How to locate a host?

[Zoe338]

Hello Hosts-

I’m trying to locate host @@Rita in Oak Harbor, WA

Future guest met my criteria of having a review & auto-booked tho short comment on review is for her mother (a 4.5) . After two difficult guests I’m concerned this could be another & frankly not worth what I’ll earn on a 3-night stay. Debating taking the risk, reaching out to said guest to get a feel for her or saying goodbye to my good rating & cancelling. 

Rita in Oak Harbor, WA if you read this would love your feedback if daughter even accompanied her mother on trip to your place. Thanks!!

[Emiel1]

@Zoe338 

So you want to contact the host, who hosted your (future) guest about a review ?

If you can see the review, you can see the host.

i (think) i found the host:

Was the name of the person who booked Mary ?

The review was:

"Mary's mom, Jean, is a delightful woman"

[Zoe338]

Hi @Emiel1  yes, that’s all correct. I don’t see how to contact this host Rita as I can’t see her exact handle and there are a ton of Ritas!

[Lisa723 · Accepted solution]

@Zoe338 You would have to send her an inquiry, as a guest She may or may not appreciate it. Very unlikely she’ll see your question here. 

[Zoe338]

Yes tho I can’t see how to contact this past host…

[Sarah977]

@Zoe338  Just click on the  host's profile photo, which would take you to their profile page and their listings.

[Alexandra316]

@Zoe338 This should be a no: third party bookings are against the rules. Do yourself a favour and just say no. If the mum wants to travel on Airbnb, her daughter can help her to set up her own profile. 

If this was an instant booking, you can cancel without penalty. Just say that you're not comfortable with the booking during the cancellation.

[Zoe338]

@Alexandra316  turns out AirBnb will “punish” me as a host if I cancel (even tho they allowed someone with no review to book - review is for her mother).

[Emiel1]

@Zoe338 

You can ask Airbnb if they are willing to support this 3rd party booking.

If they don't , they can cancel it penalty free for you.

The review of "mom" is not a bad one, also the daughters review written for the host was OK.  At least they are not hiding it is a  3rd party booking !

BTW

There are multiple ways to contact this former host, also outside Airbnb, as she is easy to locate on the Internet. But they useally will not appriciate it !

[Zoe338]

Thanks for your reply. I tried chatting with support which was tedious but appeared quicker than calling tho produced a pat answer that they won’t cancel. Recently hosted a difficult guest who had several 5 star reviews so don’t think I’ll take my chances with this one & will bear the ensuing brunt of my actions (hope Airbnb is monitoring this chat 😆)

[Alexandra316]

@Zoe338 If it was an instant booking, you're allowed to cancel penalty-free. See Can a host cancel a reservation without adverse consequences? - Airbnb Help Center. You can even do it yourself. 

[Helen427]

@Zoe338< maybe the mother doesn't know how to use or have access to internet.

Do remember we all get older at some stage in our lives and some people have challenges to do day to day activities others take for granted.

It's all very well and good to say it's a 3rd party booking, and yes maybe the daughter could include her mother on her Profile/ account, however with Photo ID verification etc we all know the loopy de loop circle some of us have been through!

The best you can do @Zoe338 is to be civilized and treat your Guest how you would like to be treated.

How for instance would you feel if it was your own mom?

[Helen3]

My mum is in her mid 80's and has an Airbnb, Zoom, Skype and social media accounts. I appreciate though not all older (and younger people are internet savvy). @Helen427 

If my mum wasn't capable to setting up an Airbnb account I would be concerned about how she would be able to manage the guest interactions including for example self check in.

In this situation if the daughter feels her mum can't set up her own profile - she could help her do so, rather than trying to make third party bookings. 

[Zoe338]

No, no, no. I may have been unclear. In the daughter’s profile is one review tho that review is actually for her mother. The daughter is the one who booked our place and has no reviews. The mother will not be staying at our place. Yes, after a text msg exchange I’m going to give this young gal a chance. Understanding & empathy are a huge part of my personal life but I’m seeing that they need to be set aside to some extent in order to preserve my little Airbnb space which is in my home after two different groups were shown this and took my goodwill & ran with it destroying towels, bedding, vaping indoors, inviting explosive guest & one group bashing me in the review after causing a power outage by using every light, appliance & fixture simultaneously. Wow-way off topic but this gig isn’t for the faint of heart. Crunching numbers to see if it makes sense. Much respect to all hosts out there!! 💗