Concerns over Instant Booking

[Kelly177]

I am deeply concerned about AIRBNB's "INSTANT BOOKING" option.  As a new host using AIRBNB I was shocked to come home from work and find an uninvited guest in my home.  I am equally shocked to find AIRBNB provided him with my address even though the reservation had been cancelled within minutes. The individual entered my home without permission in my absence.  It happened my front door was unlocked when he arrived.  I had made arrangements with my son the previous night to come in a pick something up and therefore my door left unlocked for that purpose.  Although "INSTANT BOOKING" is extremely risky it is promoted by AIRBNB.  Addresses are provided as soon as AIRBNB receives payment.  This should not be an option. AIRBNB policy should be to require sufficient time to screen potential guests.  AIRBNB "verified" the individual's phone number? When the rep tried to call him to let him know he was in violation of their policies the phone number he listed on his account was not a working number.  I informed her the only way she would be able to contact him is if I handed her my phone because he didnt have one! His mother was to have paid for his reservation with a credit card.  He had no phone and  although my place is located in a rural area he had no transportation.  His story was he was selling a house and needed a place to stay while he was waiting for it to close.  and his mother lives in the same city he claimed to have the pending sale of his house yet his dad dropped him off at my home 20 miles away.  The story just wasnt adding up! 

He entered my home approximately 2 1/2 hours prior to my discovering him.  I was shocked when I opened the door and discovered this half dressed male laying in the bed.  When he raised his head to answer me he had one of my towels wrapped around his head. He helped himself to my kitchen and food, took a shower and moved into my guest room.  He had removed items from the shelves and replaced them with his belongings, the window to the room open and curtains closed and a boom box plugged in and placed on the top of the bed.  Upon arriving home I found the door to my guest room closed.  After he left I found the damp towel on the bed, on top of the brand new memory foam mattress topper I just placed on the bed the week before. 

***[Post Title Updated]

[Gregg13]

The problem is Airbnb no longer lets you have the persons last name or a picture to do your own sourcing to confirm the guest is safe to be in your home.  Especially if you have children in your home

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

One more thing... how did you know he was a convicted felon?

[Kelly177]

My particular incident did not involve a felon.  I have removed instant booking from my account. After reading about so many issues I am not sure this is going to work out for me. 

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

You still have Instant Book turned on.  Make sure you turn it off if you want to vett every guest personally.  

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

@Kelly177, your subject title says it was a convicted felon.  I'm confused.

[Rachael26]

@Wendy

Good point Wendy - and even if it was accurate it is a discriminatory label and really should be edited from the title.... perhaps @Kelly177 will redact that part of her title for this post?

Best Wishes.

[Kelly177]

I did not actually use that title, airbnb inserted it, I was responding to the host that actually had that issue. 

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Where exactly where you writing this information?  You posted this thread several times.  

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

@Kelly177, did this happen to you or did this happen to another host?

The more I read, the less clear this is to me.

@Alice-and-Jeff0, I saw the post elsewhere, too, without the "convicted felon" in the title.

My brain stops functioning after 10 PM.

[Kelly177]

If you read the subject line it indicates RE: meaning I wrote in response to another posting.  

TWO separate incidences. 

[Kelly177]

I am new to this airbnb. I am new to the community postings.  It appears airbnb allows for autofill in the subject line.  I initially responded to the posting in which "felon" was in the subject line.  I also posted my own topic for discussion. 

So in reponse, yes it may been seen in duplicate. Do people not have any safety concerns?  

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

@Kelly177, I think we all have safety concerns.

We make reasonable attempts to protect ourselves, our pets, our properties.

If it's very stressful for you, then ABB may not be right for you.

It's a highly personal decision but a guest will sense if you're nervous and that won't be fun for either of you.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Kelly177 - yes, of course we have safety concerns.  The difference is that a big part of your situation was that you left your door open and unlocked.  Most of us would tell you that is the root of the problem, not Instant Book or Airbnb in general.  Many of us have multiple security failsafes to ensure we are protected from people just walking into our homes.  Personally, I have an alarm system where I change the alarm code for every guest.  We keep our door locked at all times, regardless of the time of day.  We inform our guests that they are at risk too - that we're a popular Airbnb with over 200 guest arrivals and closer to 300 different guests who have been through our doors and we just don't know who might decide to show back up.  We have instant book on too, we even have a picture of the front of our house on the listing, people can find us on Google Street View easily (and they can find your home too!) - so allowing Airbnb to give away our address is the least of the issues.  We've given you some good advice if you think this is too risky for you - turn off instant book, get a key pad, alarm system or a keybox, keep your door locked now that you're on Airbnb, maybe get a video camera, or just decide that this is not for you.  Once you have the first guest in the door, the risk becomes exponential.  How many keys did they make?  How many pictures of your valuables did they snap and post on some website with your address (think Facebook!)?  Did they leave any windows unlocked or leave any hidden cameras behind to record you?  You can make yourself crazy.... Airbnb is built on a sense of trust inherently... this situation with this one person sucked, but it's not Airbnb's fault.  

[Lizzie]

Hello @Kelly177,

Lovely to meet you. My name is Lizzie and I am the Online Community Manager here. 

I am sorry to hear about this situation with a guest, I am sure that came as quite a surprise, I do hope as you have been in contact the Support Team this is now resolved. It is also good to see your fellow hosts have suggested several options to help, like turning off IB or if you haven't already set up particular settings so that only guests that meet your requirements can automatically book (e.g - only guests with positive reviews from other hosts). 

I just wanted to let you know, as I see you mention the title of your post here isn't what you intended to put, I have amended it, please do let me know though if you would prefer it to be something different. 🙂

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Gregg13]

Again this is easy to learn if someone is a convicted felon if you have there last name and know where to search.  Airbnb is not

looking into this and no longer providing last names until after someone books. So even is airbnb does check initially when someone signs up how do you know without checking that someone didn’t get a felony conviction, child sexual predictor conviction post signing up on Airbnb unless you check as a host?