New host - I'm nervous guest has criminal background

[Gary53]

Hi,

I am a new host and this is my third guest.  When the person booked I did not know about the verification on AirBnB. My question is why is it that quest are not automatically put in for verification? The guest that arrived I thought was here for a family reunion.  He booked for four people.  When they arrive I had a bad feeling!  I look up this person online and found six criminal records!! They stem from Drugs to assault with a deadly weapon.

They are here for four day and leave Monday.  I live above the apartment where they are occupying.  So, I am staying out of there way and people are coming in and out. I am so upset that the background checks are not done automatically through Airbnb.  There is no contact number to assist me with Airbnb other than call the police.

I don't want to call any police for I fear after they leave I will be in danger!  Since the quest lives in another state and he is on probation which I don't know how someone on parrol can leave a state they live in but, that's another issue.

Please, Please if anyone has info on how I can contact Airbnb I will appreciated it.  At this point I am staying out of their way.  I am praying for Monday to get here fast!!!

Thanks

Gary 

[Gerry-And-Rashid0 · Accepted solution]

AirBnB does not do background checks. All it does is verify that the person is who they say they are. Verification is no guarantee of character - past or future behaviour.

Clearly you would not have taken the booking if you did a simple background check first - however unless the guests are doing something illegal in your flat the police will not be interested. Likewise doubtful if AirBnB can do anything unless they are breaking your house rules.

My advice would be to take a deep breath and not panic. Nothing has happened and most likely nothing will. If as you say he is on probation then I assume being good would be a wise move for him.

Hope it works out ok -

[Gary53]

Do you have info on doing background checks?

Thanks

[Melanie58]

Gary, what I usuallly do for my unofficial background check is this:

1.  Right-click on the guests image and do a google image search.  You will see what comes back.  Once, my search came back with the guest clearly in the orange prison jumpsuit.  Most booking photos are publicly available.  

2. How states manage criminal records varies, but most government agencies have a website that ends in .gov.  So, google for example "Idaho criminal records" or "California Criminal records" - whatever state the person lists as their home state.  Then look for the criminal record site that ends in .gov to find the official site.  How you search the site will vary state to state, as all states have different parameters for search, but you should be able to figure out how to search the persons name.  Typically I start with the last name, because people sometimes use nicknames for a first name.  For "Joe Schmoe" I might search "Schmoe", and "J. Schmoe".

3.  Finally, just do a google search on the persons name.  This is not as reliable and you have to use some judgement because there are a lot of people that share the same name, even in the same state.  

I think you can pay for services that do background checks, but I have to do them a lot for work anyway, so this is pretty much my process.  I'm not sure that Airbnb even really provides enough information to do a true background check because sometimes people don't provide the right address, there are no quesstions about previous names/alliases, no birthdate provided to be sure that you have the right person, etc.

[Gary53]

Thank you.  I did some of that with the .gov states and found the info.  I now will only accept verified people with state ID.

[Terrie5]

Thanks so much for this thread. I inadvertantly had instant book on and got a booking from someone that didn't quite all add up. Googled and my goodness just got out of prison, pending other charges and murder case just dismissed!!!  Pics of guns and illegal activity all over their social media. Thank heavens I did my google search and facebook search. NO instant booking for me ever again. I am a little nervous that he may have my address before Airbnb cancelled. Called Airbnb and they were very understanding and cancelled.  I was under the impression they did a bit  more on background checks, they said they did not do that. I am now confused about their info on their site.  My advice, no instant booking, check em out on social media and google them and always feel free to let go of something for safety reasons. Not worth it. 

