Very, very strange reservation request -

[Karla218]

Hello, I have been a hotelier for 20 years. I sold my hotel with my airbnb account (Kaps Place in San Jose was my hotel) and am starting from scratch however I got what has to be my most strange request:

“Hola Karla, Espero se encuentre bien, mi nombre es Max, soy fotógrafo y me gustaría rentar su habitación para hacer una sesión de fotos, para un cliente mio, yo me estaría hospedando en la habitación con mi esposa y mis clientes llegarían a la sesión de fotos que dura aproximadamente 4 horas. Es posible? Saludos, Max A.”

For those of you with only English, he wants to rent a room, stay with his wife and let clients come into the room for 4 hours for a photography session. If I say no, I get punished by Airbnb guidelines for rejecting.  

Any suggestions? I def. don't allow this type of activity in my home. But am unsure how to proceed so I don't get sanctioned. Thank you. Karla

[Ton11]

Hello Karla,

You are absolutely right to not accept this request. By decllining the request, you will not be penalized by Airbnb. This will only happen if you decline various requests in a short period of time.

In case of doubt about a guest (or his request) you can also contact Airbnb to report this.

I hope this helps.

[Yulianna0]

@Karla218, you can accept the reservation request but tell him clearly that no photography and no extra people are allowed on property and that you will be around there. Or that you have cámaras to control how many people are entering. So he will have to cancel the reservation. But it is a bit risky 

[Lisa723]

@Karla218 like @Yulianna0 I would accept the reservation request with the following message or similar:

"I am sorry but we cannot allow any commercial activity or any clients of guests on site. Because Airbnb penalizes hosts who decline reservation requests, I am accepting your request with the stipulation that you will not conduct any form of business activity or allow anyone else to enter the property. You can cancel your reservation penalty-free within 48 hours so I suggest that you do that, as we cannot accommodate your needs."