Hosting Guests from Foreign Countries

[Ania9]

Hi There,

I just listedd my house and already received an iquiry from someone from India. I also would like to find out if there is anything extra I need to know/do when hosing foreign guests. One thing is how do you verify their identity??? 

Thanks, Ania

[Christian65]

You can see at their profile if they are verified or not.

I have great experience with hosting newbies from all over the world but if you want to more safe you must check if their profile is verified by Airbnb and you might just want to accept people with great reviews if you are unsure.

[Ania9]

Thanks Christian!

The guest's profile only shows their email and phone number verified. How do I verify their identity???

[Christian65]

The guest can chose to verify their ID to Airbnb in form of a photo of their passport or drivers license and that's the only verification.

Usually I get great guests but if my gut feeling tells me otherwise and the basics aren't in order such as a simple ID verification I let the booking go and wait for the next.

Or you could ask the guest to verify it to Airbnb and ask them to tell you a bit more about them selves. I've done that once when I started out with great succes.

[David126]

Nothing different from someone present in the US, and you do not verify their identity. anyway AirBnB are supposed to.

I did find your paintings, but not your listing.

[Ania9]

Hi David, 

The person's profile only has their email and phone numnber verified.....

What do you mean you found my painitngs and not my listing???

[Christian65]

Now I'm curious about those paintings David! That comment seems so random but made me laugh 🙂

[Ania9]

The paintings in the photos have been painted by me! 🙂 My portfolio is at: ania-m-milo.pixels.com

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

It does not sound like your prospective guest has verified their identity with Airbnb yet.  Airbnb is the one who will verify their identification, not you.  As a host, you can ask the person to please verify their ID with Airbnb and then you can ask them more about their travels to your area in order to get a better feel for them as a person.

[Ania9]

Thanks. That's what I thought. I will not accept this reservation until the person has been verified.

[Ed-and-Janan0]

AirBnb, 

takes the fraud risk with foreign guests.  The guests credit card will clear in same period of time as a US guest.   Additionally AirBNB doesnt close the transaction until payment is made.  if your concern is financial only I see ZERO additional risk with foreign transactions cleared through airbnb's payment processing.   Lack of history and quality of the guest is another risk, one that is mitigated by a strong history and airbnb verification.

By aware of fraud.  I accept very few checks.  I used to accept international checks (with ample time to clear).  A common scam was that they would overpay you and say that it was their total vacation fund. "Please send us back residual minus lodging".  This would be generally be $2000 or more.  I deposited the first one i got like this and the bank assured me it looked like a valid account.  I waited a few days while the bank guarenteed they wouldn't reverse the transaction.  Meanwhile the guest (thief) kept asking to have the balance refunded.  The bank called saying the check was not valid and they were reversing the transaction.   My heart goes out to people that are taken in scams such as this.  

Regards

ed

[Ania9]

Thanks Ed!

[David126]

I looked for you listing but only found your paintings, searched using your photo.

I did not really word my reply very well, I menat to say that basically there is no difference, overseas or US,  the requirements are the same and what you require is likely to be the same.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Hi Ania

Hosting people from other countries is no different to hosting people from your country. Make sure that you have set your reservation requirements to 'require verification' - that means that all guests will have given some proof to AIrBnB that they are who they say they are. Of course it's no guarantee of future or past behaviour.

Until you get used to hosting you may wish to consider only taking guests who have some reviews from other hosts (but about 40% of our guests are new to AirBnB - just like you!)

Other than that - ask questions so that you are comfortable with why they are coming to your area, what they intend to do when they are there, etc..

[Steve256]

Thanks for the information!

Wondering, does anyone ask about visa length for foreign guests?

Thanks!