How to tell if an inquiry is real

[Areyan0]

Hi.  I am new to AirBNB.  I have my house posted for the Ryder Cup that will be in MN at the end of Sept.  I was interested in primarily only renting it this week at the inflated market rate for the event.  I received an inquiry requesting to stay Labor Day weekend and they stated they are ok with the rate.  It is a 3400sqft home and it appears they only have 2 guests and they stated they need the space.  Trying to find reviews on this guest, I learn they have only been members since March (not a huge deal, we are all new at some point), however I see the wish list and most places are smaller in size at a much lower rate.

My questions are, what is the proper way to screen through here on a new member? Are their plenty of fakes/flakes/scammers on Airbnb like there maybe elsewhere?

[Melanie58]

As far as scammers, it would be uncommon for a financial scam to take place inside the system.  Airbnb verifies the credit card # given, and won't let the booking complete until a verified card is on file.  A scam could occur outside the system, so if a guest says "actually could you cancel the reservation and let me pay cash", etc. that is a bad sign.

As far as whether the 2 people booking are really booking alone, that is harder to ascertain.  Labor day weekend.  The first picture of your house is of a pool table, big TV, and Beer sign?  2 people need the space?  

So, I think you could maybe figure out their real intentions by writing into your house rules some stuff that would scare people with the intention of throwing a raging party like:

-booking will not be approved until the make/model/color and license plate # of any vehicle that will be on the premises is provided.

-no more than 2 vehicles are allowed at the property.

-Quiet hours are 10pm-8am

etc etc.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Ask lots of questions - how many people will be in the party, what age, what do they intend to do while there. In that way if they mislead you at least you have a record of what was said. As also mentioned below, beef up your house rules to say no parties, no guests in the property except those agreed in advance with the host, no noise audible outside house after 11pm and before 8am, etc...

[Annette33]

Sure sounds to me like they are planning on having a big party there! So they say 2, but most likely more will show up. In your description you are mentioning big groups, pets, etc.. as being welcome. You might want to restrict that, and instead write more in detail about the house/place, like it says 0 bedrooms right now. - which is okay with people who only want to party....   You also might want to say something in the house rules like "only the registered guests are allowed on the property", and if you find that more are there than registered, you have good reason to terminate their stay. Having house rules in place will only add extra protection for you! Study house rules other hosts have in place.
Bottom line is if you're tempted to make those $$$ over Labor Day weekend, you should be prepared for some headaches. If you don't want those people, you could block out those dates on your availability calendar , and tell them you got a booking in the meantime. end of story.
If you want to pursue it, I would exchange some more messages with these people, it will give you a good idea of who they are. All this is good practice for your expected booking for the Ryder cup.  On the long run, I'd think you'd want to decide how often you might want to rent out the house, possibly put another price on there for other dates, and only have dates available you are prepared to vacate the house, block out all other dates. Simple enough 🙂  i.e. : I only want people twice a month, so as soon as I have my 2 bookings, I block out the rest of the month. 
PS: It would also help if you write a little about yourself in your profile. Trustworthy people would like that! In any case, good luck!

[Lucy47]

Airbnb screens them. If you think they are going to have a party or additional guest make sure you stipulate in you house rules so if some thing happens you have it to fall back on. Always charge a security deposit too

[Andrea9]

and make sure you have the booking requirement 'Verified guests only' checked!

[Joan2523]

So I just joined Airbnb and have a small apartment listed as a host.  I have had several guests, all of whom stayed only a night or two - perfect for the space.  Recently I've had an inquiry for a month long stay (not a problem if the person is in the area for a reason that keeps them out and about most of the day).  I'm a bit skeptical since the inquiry is from a person out of the country with a membership that was started in Feb 2019, but it has 0 reviews.  The inquiry indicates the identity is verified.  I had a property listed on Craigslist and would get random inquiries like this and now tend to write them off as scams.  I'm not as confident w/ this since there is an 'identity verification' system.  Would love some thoughts and insights from more experienced hosts.  Thank you!

[Sarah977]

@Joan2523  You are right to be wary. And no, month long bookings are not okay, altho some hosts manage to do them successfully. You don't want guests to stay long enough to gain tenancy rights, as there is no protection from Airbnb, and the Airbnb so-called security deposit is bogus.

However, aside from that, I have had guests who showed as members for several years, yet had no reviews. In all cases, it turned out to be totally innocent, when I said I was curious about that. One guest had had 2 previous stays, but her hosts hadn't bothered to review, one had joined planning a trip, but work committments got in the way, the other had stayed in Airbnbs with her husband, booked through his account, but she liked perusing listings around the world, like you'd read a travel magazine.

All if these guests communicated well with me, I acccepted their bookings, and they were all great guests. But it's definitely something you can ask about and and shy away from if you get a weird feeling.

For a guest who asks to stay a month or more, if you might be open to it, you could suggest they book for a week or two first, to make sure the place is a good fit for them and for you, and then rent to them privately after that, with a real legal agreement (don't mention this in Airbnb messaging, though).

But you have to decide if you want to be a lnlord or a host, as those are two different things.

[Brian2036]

@Joan2523 

The ID verification system isn’t worth much.

The person who shows up may not be the person who booked.

Your listing is somewhat confusing. Are you renting an entire apartment (as the listing says) or is this a bed/bath in your home?

You have a picture that looks like part of a kitchen. Is that a shared space?

 I would thoroughly question the guest about what they expect, why they want to stay a month, what they are planning to do there, etc.

 I wouldn’t rent for more than a week, either, under the circumstances.

[Joan2523]

Thank you for your response.  When I listed this I thought it confusing that the apt and space in your home were grouped together.  It is a private space that includes what is shown in the pictures - nothing is shared.  It's a kitchenette - just a small sink, hot plate, microwave, small refrigerator and some other basics needed to stay a few days and save some $ by not eating out all the time.   How can I clarify this.  I JUST listed this space about 3 weeks ago and I'm working on another similar space on the other side of the same building.  I will want to be more clear for both.

[Joan2523]

@Brian2036 Appreciate the input...it is an independent space...a small apartment that my husband and I created in what was an office and inventory room in a former service station.  We're currently turning a storage closet and the 'storefront' into another independent small apartment to be placed on airbnb.  Once done, the two spaces can be independently rented out or if a larger group both spaces can be turned into a shared space. 

We recently have been getting a lot of requests for 1 - 6 month stays and the space is not designed for everyday wear and tear of living in it.  I'm not sure why we're getting only requests like this.  The fall was weekend, overnight or 3-5 days.

[Sarah977]

@Joan2523  Airbnb has been really promoting the idea of long term stays, so I think that's part of why you are getting these requests. Also being a digital nomad is becoming some sort of sought after lifestyle- travelling around the world working online from home, living out of Airbnbs. 

The thing is, traditional nomadic people move from place to place, but they provide for themselves and are pretty self sufficient. They have their tents or caravans, their animals for transporting goods or to provide milk or meat, they fend for themselves.

The digital nomads expect to live in other people's homes, with all the mod cons and super high speed unlimited internet, bringing along the 2 ill-trained pandemic puppies they got to keep them company during lockdowns. 🙂

But as Airbnb provides none of the safeguards that long term landlords would usually employ, it's not a generally a good idea for hosts, apart from the wear and tear aspect. At least with short term rentals, even if the guest is objectionable in some way, they will soon be gone.