@Katherine718
We do it often. It works like this (copied from a previous post)
I only impose it on "no profile, no history" inquiries, who, after some dialogue, understand that they're in a high risk group who must explicitly agree to all house rules and penalties for violations, and agree to the deposit.
About half of these are scared away by this, or end up being advised to go elsewhere due to their odd or inconsistent responses. That's ok, I don't need that type of guest. And there's always another inquiry in the queue right behind them. It's airbnb's greatest strength.
But for those that pass, I'll preapprove their booking, and they book it. Then resolution center -> request money -> amount of deposit.
They pay it. If not, I'll ask them to cancel (this hasn't occurred yet, but could, so I'd have to cancel them if they refused, and suffer the consequences).
When they check in, they're reminded of the house rules, and what is expected in order to get their deposit back.
At checkout, we have the deposit on hand, in cash. And a printed receipt. If all is good, they get the cash, and they sign the receipt. And as an added bonus, they'll also receive a good review, which will help them the next time they want to book something on Airbnb.
Everybody wins. Everybody happy.
Bear in mind that we've never had to retain any portion of a deposit, because the guests want it back, and are naturally extra careful and clean. It's more of a carrot than a stick.
RISKS
Be advised that should you ever need to retain it or any portion, and the guest complains to Airbnb, Airbnb will likely give the deposit back to the guest in full and charge it against future bookings. ...and the guest will likely write a bad review, quite possibly full of fabricated horrors that you, the host imposed on them. So, there's a risk, and you need to stay especially diplomatic, fair, and don't be petty and emotional about everything. But again, its more of a carrot and doesn't need to end in vitriolic confrontation, if you're wise. And it's worked for us so far.
Naturally, we deal with "regular" guests in a simpler, more friendly, personal, and accommodating manner. Unfortunately, it seems they're the exception nowadays.
I hope that helps.