New to hosting, not traveling.

[Jonah42]

Hello! We finally finished our first cabin on our 8 acre homestead near Lake Hartwell. It was a labor of love. A day after going online we got our first Instant Booking for 7/2-4. The guest has no profile, no picture, and has no reviews, member since 2020. I’ve sent two messages over the last two days without reply via the AirBnb message board. Should I be suspicious? I don’t want to just cancel and then incur some kind of penalty. Your advice would be very helpful on what to do next. 

[Anonymous]

@Jonah42   FYI if you choose to use Instant Book, you can adjust the settings to restrict which guests are able to use IB  (positively reviewed, photo, verified ID). https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1353/choosing-who-can-instant-book

Better yet, turn Instant Book off altogether, at least until you get the hang of things. Sadly, the worst guests with the worst intentions gravitate to new listings as they're the easiest to scam. It's more important than ever right now for you to vet your guests carefully until you have a solid reputation and a firewall of great reviews. Making guests request to book allows you to get a feel for how they communicate before making your decision, and this is by far the best indicator of how they'll be as guests. Profiles, photos, and reviews aren't nearly as reliable.

[Jonah42]

Thank you so much. That’s great information and we had never thought of it that way. We will follow your advice and treat the booking process as importantly as we built and designed our new cabin.