hosting guest with no reviews

[Stephanie268]

I have a booking for a guest with no reviews at all. Guest joined Air B n B 2019. My max night stay is usually 7 but somehow she has managed to book for 11 nights. . My accommodation is self contained but under the same roof as the main house in which I live. I tried to find a face book profile for her but nothing..... I have recently had a spate of difficult guests so feeling uncomfortable especially if the booking is for 11 nights.    Please advise

[Debra300]

@Stephanie268,

I recommend that you first check your reservation settings to confirm the maximum night setting. You should also update your other reservation requirements to include a profile photo if you are uncomfortable with newbies booking your space.  If the maximum nights are still set at seven nights, then call Airbnb customer service, and ask them how an 11 night reservation was allowed to be made.  Ask them to cancel the reservation based upon the booking occurring outside of your requirements.

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie268  You say it's a booking, so I assume it was a IB? Or is it a Request to Book?

In any case, I have hosted several guests who had no reviews, and none of them were new accounts. When I said I was curious as to why it showed they had been members for awhile, but no reviews, the explanations were quite innocent- joined but hadn't had a chance to travel, had had a couple of stays, but the hosts hadn't left a review, liked to "armchair travel", just perusing listings like you'd  look at a travel magazine, etc. All turned out to be great guests.

What tells me the most is how a guest communicates- do they send a nice, informative first message, telling you a bit about themselves and why they are coming?  Do they answer any questions you have promptly and completely? That's what I go by- and I don't use IB- I communicate with all my guests before accepting a booking.  

So no reviews isn't a red flag, we all started with no reviews, but poor communication is. If you've had a lot of sketchy bookings lately,  message with the guest enough to get a feel for whether you feel okay about them, and make sure they've thoroughly read your listing description, house rules, booked for correct # of people, etc.

[Helen427]

Top marks @Sarah977 , great to know we both agree on this topic.

All the best @Stephanie268 and appreciate whilst there are not so nice people who come to stay there's also nice people.

 Good you do your background checks however be mindful there are people out there, myself included, who don't have Facebook or other Social Media profiles for a variety of reasons so please consider the "unknown" is not always a negative about a person.

Look on it positively as @Sarah977  has suggested.

[Helen427]

@Stephanie268, may I also suggest to find out prior to arrival the mode of transport  they are traveling to your home by.  If it's a private vehicle ask for the Registration number plate, colour & model so you know who to look out for coming onto the property .

It's one way of tactfully find out  another detail about a person & a safety backup for yourself should any issues arise.

Thinking positively for you folk in Australia with the railroading you are all going through across the ocean in Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand.

As an aside, Be mindful, it's "Guidelines" the Gvt are telling you in Australia & they themselves must adhere  to "Rule of Law".

Maybe look up Andrew Borrowdale Judicial Review submissions that are on the NZ Law Society website for peace of mind re Coronavirus/ Covid19 matters.

 It's well worth a read

[Emilia42]

@Stephanie268 I am guessing this guest requested to book and that you have this semi-new option selected within your availability:

I've had really good luck with this feature since it brought some longer stays that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. If you are still uncomfortable you can decline, but as @Sarah977 and @Helen427 say, good communication is the real indicator and everyone's Airbnb journey has to start somewhere.

[Huma0]

I've hosted so many first time guests, I honestly couldn't keep count, and several of these were for long-term stays. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? We have all been first time users on the platform.

Most of these guests were great. I've also had some awful guests who had several positive reviews. In fact, my least favourite guests of all time had 25 of them! Hosts (especially those managing multiple properties with tonnes of guests that they have little interaction with) can be quite generous with their reviews. Sometimes they are really not worth the paper (or screen) they are written on!

So, I agree with the other hosts above that it's much more down to communication. There are certain questions I ask all guests, new or not, which normally help to identify any red flags. Sometimes it doesn't work, but that's not because they are new.