Giving out my address

Samantha188
Level 2
Cape Town, South Africa

Giving out my address

Hi All

 

I have a potential booking and he has requested my address to view the guest suite this Friday.  Is this normal?

He gives me his cel number but it says (PHONE NUMBER HIDDEN) then when I replied he gives me his email but it also says (EMAIL HIDDEN)

 

Please advise as I am new to this.

 

Regards

Samantha

 

 

13 Replies 13
Marzena4
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

Hello @Samantha188. This is Airbnb's way of hiding such content, so you can guess guests are NOT supposed to request such info.

// "The only person you can trust is yourself"

So now my question is how do i give him my details to view as it is a month stay.  I am really nervous giving out my address unless the person comes via AirB&B and happy to just arrive.  

What is the norm?

This is concerning to me that guests get our actual address the moment they book, yet we as hosts only get a phone number. I don't want a guest having access to where I live too long before their check-in date as it puts me and my family at risk.

Secondly, as hosts, we are now NO LONGER able to see the guest's address or email address in the Reservation Confirmation screen like we used to do. 

 

As a host, I am at risk if a person knows my address weeks in advance, and to simultaneously not provide me with their contact information is outrageous. The "sharing economy" only works because of mutual trust. If guests can see OUR address and full contact info from the time they book, then we as hosts should be able to see their full contact information from the moment they book. 

Airbnb's answer will be "Oh we vet all our guests" except if you look up Ivan on this community forum, his experience was that the guest was not interested in staying at his home at all but rather just interested in using his address for fraudulent purposes and Airbnb isn't helping him. So much for Airbnb's secure vetting process. This is another reason hosts should have complete contact information -- so we can do our own vetting as much as possible. 

 

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hello @Samantha188,

Welcome to the Community Center!

As Marzena mentioned, this is indeed hidden due to safety reasons. I recommend that you have a look at >this<. The link provides some information on what to do if a guest wants to view your home before booking. I also found some other experiences shared by other hosts here in the Community Center that are worth checking out.  

I hope this helps!

 

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Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

What do you do if they are requesting your address for "visa" purposes?!

@Samantha188, people asking to see your listing happens a lot, but it is not normal. And you should not allow it.

It isn't just that it is against the rules (which it totally is).
It is also just a bad idea for you.
Based on stories from experienced hosts, the more experienced the host, the more they are against letting guests "Preview" the listing.
They have said:
1. "Preview" guests often just want to meet you to ask for a discount, or to propose paying outside the AirBnB system. Both bad for you.
2. "Preview" guests are often the worst kind of picky, hard to satisfy guests.
3. "Preview" guests might be criminals just wanting to case your property before robbing it.
4. It is huge waste of your time. Often hosts will wait hours for late "Preview" guests who just ask for a discount and then never book.
5. What exactly are they going to learn from looking at the listing that your many lovely pictures don't already show?
If they want to learn something more, why don't they just ask you?
If they want to see the neighborhood, they can see the neighborhood without coming inside your property.
Don't do it.
Tell them "If there is anything more you need to know about the listing, I am happy to answer all your questions. If you want to look at the neighborhood, our closest intersection is (street & street). We do not allow unbooked guests inside the property."

 

In one of the most recent incidents, someone asked about what to do with a guest who wanted to "Preview" the listing because they were going to book a long stay. The husband eventually allowed the guest to visit (the person asking was the wife, who was against it).

Guess what happened? The "Preview" guest spent most of the time trying to convince the husband to give him a discount and to let him pay outside the AirBnB system. Happily, the husband said "no" and the "guest" never booked with them.

Complete waste of their time.

Don't do it.

Thank you so much for the indepth detail.  I am so grateful for all the comments and have done what everyone has said and he has gone away :-).  You all saved me so much stress, thank you!

@Samantha188, I am very glad things worked out well!

Thank you for letting us know.

Raymond6
Level 2
California, United States

Hi,

I've been using airbnb for several years, I just booked a stay and the host won't give me the address stating its against the policy and she won't give me the address until the day before. This is the first time this has happened. 

Please advise.

Thanks

Ray

Alon1
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Raymond6

 

If this is what you've been told by the Host about Airbnb 'Policy' then it's wrong.

 

You should be able to see the address in the BOOKING CONFIRMATION.

 

I can't imagine the Host was able to list with Airbnb without giving address. 

It's part of the procedure to list on the website.

 

So just check the Booking Confirmation.

It will have address and contact details: Host mobile and encrypted email.

 

 

 

Raymond6
Level 2
California, United States

Hi Alon,

The host would not give me the address, however, airbnb is going to contact the host and either I get the address or I will cancel the booking and look elsewhere. I been using airbnb since 2012 and never encountered this problem before.

Thanks and safe traveling and/or hosting.

Ray

Alon1
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Samantha188

 

I do get occasional request to view, though it's most prevalent with one category.

Airbnb has become quite popular with the Photo / Film industry in the UK.

Airbnb listings are considerably cheaper than Location Libraries.

So those wanting to shoot invariably request to view, which is understandable.

 

However, I've adopted a special policy in response.

I charge for the viewing which must be done as a normal booking: 'Special Offer'  c. £ 30 or 40 depending on their project budget. 

I stipulate if the shoot goes ahead then the viewing charge will be deducted from the overall negotiated price.

It's proved perfectly acceptable to these people. 

 

The benefit aside payment for my time for the viewing, is that the booking as per norm includes the exchange of contact details.

 

In turn i've adopted this policy for the very occasional request to view by normal type of guest.

To date no one has been willing to pay it, and I don't recall anyone actually booking.

 

 

However, I'm generally not nervous about the idea that an Airbnb guest might wish to view because I'm not exclusively an Airbnb host. I also rent longer term on the most popular site in the UK, SPARE ROOM.

It's normal for people to request viewing.

 

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Consequently, I would avise that if in principle you feel comfortable with this prospective guest to view, then you suggest to him that he do a minimal booking via Special Offer, and he should arrive with his Passport or ID which you can photocopy.

 

 

 

 

 

Alon1
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Samantha188

 

PS.

You can take a further precaution after the initial booking for a viewing, namely to have another adult in the house during the visit: family member or friend.