@Laura5167
Are the only reasons you feel uncomfortable with this request the lack of reviews and profile picture (as @Helen3 pointed out, you can't see this prior to a confirmed booking so the guest may or may not have one).
I do not have a problem with guests having no reviews. Everyone has to start somewhere and I have had many great first time guests, whereas my least favourite guests of all time had around 20 positive reviews!
I do a lot to screen guests before I accept a booking. I've learnt over time that this is worthwhile and if the guest finds it off putting, they are not the guest for my listing.
- If they are a newbie, I would normally remind them to upload a profile picture if they have not already done so (I have also checked the setting where a profile photo is required for booking) and some profile information.
- I would like to know a bit about them if they have not told me anything, including the purpose of their stay.
- I ask for check in time and remind them of the check in window.
- The most important part is that I ask them to confirm they have read and agree to the FULL listing and house rules and reiterate a couple of important points. As I've found that a lot of guests say they've read it but actually haven't, I've included a question (kind of like a password) in the house rules that they need to answer.
- These days there are a bunch of COVID related questions, particularly for international travellers.
This may seem like an awful lot but it works for me, especially as I host long-term guests, but I'd want to know most of this with short-term guests too.
The guest's responses (or lack of them) can tell you a lot about how they might behave in your listing. Some people are just not great at communicating, but if they can't be bothered to read the listing nor to respond to basic questions like check in time, there's a fair chance they won't be bothered to follow your rules or look after your listing either.
