How do I check on my guest before approving or declining them?

[Irene87]

I am new to AirBnb's hosting and still feeling a little insecure about the guests who are going to stay at my place. The first person who inquired my place was polite and very nice, but the next 3 people made me a little concerned. One of them asked me if he could pay in cash (instead of paying through AirBnb), when I told him that I would be away (as a reason to decline his booking), he asked me if I could just drop the key to somebody... 

Another person sent me his phone number and requested me to contact him directly. And another person suddenly requested to check in at 2am at night. How do I check on the guest's profile when they send me an inquiry? Because whenever I clicked on their profile, only their pictures appear, but nothing else (no reviews about them, no bio/descriptions whatsoever). 

Thank you

[Sharon114]

One more comment Irene, you don't have to accept any guest that you feel uncomfortable with.  If a 2am check-in is ok then fine, I am not sure I would be ok with that.  As hosts we may sometimes read people incorrecty and perhaps they are genuine, however, at the end of the day we are not large hotels.  We are individuals who are invite strangers into our homes and we have to feel comfortable with out choices.

[Sandra126]

Having the full name of a guest is good, as you can google them if you are feeling sceptical. If they have not provided a full name, you can ask.

A definite NO to:

cash

phoning them (stick to Air messages)

dropping keys to ''somebody''

2am arrivals unless you are really ok with that (but it is another day's charge, and maybe a surcharge on top for the inconvenience)

guests who make you uncomfortable

Yes, you will be punished in rankings, so try to attract the guests who you want to come and stay be tweaking the booking requirements etc!

Here's to better guests soon.

[Rosemary12]

I agree with other hosts. Never agree to take a potential guest who wants to book outside the system!You have no safety net if anything goes wrong.

I usually try and see if they have a Facebook account. That is  often a good way to get a sense of who they are. I also won't take guests who won't give me more information when requested, such as what their plans are. I recently turned down a guest request because she refused to give me an actual photo (her profile picture was a beach!) and didn't want to tell me what her plans were. I live in a tourist area so it is nice to know what guests would like to do while they are here so I can prepare brochures etc. for them. I trust my gut instinct and after 3 years of hosting, this has worked well.

[Zoe14]

@Irene0...I have also been having many booking requests and the profile only has one verification, a photo and absolutely nothing about the propsective guest at all.  Sadly, the reputation of some people from some African countries is not very positive here where I live and sadly these are the booking requests I am getting.  I try to engage, and then there is complete silence and then I just know that I wont pre-aprove the booking.  Remember, you have 24hours to pre-aprove/decline the booking, so get conversing with them first to see if they are valid or not.  I have even suggested to thes individuals (very nicely) that they create a more informative profile, and perhaps work on getting recommendations (these are different from host feedback/comments). (you are welcome to look at my profile to see my friend recommendations that i got).

I know there is a flag on a person's profile that you can "report user" and AirBnB will investigate.  I have done this a few times stating my concerns and gut feel.

Personally, I dont trust any profile that has no profile information, or a "suspicious" picture.  Keep to you gut feelings.  True guests, even if first timers will engage with you, want to share with you, seek out info and assistance from you.

Don't every transact or converse through anything but AirBnB until the booking is final.

[Mara24]

I always see if they are on Facebook. Facebook generally gives me a good sense of what the potential guest is like.

[Danielle68]

Great thread! My question is, if my inquiry decides not to stay should I decline or let expire?