Host has stock photo!

[Brianna95]

I found a house in CO that was a ‘New’ listing. I noticed that the host was also new, as they had just joined in October ‘19. Their account was deemed verified, but it turned out that their profile photo was a stock photo! (Which I found out by google searching it.) 

Should I be concerned by this?? 

The house nor the host have any reviews yet. The house photos themselves were not stock photos though, and the price point seems right. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Brianna95 

some agencies use stock photos, how many listings this host has?

[Brianna95]

This is their first and only listing 

[Brianna95]

The listing did mention that it was operated by a management company 

[Alice595]

@Brianna95  If there are other options, I would not book a listing with no reviews and no real photo in the host profile if I were you.

My very first Airbnb booking was from a host who had no reviews. And she canceled my booking after I arrived at the listing address, which is a gated apartment complex after I called and texted her a few times to update her with my time of arrival since I landed at the airport.

[Brianna95]

ah that sounds like a terrible experience, I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

I did try to get in contact with them just to see if they would reply at all but have yet to get a response. luckily I have found other listings, I just really liked this one of course. 

[Sarah977]

@Brianna95 Of course there can be legitimate resons why a host doesn't send a response to a message right away- they may at work, it may be a quite different time zone and they're asleep, where I live the internet can be dicey at times. But a responsible host will try to get back to you ASAP. If I were a guest and didn't get a response to a message within 12 hours, I'd move on to another listing.

BTW, there are lots of guests who use stock photos, photos of their cat, a cartoon character, a plate of spaghetti, or as in your case, a landscape. Hosts would like to be able to see a real photo of the person that will be staying, just as guests would like to see a real photo of the host.