Requests to view BEFORE booking.

[Marilyn157]

Several occasions have had prospects ask to see condo before booking. I have managed to divert the discussions. What is and where do I find any official Airbnb policy on this?

[Luana130]

I reply saying that Airbnb has a policy that discourages guests and hosts to have contact outside of the plataform before booking. We have comprehensive pictures on the website and if there are any questions we are more than happy to answer. Because of the policy and security reasons we do not allow anyone on the property before the check-in date.

[Alexandra316]

@Marilyn157 Airbnb does everything they can to block direct communication before a booking is made: that includes any attempt to provide an address. That's a pretty clear statement that pre-booking viewings are discouraged by the platform.

Personally, I just say no and leave it at that. I did a few pre-booking viewings when I was new, and they were inevitably either tire kickers or they wanted to haggle for a low, low price and wanted to book outside the system. In my experience, it's just not worth it. All the info they need to book is on the site, and if they have any questions that they need answered they can ask you: there's no need for a visit.

I had a Superhost do it to me in my first couple of months of hosting: they met me and gave me a big sob story about how they had a flood in their house and needed to replace flooring before they could go back to living there. What had in fact happened was that they had rented out their entire home on Airbnb for about $1000 per night and were staying at my place for about $65 a night. Never again.

[Susan1404]

@Marilyn157- unless you have someone booking for a long term rental, it is very unsafe to share your address before booking.  Although safety is not guaranteed after book, at least you have some sort of idea of who you are dealing with and know that they have paid to stay at your rental.  I have been asked the same on occasion, and I do as @Luana130 and refer to the Airbnb policy.

[Marilyn157]

Agree with all, but still asking what is and where to find the policy?  Is there actually one in existence on pre-booking showings?

Would love to have a link to it handy in my message archive to send to the next one.

[Luana130]

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/47/what-should-i-do-if-a-guest-wants-to-see-my-place-before-book...

[Emilia42]

@Marilyn157 

I don't think there is any specific policy. Essentially, you can do whatever you'd like. Airbnb cannot stop you from showing your home. But they do want to make sure that all payments and interactions happen on the Airbnb platform. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/47/what-should-i-do-if-a-guest-wants-to-see-my-place-before-book...

[Marilyn157]

Ahh, I see.  Thanks so much!

[Sharon493]

This happened to me last year. I got a message late one evening from a very distressed sounding woman saying she was not happy with her nearby rental as she felt the male owner was spying in her and wanted to leave after one night and stay with us asap. I fell for the sob story and said ok, she could move in the next day after I had prepared it. She then replied asking if she could come and have a look round before she committed! I refused and got an apology regretting if she had offended me but she was so upset blah blah and suggesting she might book with me next time, lol.