Pending guest that has no reviews and no bio info

[Karen423]

I'm not comfortable hosting a guest under these circumstances, my system is set up with "auto approval" so it got by me...   If there are concerns over safety does Air Bnb drop my rating for cancelling? also, does anyone else have input on hosting someone without any reviews and short bio.   ( the one sentence he had was "an easy going guy that likes to drink occasionally).   I will cancel this reservation but wanted input.   

This makes me wonder about Air BNB vetting...

[Vali1]

My instincts told me this guy and his wife were not savory characters. I wrote airbnb and said his beha was strange and inconsistent. They did not penlize me for voicing being uncomfortable with these guests.  

[Rachael26]

@Vali1

Not really helpful, or constructive, comments. And with a profile picture of a dog......

Best Wishes

[Vali1]

people should be aware that this is a thing. Sad you might feel others opinions are not important. How arrogant. And whats wrong with my dog picture?? Get a grip

[Vali1]

Plus make no mistake about it. There are homeless locals with money going from place to place. I'm not interested hosting anyone without a mission. 

[Niki24]

I have the same problem.  I have had a number of enquiries that I am really not comfortable with, but I cannot decline them without losing my rating?  One guy wanted to bring his daughter for free, because she was 'sharing his bed'.  This latest guy has a false name, no picture, no bio and no ratings, and wants to stay an extra night ex officio.  Why am I penalized for not wanting these guests?

[Niki24]

I have had a number of enquiries from people that make me uncomfortable. One was a man who wanted to bring his daughter for free because she was 'sharing his bed'.   This latest guy has a false name, no bio, no picture and no reviews.  I do not want to host these people!  So why am I penalised because of this?  I find that there is no time to decline the request, people book instantly, and then I am stuck with having to cancel their bookings - and then I get a warning that I am going to be delisted.

[Annette33]

@Niki24 , you are not being penalized. I think you are confusing cancellations (penalties) with declining a reservation request (no penalties).  Right now you do NOT have instant booking on, so you can decline inquiries. just don't do too many in a row,  because yes, Airbnb doesn't like that and your listing will not get favorable placings in the search engines.

But what you can do is this:  

1. define your listing much better than what you say right now, say who you see as your ideal guest, etc.. describe your listing some  more in detail, the thing with the meal service in place yet not included in the price, is confusing.

2. You stress several times how informal everything is, that might give people the wrong idea. and you practically have no house rules in place. Start with the ones Airbnb offers, then add a few. Study other hists listings,  and see how they present their place.

3. exchange a few messages back and forth with your potential guests , ask questions, then you have a much better idea who you are dealing with.

4. you  want people with a picture, something of a bio, etc.. set a good example and expand a bit on your own bio, right now there is nothing there.

Good luck! I believe it will all fall into place for you once you make your listing much clearer.

[Niki24]

Hi Annette,

Yes, I have been penalised.  This was because a guest became confused, double-booked, changed the dates several times, and then asked me to cancel the booking.  On my record, I have now got a penalty.  It is there, in my rating, and I have received a warning from Airbnb that my listing was in peril because of this cancellation.

The reason why my instant booking is not on right now, is because I have JUST disabled it.  The instant booking facility was on for several months without my being aware of it, and I could not understand why people were booking when I had not had any chance to vet them.  By the time I was aware of their query, they had already paid and were starting to ask questions about bringing extra people, staying extra days, wanting things I was not prepared to offer.  And by the way - there was absolutely no notification that the instant booking facility was on, and it took me a long time to find out how to disable it.

Yes, things are informal, because I prefer to correspond with a guest before they arrive.  In our correspondence, we decide if we are good fit, and then people confirm their booking and they come to stay.  This has worked very well in the past, and in these cases the guests have become friends and we have stayed in touch.  When the instant booking was introduced - as I said, without my knowledge or consent - that is when the problems started as I had no way to vetting or checking the guests before the time.  I would NEVER accept a booking until I had had a chance to engage with them.

So... I must challenge your last sentence.  Things will fall into place once the instant booking facility is removed.  I am not hosting people for the money, I am hosting because I would like to meet people from other places, and show them our city and our country.  I would like them to feel that they are visiting a family, not an accommodation facility.  I am happy to go the nth degree for the right people, not people looking for freebies or dodgy people wanting to take advantage of the service.

[Annette33]

@Niki24 , yes, I understand that you  had gotten penalized for doing a cancellation , it also shows on your listing. but you were now talking about getting penalized for enquiries, which don't carry penalties when you decline. there is the difference, I was just trying to keep the different terms separate. Too bad you hadn't understood all that before.  of course it was just a suggestion of mine to tweak your listing a bit to get more suitable requests. just trying to be helpful.

[Niki24]

Thank you, Annette, I realise you were trying to be helpful and I appreciate the effort you went to, to look at my listing.  My beef was not with you :), it was with Airbnb and their arbitrary decisions.  These last few months were so stressful that I have decided to de-list from Airbnb anyway. 

[Jo133]

You can always say no alcohol allowed in the house. That comment would really worry me. I have send house rules via message where I state at first no partying or excessive alcohol consumption and no guest. Usually then people get back to me to reassure me that they are not planning to party.

[Karen423]

Hello all, 

Thanks so much for your input.  I got what I needed to solve this issue.  

This was very helpful and I wish you all the best.    

Happy Hosting!

[Gary132]

That's how I lost my SH Status.

i use IB & on my profile say " please introduce yourself before booking" 

there was no introduction by this guest with no reviews who block booked a year in advance Christmas & New Year before I had time to block the calander myself.

i lost my Status that I had worked so hard to achieve.

[Alain125]

To All :

Thank you very much for this fascinating exchange !

I'm a new SH and found this thread a great learning experience.

But there's something I don't get :

Why on Earth do you use IB then ??

I share the concern about unsavory characters and inappropriate requests or changes or bookings - but the best way to stay in control is simply to NOT use IB and take 5 mns (it's usually that quick) to look at each reservation request and decide whether or not you like what you see about the guest.

[Yvonne5]

Hi Alain,

A lot of users of Air BNB do not realise they have a filter on the search that only allows them to see Instant Booking properties when they look up areas they are going to visit.  So it gives you more exposure.