Tips to get Approved to Guest by Hosts?

[Michelle2914]

Hi hosts! 

First time using this site, and also first time using Airbnb. I just turned 18 and was looking to book a graduation trip for me and my friends within my general area (1-3 hours from where we're located in the city). We've gotten our inquiries turned down or saddled with unaffordable advanced(?) deposit requirements, and I want to know if there's any way I can approach better or what I could do to help convince hosts to give us a chance.  I understand there's a lot of hesitancy and liability concerns towards teenagers and that nothing I say may change that notion for hosts, but it's incredibly frustrating to get rejected by location after location on the premise of age.

After our first failed booking, where we were told that someone with reviews must book and that we would be subject to a deposit of around 50% the total cost of the trip, I decided to start reaching out to inquire before entering the booking process. I've sent messages with full transparency explaining our plans (mainly just to have everyone cook at least once, stargaze (if possible), and play board games), our travel routes and predicted arrival time, and recognizing the immediate concerns towards teenagers and assuring that we are, in fact, not the party types. 

Some of the barriers we've faced, other than outright rejection, are the following:
- Requiring that a parent, with reviews, book (none of our parents utilize Airbnb, this just feels super unfair to us)
- Requiring that one of us, with reviews, book (how can I obtain reviews if no one will rent to me, and I'm newly 18 in the first place?)
- A deposit fee (so far we've been told $3000 and $2000 on stays roughly $6500 which we are fine to agree with under or at $2000 but not more, as we don't have that type of money to be freezed right before a trip)

I don't know what I can do to make myself seem any more trustworthy than I already perceive myself approaching as. And it's incredibly frustrating to find that this site allows utilization from 18, yet, it seems impossible to find people willing to rent out, even in cases where age is not specified within the listing itself. We really want to go on this trip, but every rejection or request we cannot meet just feels discouraging. If any hosts have any tips on how I can better quell host concerns and at least get a booking down, I'd appreciate it a lot.

And also as a secondary note, we're attempting booking for any full week this July, so it's not like we're trying to book last minute weekends or stays. My account is new as I'm the first person in my group to turn 18, and we wanted to book as soon as possible to guarantee our plans. I'm getting really tempted to, out of frustration, spend my own money to start booking single night stays for the sole sake of gaining reviews.

[Michelle2914]

Hi!

Thanks so much for the examples! It really gave me a better idea of how to write my profile introduction. If you don't mind taking another look, I'd really appreciate it!

[Huma0]

@Michelle2914 

I think that's much better! I know some hosts that are not that bothered about who their guests are, but many, like me, like to get a sense of someone's personality, that they are friendly and can communicate!

[Emilia42]

@Michelle2914 Also, how many is "me and friends?" and in what region are you looking to book?

[Huma0]

@Michelle2914 

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- A deposit fee (so far we've been told $3000 and $2000 on stays roughly $6500 which we are fine to agree with under or at $2000 but not more, as we don't have that type of money to be freezed right before a trip)



Are you sure you'e looking at a deposit here and not the downpayment? Did the hosts or the listings specify these amounts as a deposit? Or, did you see this amount as an upfront payment in the breakdown of the booking costs? I'm asking because Airbnb always take at least a part payment upfront when you make the booking. On Airbnb, you don't get to reserve a listing without payment. So, even if you were able to book somewhere, you'd still have to put down some or all of the costs at the time of booking.

[Michelle2914]

Hi!

Very sure it's the deposit as it's always an added clause. The conversations always go, "we would love to host your group with the following additional clauses". They're unlisted on the original listing, but every inquiry we've had has resulted in the hosts emphasizing that they will be adding it for us to book the property (along with usually another clause). For example, the booking we attempted to do at first, we clicked the option to pay partially, so $3700 upfront. The hosts then mentioned that they would be enforcing a $3000 deposit on us due to our age and liability concerns.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Wan

[Huma0]

@Michelle2914 

Ah, okay. Well, that's pretty clear then.