Any potential guest should be able to get all the information they need from the listing.  Never go outside the app for payment (at least not until you have a long relationship with a returning guest).  No to any account information whatsoever and hard no to your grandmother's personal information.  Be firm.  If you are not firm and she books, the list of problems and demands will escalate.  If you are firm and don't get the booking, be relieved.  If you are firm and do get the booking, it will go well.  

You'll get plenty of bookings over time and don't need demanding, intrusive, shady guests like this.  

[Colleen253]

@Lorena596 NO. JUST NO. Do not acquiesce to any of it, and do not accept a booking from this nightmare waiting to happen. Report them, using the reason “She's requested to go outside the app for payment due to the taxes and fees” Then be sure to block.

[Sarah977]

@Lorena596  What do you mean by "she booked a month?" If she only sent an Inquiry, she hasn't booked, she only asked for those dates.

If somehow she does have a confirmed reservation, you need to contact Airbnb, referring them to her messages wanting to book off-platform and asking for personal contact information, wifi codes, etc. and tell them this booking needs to be cancelled.

Otherwise, if it's still at the Inquiry stage, just tell her you can't accept her booking, stop corresponding with her, and report her by clicking on the flag symbol next to her message.

It is absolutely not okay for her to ask for your grandma's contact info. Guests are not given any of that information until they have paid for a booking and it has been confirmed. No phone numbers, no addresses. Never give this info out to anyone unless they have a booking- it is a big security risk for your grandma.

And you should not accept long term reservations- not even a month. Go to your booking settings and change the maximum booking length to a week or two. As a new host, you have a lot to learn, and you don't want your grandma to be stuck with some awful guest on her property for a month or more.

[Lorena596]

@Sarah977 @ Thank you for your response with all the information. She initially just had a booking inquiry and then I sent her a special offer only for a weeks time so she could check the place out and leave if she didn't like it .... and then she booked a whole month 🤦🏻‍♀️

After she was able to obtain my contact information she's messaged me none stop, and had some rude comments in regards to the listing as well as threatening me with a bad review and reporting me to airbnb, just because I wasn't responding to texts through WhatsApp fast enough to her liking. 

But like a previous comment mentioned to be firm, I was, as I was tired of feeling like I was being walked all over. I was honest and firm. What do you know? She stopped messaging me so much. I let her know she has a month booked on the site and that's where we're starting, if she doesn't like it, no one is forcing her to stay and she can go to one of the many places she said she saw with a "better price, and closer to the beach". 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Ann72]

That’s a great outcome @Lorena596.  Bullies need to be shown the line very firmly.  Most bullies only pick on people they perceive as weaker, so when you show them you’re not, they stop.  Well done.

[Colleen253]

@Lorena596 “….rude comments in regards to the listing as well as threatening me with a bad review and reporting me to airbnb, just because I wasn't responding to texts through WhatsApp fast enough to her liking.”

This person is bad news and you WILL regret hosting them as they will cause you trouble, somehow. In your shoes I would make every effort to have Airbnb do a neutral cancellation of the booking based on the guest threatening and belligerent behavior. Tell them this guest is making threats and you feel unsafe to be hosting them. Just my two cents. Do let us know how you get on, either way.

PS, always keep communications on the Airbnb platform, not WhatsApp etc. That way you have a record of things said and done that Airbnb can see and will recognize. 

[Lorena596]

@Sarah977 I'm also going to do what you said about checking the length of time someone can stay. Like I mentioned in my post, I'm new to the hosting and this first experience has left me wanting to take down my listing 😂 

Lord help me and give me patience

[Sarah977]

@Lorena596  You'll get the hang of it. It can be a big learning curve. I hope she doesn't give you anymore grief. I love your "if she doesn't like it, no one is forcing her to stay and she can go to one of the many places she said she saw with a "better price, and closer to the beach". Perfect attitude.

You should not communicate with guests by Whatsapp. Especially when a guest is making complaints and harrassing you. You should keep your communication on the Airbnb messaging, so there is a record of what was talked about should you need documentation for Airbnb to look at. 

