Third party booking not allowed, unless...

[Emiel1]

I recieved an inquiry from someone who wanted to book almost 4 weeks for his mother.

I replied third party bookings are not allowed (except when made by validated business accounts) and therefore i can not accept such a reservation.

After some discussion it appears the mean reason was: the mother did not own a creditcard.

So i suggested: contact Airbnb and ask for permission, then i am OK with it.

And guess what:  Airbnb granted permission to this person to make this third party booking.

best regards,

Emiel

[Donna316]

Yes it has happened to me also and Airbnb contacted me on behalf of the guest and said it is fine as long as I am ok with it.  They also said if in the event there was any issues or damage it would come back on the person who booked.  I accepted and the guest was great.  

[Cathie19]

I’ve also taken third party family members, and in each case they have been upfront about who is staying and why. I have never felt the risk is any greater, just as long as the initial conversation meets my criteria and the gut is happy. They are aware the liability falls on their heads....

There has been no negative issues from any of them! Oh and I forget one lady booked her two older female coworkers. Full disclosure and guarantee from her. Same, no issues... and would welcome them all back again!

[Ben710]

I am a Super Host in Menlo Park, CA and our Garden Cottage has been listed for almost four years.  I find our worst experiences for host and guest is when third-parties book for our guests.  Often the third party is booking for their aging parents that are visiting their grand children in the neighborhood.  Everyone is super nice, but the grandparents are often dissapointed they can't stay with their children.  Also, they didn't pick out our listing so it not what they expected or want.  They never have the instructions or access to any of the online information.  They are confused about how Airbnb works. We don't have the grandparents contact info, so communication is difficult. Finally, you don't build a relationship with the person that writes the review, so reviews tend to be unremarkable.  I should change my listing to say, "no third-party bookings!"  Thanks for listening.

[Moira21]

I've been searching for a post about this topic as this week I've had 2 booking requests that were third party bookings. Both guests are new to Airbnb and had no reviews, so I declined both requests, they were booking for relative/partner.

After reading posts above I'm thinking in future to accept third party bookings but only from guests who have good reviews. The relative/partner may have accompanied the guest on previous stays so would likely know what to expect. That's a question I'd ask before accepting the booking.