[Tania336]

Ih,

With the new policy, we, hosts, are totally unprotected and exposed to bandits, delinquents, etc. We have no access to full name, job, or even photo!
I am a super host and this new policy makes me very insecure. I am not racist at all. I’ve had black, Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, gay guests, and it’s always been really good. Wonderful persons! But I think I have the right to decide who I let into my house!
I don’t mind the nationality, gender or race, but I don’t like to accept groups of very young people. I have friends who are also on Airbnb that had being problems with alcohol and drug abuse, with guests vomiting in the swimming pool and on the beds, loud music during the night, police being called, high fines from the condominium administration, etc. I don’t want that in my house!
I like to host families, with children, or even if it’s a group of friends, I prefer older people, not to close to being teens, right?
I go to my country house a lot with my family. I love that house which I carefully decorated with art items I brought from many countries. It is not simply a rental house. It’s HOME!
I provide my guests a lot of amenities and a full time maid, the option for a high level chef to prepare refined meals, or a barbecue specialist, masseuse for a relaxing time in the gazebo on the garden by the lake, special discount for balloon flight or parachute dives, it’s like a 5 star hotel just for your family, but I need to feel safe!
Hosts must be able to access more information, like age, job and a photo at least. Right now I am exchanging messages with a woman (I assume it’s a woman). She put 1 guest. She has no reviews, no photo and on the details only e-mail has been verified. She is very laconic when I ask questions and I could only find out it would be a group of 14 friends. I don’t feel comfortable at all! I think it’s very cruel and unfair with the hosts.
Also, it is not fair at all that babies go for free. In my case, babies are the most expensive guests. They puke and pee on the beds and swimming, and they require a lot of sunscreen, and that causes a huge increase in products to keep the water clearing the swimming pool and jacuzzi - many times we have to change all the water in the Jacuzzi, discarding 3,000 liters of water during 5e guest stay, because it gets impossible to treat! Babies also break a lot of things and bite on the floaters.
Please change this policy and start providing more info, for the sake of our safety and peace of mind.

[Janet522]

Truthfinder.com is good for background checks.  Must have correct name and location, age etc. Fee involved but maybe worth it for peace of mind!

[Ange2]

"All it does is verify that the person is who they say they are. " 

In my experience that is not necessarily true Airbnb only ask for email and telephone number - very easy to make up fake ones, as are social media accounts.   I have had a few requests where the tel/email were not bona fide and I had to get Airbnb to cancel the guests.  The best way to check if someone is who they say they are is to ask them to upload a government issued photo ID,  although that doesn't  guarentee character or positive background.  Although, with that information Airbnb can do a US background check prior to arrival.  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1308/does-airbnb-perform-background-checks-on-members

[Gary53]

Thank you.  I am putting a process together now....

[Janet522]

Yes good point.  Ask for ID, Drivers License or State ID if in USA.

I do it and take a photo if I hire anyone working on my property who is not through a company, ie handyman or general labor work I need complete.

[Aunt-Betty0]

I am a super host. You can ALWAYS cancel a booking at ANYTIME if you are uneasy about a guest. Obdiously the guest will get a full refund so hyou will not profit anything but if you explain the circumstances to airbnb cuistomer support they may remove the penaloty of posting the cancellation on hyour reviews ppage (which sometimes looks bad to other potnetial renters) and hyou can ALWAYS contact AIRBNB. I keep their number in my phone at all times. They intentionally make it challenging to find this numver so people resolve simple issues on their own but here is their numbr: 855-424-7262

[Gary53]

Thank you.  I contacted Airbnb on the issue and they are assisting.  I will do much more on varification.

[Melanie58]

@Gary0 I don't know your exact situation, but when someone rented my room that had criminal record, it was a local person.  I now have a rule that says "no local guests without prior approval", and I limit my max stay to 10 days (I figure it's good for a trial basis - I would take someone longer, but I would not want to take someone for a very long time sight unseen), and as I have hosted longer and my prices have gone up I think that having higher prices helps too.  My initial price point was low enough that it was nearly comparable to rent rate for the area, but a lot of ex-criminals have a hard time getting a lease because of their prior background.  Airbnb provides a unique opporutnity for people to secure housing without a background check.  

[Vicky10]

For your peace of mind, you can disable the "Instant Book" button.  This way, they will need to ask your permission before booking and you can check on them before approving them.  However, it comes with a drawback in that you may not get as much bookings as you would like to, but you will get your peace of mind!

Good luck!