Hi, I’m Zhijian. I’m based in Croydon, South London, and I’m...
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Hi, I’m Zhijian. I’m based in Croydon, South London, and I’m really happy to be part of the Airbnb community as a Superhost. ...
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I’ve had a booking from someone who is an Airbnb member, but acting as a Tour Guide, he won’t be actually staying, but a stranger is.
His reviews show he does this frequently, gathering a review history, but for different names.
I’m uneasy about it, and conversations I’ve had so far show his customer care isn’t good, and it sounds unlikely he will share rules or information with this person.
I’ve spoken to Airbnb and they’ve been a bit unhelpful, just automated responses ignoring my points
Hi @Chris14748 -
What experienced hosts typically do in this situation
Be clear and firm (but professional):
You can message something like:
“Thanks for your booking. For safety and insurance reasons, Airbnb requires that the person who books is either staying or is included through an official third-party process.
Could you please confirm the full details of the guest who will be staying and ensure they are added to the reservation?
Otherwise, I may need to ask Airbnb to cancel.”
This puts the responsibility back on him without being confrontational.
Your safest options
Option 1: Ask him to correct the booking
The actual guest creates their own Airbnb account
OR they are officially added to the reservation
Option 2: Contact Airbnb again (but escalate properly)
Instead of general support, try:
“This is an unauthorized third-party booking”
“I feel unsafe hosting due to lack of verified guest identity”
Those keywords usually trigger a more serious review.
Option 3: Cancel if needed (with Airbnb support) If he refuses to fix it, you’re justified in asking Airbnb to cancel penalty-free due to policy violation.
Let me know if it helps 👍🏻
Hi @Chris14748
Here's the Airbnb policy that may help you in this situation:
Make a reservation for someone else - Airbnb Help Center
You say you get the impression that the guest sometimes doesn't get proper instructions from this booker. In this case I would make very sure that I can communicate with the guest directly (which will be possible if the guest profile is added to the reservation).
Hello @Chris14748, hosts have shared their opinions and useful Airbnb articles. Please keep us posted once you’ve had a chance to read them, and let us know if you have any further questions.