I see your grandma's place, your  listing, is close to me, in PV. What area of town is it in?

You should work on your listing description- it really doesn't give much information, which can lead to complaining or disappointed guests. You need to paint a word picture for guests of what to expect. Describe the interior space more, talk about what the area is like, are there shops and restaurants close by, how far it is from the beach. I do like the part about your grandma attending to her plants.

And that bedroom could use some TLC. It looks quite barren. A bedroom should look and feel cozy. One of the things that drives me crazy in Mexican places I've stayed is no reading lamp by the bed. And a bed for two people needs a bedside table on each side of the bed, and a lamp in each. Some art in the walls, a  colorful throw rug on the floor.

There's nothing wrong with a simple place, but if you jazz it up a little, which doesn't need to cost a lot of money, and raise your price a bit, you'll get better, more appreciative guests.

[Lorena596]

@Sarah977 thank you for the recommendations Sarah! I do mean to fix it up a bit, we have it minimal right now but once I take my next trip down I'll accommodate it more. Right now grandma just does us a huge favor in keeping it clean and she even got some extra things for the space. The unit is in Los Ramblases! It's not close to the beach but it's a nice little place if you know you're way around PV.

[Lorena596]

So, as an update @Colleen253 she checked in on the 21st and will be leaving on the 3rd. She says the place has too much noise. There is some construction work I was unaware of going on a street down the road so I did apologize repeatedly for the disturbance but everything from the roosters in the morning to music playing during the day seems to be an issue to this woman. I'm so done with the situation and can't wait for it to be over. She asked for a refund outside the app and even threatened to take it up with grandma and ask her for the money if I didn't resolve the partial refund right away, to her liking. I let her know she should proceed with requesting it on the app but that seemed too troublesome to her, so I figured I would send her a partial refund, once she's out on the 3rd. I'm being more than reasonable with giving her half of the booking back, taxes included, which I'm not going to get refunded but whatever it takes for her to be out by the 3rd, I'll do. I wish I would have listened to just cancel the booking. Since the booking inquiry, it's been a nightmare with her threatening and harassing constantly. She's again, threatened me with a bad review and says I'll never rent the space again if she leaves it, and again, threatened to report me to airbnb. She did decide to come back onto the platform to go over this, after harassing and threatening me outside the app as well. She also threatened my uncle, who was helping her during her stay, and demanded the refund from him first. 

This whole situation helped me gain a lot of experience but I do wish and am hopeful other bookings are much easier 😞😓 I don't recommend this woman to any airbnb host. Goodness. I did report her on here so hopefully something comes of that but who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Sarah977]

@Lorena596  You've had the baptism of fire. Sounds like your family there has, too. Make sure to leave her an honest review. Wait until the last 15 minutes of the 14 day review period to post your review if you don't get a notification that she has reviewed yet. That way, it will be too late for her to leave a review. Refund her nothing. Refunding these types doesn't prevent them leaving bad reviews.

One thing I suggest you do. Mexico is noisy, as you know. Make sure to mention things like roosters, traffic noise, etc in your listing. No place is perfect, and it's important to ward off guests who won't be happy by disclosing anything that could be a deal breaker, to ward off the complainers. 

You can state it something like, "Please note: This listing is in a typical Mexican neighborhood, not a resort on the beach. You will be immersed in everyday vibrant Mexican culture, complete with roosters, barking dogs, music, maybe some construction going on somewhere. If noise bothers you, this is not the right listing for you. Earplugs may be a good idea for sleeping."

I'm not familiar with that colonia, I'll look it up. 

[Colleen253]

@Lorena596 So sorry this early experience has been such a trial for you! BUT, going forward will be much better as you’ve experienced IT ALL with this guest, and have gained a lot of knowledge. You can avoid trouble from now on! 👍

PS, whatever hellfire review this person leaves, you will likely be able to have removed, as it will no doubt violate review policy, and she threatened review extortion. Let us know….