Hi Bina,I'll try to help!
It's fine to write to a guest and ask for more information before accepting a booking. You can say "please tell me a little more about the purpose of your trip, who is coming, and what your expectations are so I can be sure my place is a good fit" for example. If the guest doesn't reply you can decline the booking, on the basis of not having enough information. Be sure to do so within 24 hours to maintain your response rate. The worst thing to do is to accept a booking and then cancel it. I think you'll find that new Airbnb users (guests) often didn't adequately complete their profile before requesting a booking, and will do so if prompted. You can even let the guest know that you will need to decline but that you will send a Special offer allowing them to book instantly by clicking on a link, if they update their profile so that you can be sure they are a good fit.
If a guest didn't post a profile photo, send them a message saying you have a policy of not taking bookings from guests who don't post their photo, and the same applies if they didn't post a bio.
Also, if the guest has any, be sure to read their reviews, and even go to the listings where the guest has stayed to see what sort of reviews they wrote. Trust your instincts.
Communication is the key.
Airbnb is pushing us all to have Instant book, by making it more attractive in every way. If you have Instant Book, you can require that guests have a verified ID, and that they have good reviews, by editing your Instant book settings. You can cancel penalty free within 24 hours of getting a reservation if you get a booking for a date that should have been blocked (but not if you simply had the price set wrong). You can cancel penalty free if you are "uncomfortable" with a booking. Check the Airbnb help files for what that means. I think for a new host it's probably best to familiarize yourself with how it works to get some bookings without turning on Instant book. You need to know that yoiu have your prices and availability set correctly.
If you don't have Instant book, it doesn't look like there is a setting requiring guests to have a Government Issued ID. But if you get a request for a booking and you aren't comfortable with the information that the guest requires, you can decline the booking. Let the guest know in the message thread why you are declining, that way Airbnb can see in the message thread what's going on. If you make a habit of declining reservations your listing will drop lower in the list, and you'll get fewer bookings. If you make a habit of declining requests, your listing can even be deactivated, but that won't happen if you only occasionally decline and for good reason.
If you are going to decline a request, make sure to do so within 24 hours!
2. You can edit your prices manually in the calendar for one date at a time or for a range of dates. Even if you use Smart Pricing, you can change the price for any date you like, at any time. You can also set different minimum length of stay for high season, if you want longer bookings for example, in the Availability settings > Length of stay > Additional requirements.
Neti
