Guests suitability

[Trish15]

OK...I get a booking request.  How do I see what other hosts have to say about this person.  I've tried everything that I can think of. How to do this is NOWHERE to be found on the site and this is really amazing to me because it is claimed that the whole concept runs on trust and reviews and verifications.  HELP!!!

[Clare0]

Hi @Trish15 I use my laptop with Google Chrome so what I say may be different for you if you are using an app.  I go to My Messages and then click on the guest's profile.  Then I'll see any reviews, if any, and if they have Verified ID which I require. 

[Andrée2]

Hello. So I am assuming that their profile states that they actually have reviews and are not new members of the site. They may have none as of yet.

If this is new for you as a host and you feel uncomfortable about anything when considering a guest, listen to that and ask them more questions. If you are still uncomfortable, decline the request in the nicest way possible.

I recently had a potential guest that was 20 and he wanted to book with a  couple of his 19 y.o buddies. I have not had the best experiences when I have 3 boys staying, let alone very young ones that may be coming to party. Not only was he quite young (which can be a concern in terms of liability with alcohol or drug consumption issues here in Portland where pot is now legal), he was obviously inexperienced and wanted to rent for 5 days. I pointed out that he was new to the site with no prior reviews and asked if he could have someone provide a reference using Airbnb's reference feature...someone that would be qualified to speak to his responsible rental qualifications. If he would have been willing to make that happen, I would have taken this request more seriously as he would have been handling it as such. Alas I never heard from him again. I'm sure he didn't want to bother with taking the time to provide those assurances so who knows what else he wouldn't have bothered to tend to once he was here and had 5 days to run amok in my space. I feel like I diplomatically dodged a messy bullet.

[Keith0]

Ask them if they have used Airbnb before. If yes, check their profile. Should be very obvious. Sounds like you are new, too. Go slow and ask lots of questions and read the help material. Don't worry - Airbnb is not hiding their reviews. Either they don't have any or you are looking in the wrong place. 

[Andrea9]

@Trish15

Everybody is a newbie without reviews when starting out, even new hosts!

With all of the advertising Airbnb does it attracts countless new guests daily, and they are going to want to book.

As long as they are only inquiring, they don't need to go through any real verification process.

Asking questions is the way to go till your gut feeling tells you it's okay. Beefing up house rules is another.

Checking off the box that only guests with ID verification can book can also have a bit of a tendency to scare off bad guests.