I've been a host just shy of 1 year but was doing well pre-Covid with lots of great guests and good reviews that immediately made me a Superhost. Instead of pulling my listing during Covid, I raised my rates much higher than other nearby options thinking it would be a way for prospects to still come across my property and maybe save it for another day but the price would deter any immediate bookings. It's important to note I live here so there are shared spaces (living room, kitchen, bathroom). Let me tell you the story and I would appreciate your advice.
This past Saturday I got an instant booking for 1 week. The first red flag with this was the guest's name was obviously phony (although they are still verified). I do get sketchy requests from time to time, typically from those with no reviews, and cancel it without another thought. However, this guest had good reviews from the past few years. Because of this, not to mention the potentially high payout, I gave the guest a phone call. I told them they would be the first guest since pre-Covid and asked about their plans during their trip (if they were going to take Covid precautions). I also asked about the phony last name and they acted like they didn't even realize that's what was displayed but they mentioned that it was from Facebook. I tried to give the benefit of the doubt since I have friends that also use fake last names on Facebook and I assumed maybe the guest had linked the account to AirBnB somehow. At this point I was hesitant but open to giving it a try. If they were responsible I would be fine hosting especially given the large payout from my raised rates.
When they arrived I gave them an in person walk thru. Since I'm in a beach area I also like to take my guests for a quick car ride to show them the surrounding area (beach and neighborhood). This is when one of the first red flags popped up. The guest mentioned they were hungry so I pulled over to let them run into a take out place. I stayed in the car. They returned but had no food. They said for some reason they bank card was declined (this is an American in American not someone traveling with foreign cards). They mentioned they would just order food which they never did. In passing once back at my home they said they could not get in touch with anyone at a bank. This I find hard to believe since it's a major institution and I'm sure it's possible to reach someone.
Next red flag was while at home I heard the guest on the phone with VRBO. It was on speaker and loud so even though I was in a completely other part of the house I could hear they were trying to get a refund.
There were a couple other minor things but those were the major red flags and I got a feeling I should research on typical scams guests have tried in order to protect myself. So that night I read quite a bit on the boards here. One thing that caught my attention is how guests will stay somewhere and then make up a phony story in order to get a refund from Air BnB. After overhearing some of the call regarding a VRBO refund I was worried this person might just be jumping from platform to platform staying as little or as long as possible then trying to get their money back with bogus claims.
I typically send out a message during a guest's stay to make sure everything is going well and there are no issues. I did this the morning of Day 3 and added a line saying I require all guests to respond to this message. They did and said everything was great. Then a couple hours later I start getting text messages to call them and then that they are not comfortable due to Covid and want to know what the protocol is for refunds. This was the funny part because when I called them after the booking I was the one very concerned about Covid and they're the one traveling from state to state!
I have a strict cancellation policy. With that said I could not refund anything if I wanted to right? Now I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and I am reasonable. I was thinking either giving them 50% back or just charge them for the 2 nights they stayed plus cleaning fees. I hate to say it but I really have the feeling that they were going to try and stay the entire week and maybe even longer THEN try to get a refund with some bogus made up story. I believe my message checking in with them might have caught them off guard and not allowed for such an opportunity. Because when they did return I was already on the phone with AirBnB and I made sure they were not staging any photos or anything to be used as a bogus means for a refund (that's what I read on this board that some guests actually do that).
I am not afraid of a bad review from someone who is just a scammer. My bigger concerns is if they would be crazy enough to come back to my place and do something to the property but I guess that is a risk we all take being hosts.
I write this to see if anyone else has had similar experiences and how they handled them. I know there are worse stories out there but it's really changed my opinion of Air BnB and makes me consider the end of hosting altogether (and I blocked out my calendar once I figured I might be getting scammed).
