Guest who request to book room for a month+ but never pay

[Stephanie1842]

I find that many guests have requested our room for over a month. We pre-approve them but they either never book or don't pay. It happens all the time!

Any insight as to if this is some type of scam? It seems fishy but I can't seem to figure out the gain for the guests since they can't find out my address or any other info until their payment goes through. 

I guess I'm just trying to make sure it's innocent 

[Emiel1]

@Stephanie1842 

You will never know what their intentions are.  IMO a guest how wants to book a long term stay will make a booking request. Pre-approve an inquiry does not guarantee the guest will also book.

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie1842 For most hosts, very few inquiries, no matter for a month or 4 days, result in a booking. An inquiry is just a way for a guest to ask questions and they may have sent out inquiries to 20 different listings.

It's best not to waste too much time responding to inquiries- briefly answer their questions and move on. And you don't have to either pre-approve or decline an inquiry. A response within 24 hours is all that's required.