Verifying second guest

[Emily76]

Hello all,

I am a new host here in brooklyn,

I have booked my first guest(s) for this Sunday, A lady and her boyfriend coming to town for her birthday. Although she is verified, i have no idea who her "boyfriend" is. That was my fault for not digging further. I noticed on her page, she has gotten 2 good reviews (both from this week) but nothing mentioning her boyfriend, just her. So, when someone books a room for two people but information is only given for one person, am I out of line for requesting the 2nd parties information? How do you go about getting information about the 2nd party ?

Thank you in advanced!

[Jorge53]

I've been hosting in Brooklyn for three years.  Airbnb does not check the second guest.  I just took my chances.  Fortunally so far so good.  

[Emily76]

I'm not so comfortable about this. Airbnb should definitely verify the 2nd guest. how do I know my guest isn't a prostitute and picking up random people throughout the night on CL or wherever to come into my home? 

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

Prostitute??

Really??

With a credit card and government ID??

*chuckling to myself*

[Paul-and-Trina0]

Yes, prostitutes actually Do have government ID's and credit cards. They have FB accounts and cell phones to take a selfie with. Why would you laugh at that?

[Julie1295]

Yeah what is this? The 1900s?

[Barbora0]

I had a similar case, my guest being a prostitute with every day several “friends” coming. I was very naïve not to be suspicious on time only later I realised what was happening. Not funny at all. I told her I do not like her to accept “friends” in my house and she left. 

[Angie-and-Charlie0]

We always ask for an updated photo...the guest could easily add a photo of her and her boyfriend to her profile pictures...this would be a way to give you some peace of mind.  If the boyfriend shows up and does not look like the photo...you could refuse their stay and contact Airbnb reporting suspictous trafficking.  This is a problem all over the world and the story you tell about her profile with only 2 stays in 1 week as a new guests...could be strange unless there is a good explanation.  A lot of this hosting stuff is gut...we've learned over 2 years! - Detroit Superhosts, A&C

[Roy-And-Patti0]

you are not out of line . I always ask for information on every guest that's coming to my place . Airbnb were only verify who's paying it's up to you to ask for more information about the other people .they will understand I've never had anybody that question me about why I was asking about the other guests

[Emily76]

Thank  you so much for all the quick responses! Both guest have given me the information i have asked for without hesitation. If anyone one else runs into this issue, this is the message I put together and sent them:

Hi (insert name)

I apologize for any inconvenience but prior to your arrival, I need information on the second guest. I hope you understand that it is for the safety of my home, roommate and myself. I am sure you are both wonderful people, but in the case of an emergency, I would have no information on who the other guest is. Please send me a first and last name of your guest as well as you both adding me to facebook. Once again, I apologize for not getting this information prior to accepting you both as my guest. If no information is given, I will unfortunately need to cancel. Hope to hear from you! Here is the link to my facebook.

(insert link)

[Fiona2]

I think the reference to having to cancel if they don't provide comes across as unwelcoming. There is also no way I think it's OK to insist on them adding you on Facebook. My House Rules say only registered guests will be admitted. I ask guests for the full names and the ages of everyone in the party. When they arrive I check the info they provided against their id.

It's not perfect, but along with only accepting Verified guests it's another small safety precaution. My personal experience as a host is a lot of times Chinese guests have English-language names on their profiles and Chinese names in their passports but it's better than nothing and I don't worry about it if the number of guests and ages correspond. Often these guests have used their passport photos as their profile photos too and those match although I've noticed a trend this year to more candid profile photos.

[Helen3]

Hello Emily

I agree with Fiona. It's fine to ask for the name of the second guest but not appropriate to ask them to friend you on Facebook. To be honest if I was a guest and you made it a condition that I needed to add you to my facebook, I would cancel the booking. Facebook is my space for family and friends, not random strangers.

I would suggest two things.

1. Make your guest has a verifed profile - this means they need to provide BnB with photo ID and social media ID.

2. I think it's important with guests to to have conversations with them before confirming the booking, particularly if they are staying in your home. Find out about what they do for a living, their likes and dislikes and plans for their stay for them both.

This often gives you a good idea of what they will be like as guests and whether it is a good fit.

Make sure your house rules are comprehensive and you're clear about what sort of guests you would like in your home in your description.

Best of luck

Helen

[Jamie27]

As a brrand new host this was very helpful - thankyou!  Speaking of which when someone has only one review and it is actually not for the same name as the guest should I ask why?  

cheers Jamie

[Donna37]

Yep. Absolutely. Your home. Your rules. Your safety.

[Benjamin126]

Hi. I came across this thread when searching how other people have handeled verification of the 2nd guest. We've only been hosting on Airbnb for about a month and a half and both times we had two guests we had problems.

The first time, the 2nd guest (unregistered with Airbnb) used our toiletries, was very messy, and spilled hair dye all over the bathroom runing a towel, rub, pillow case, and the dye is permanently stained into places on the bathroom wall which will need to be painted over.

The second time, just this past weekend, was a couple and they got in a physical fight (one guy attacked the other after finding out he cheated on him) and I had to go over to the room to remind them that we were home and they were guests in our home, then the agressor just ran out of the apartment. Things were calm for the remaining two days of the reservation. The 2nd guest left his ID in the room so of course I Googled him. I found two public arrest records. 

In an effort to avoid these types of situations in the future, I made a few modifications to my account. 1) I added to the rules that I require the LinkedIn profile of the primary guest and the second guest, if they have no recommendations and positive reviews. I figure any doofus can make a FB profile but LinkedIn is more of an intentional act and conveys a level of professionalism; 2) I raised the price for for the second guest. 

Other recommendations in this thread to ask for the IDs of both guests and cross-reference their names with other accounts, especially if you are in the house with them, is a great idea and I will be doing that also. Thanks for the ideas.