advise please!! scary guest

[Jonathan110]

Im very suspicious of my guest, he looks like a homeless person. Any advise on how to deal with guest who might be drug adicts and might end up stealing personal belongings? I am just paranoid the guy and her girlfriend look like hobbos, I am not rying to judge but they look like homeless people, they smelled and for reserving  for 2 weeks they just broght 3 little bags. Does AirBnB covers is guest steals stuff from your aparment ?

WHAT CAN I DO??? 

[Sharon64]

Johnathon, Is this their first time? Did they supply lots of information about themselves on the verification? Have they had other reviews? Did you ask them before confirming what their business was in your area or where they are travelling from? Yes, you can request Airbnb to get other accommodations for them if you are not comfortable. I would suggest calling the toll free line.

[Margaret33]

Hi Jonathon

I always ask guests why they have come to the area and try to get to know them a little before accepting their reservation. Look at other reviews from other hosts. You could  suggest that the accommodation is not suitable for them and suggest they find another place,  if they cancel you will accept their cancellation with a full refund. I always ask for a reference in case of emergencies- email telephone and address. They probably feel the same as you. Trust your intuition. If your first instinct gives you this feeling -  Ring airbnb- to cover yourself. Hope this helps.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Jonathan110

Turn off instant book and vet your guests before accepting.

[Sharon114]

Hi Jonathan, I am a little surprised that you have Instant Book due to the fact that guests will be sharing a sleeping space in your lounge (where someone else sleeps).  Is it you who shares the sleeping space?  You are not charging very much for two people and have no idea who they are prior to their arrival.

In your circumstances it is important to get a feel for a guest before accepting a booking, especially involving shared sleeping spaces.

As has already been said, you should contact airbnb and ask for the guests to be relocated elsewhere as you feel very uncomfortable.

[Zandra0]

I'm in the middle of travelling for 4 months with just hand luggage 🙂

And that does mean re-wearing stuff a lot! I've been washing things after three to four wears. I'm not a hobo though I can imagine I look like one 🙂

[Andrea9]

@Jonathan110

Airbnb renting can be scary for new hosts. There are many scams out there and tricky guests, yet also tons of lovely ones.

I agree with @Sharon114 that the default setting Instabook opens you up to pretty much anybody out there and when sharing personal space it's like opening your front door and calling 'Come on in y'all!' The Airbnb call to 'share' and 'live like a local' misleads too many into thinking that everybody thinks like that. Well, it doesn't and the good, the bad, and the ugly live side by side out there and are standing in line for booking   😉

Why do you think the bad and the 'ugly' seem to target new hosts? This community is full of such dodgy stories.

Or maybe practised hosts are targeted too but clearly see the s**t coming before it hits the proverbial fan, because there's usually more than one red flag announcing it.

Turn off Intant Book until you have more experience. It's a bonanza for the more undesired kind of guest if your IB booking doesn't require them to be fully ID checked and have only good reviews.

Turn on ID Verified for bookings.

(Also inform guests and include in your house rules that there will be ID check upon arrival. Keep a kind of Hostelry list like any hotel or motel with date of stay, their names, and ID nos. Very useful in case of theft or shady characters)

Vet your guests in a little conversation to get a bit more information about them to feel comfortable.

Peruse this Community's posts for more useful information and tips on how to contact Airbnb.

Many lower-priced accommodations are popular targets for transients or evicted renters in the same area, which is why experienced hosts usually see a red flag there.

You usually only find such things out by getting into a short conversation before booking gets accepted. 

Then have a chuckle but serious read between the lines of this 

Blog article for new hosts

and another one more for guests but useful for hosts

Forbes re. Airbnb guests

Another tip. Keep all correspondence on the Airbnb message communication page. It's a record that they can look into in case of future problems. Any exchange you had with guest re. inappropriateness, not following house rules, etc. etc. outside of it is hard to prove, so the premise of experienced hosts is to reiterate such conversations or exchanges in form of a message confirming or repeating such-and-such. That way you'll have at least one message leading up to a possible call to have Airbnb re-locate them or in case of a guest cancelling and demanding refund.

If Airbnb sees any message or exchange in the message thread throwing doubts on a guests allegations it's reason for them to have doubts and possibly even contact you directly.

Just saying.

Too many hosts are dinged later on by Airbnb siding with guest's atrocious reasons when cancelling and giving total refund. If there had been an exchange with guest there right from the start of problems, it would have been different, a kind of paper trail. Sort of like if there's no (paper-trail) proof, it didn't happen.

This may all sound terrifying, but being well-prepared usually prevents bad things happening in the first place.

Good luck with your smelly guests and for the future happy hosting.

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

Well, they have to have a credit card in order to book a reservation, which leads me to believe they at least have (a) money and (b) an address for the credit card statement to go to.  I would give them a chance - just because they may lead a slightly nomadic life doesn't make them a threat.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

You are jumping to lots of conclusions and yet they don't seem to have misbehaved in any way. And their booking is paid for. Unlikely they would go to the trouble of booking for two weeks just to steal a few personal items.

You should have your own insurance for theft. AirBnB's policy is for the massive stuff.

However you clearly feel uncomfortable because you think they are homeless and may steal from you. Not a lot you can do without accusing them of something they haven't done.

Perhaps in discussion with them mention that you are around a lot during the day etc. And hope it doesn't disturb them. Think carefully about accepting longer term bookings in future - people become lodgers really - different to someone in town for three or four days.

Good luck - I am sure it will be fine