New host, first request sounds too good to be true.

[Cheng5]

Hi there,
I have the first ever request and it's for four (4) weeks. As we are planning to return to stay in the apartment, I tend to be quite particular when it comes to the potential guest, so I responded to her to ask her the main purpose for her to move to my place (she's currently living just a few blocks away) but she has yet to reply. I have also asked to meet up if possible. She has one good review and is a verified member. So now do I pre-approve and risk having a not-so-good guest or decline and wasted the opportunity to host a good guest? Or don't do anything and it might affect my response rate?

Thanks in advance!
Cheng

[Clare0]

@Cheng5 if she sent you an Inquiry, and you responded with your question about the reason for her wanting to rent your place, that's all you need to do.  In fact, you don't have to Pre-Approve or Decline.  You can dismiss it. 

If the message was sent as a Reservation Request, and the guest hasn't answered your question in a reasonable amount of time, I would decline with a polite note that she's welcome to send you an Inquiry where you can discuss the matter further.  Declining a reservation request does not affect your response rate unless you decline an excessive number of Reservation Requests.  Best to do this rather than letting the request expire...if it expires, Airbnb will block the dates.