What was the most "scary" inquiry you accepted ? :)

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

The recent post "Guest come to die in my house" where the host was hesitant to accept but at the and she was glad she did, reminded me on our trip last month.

My two friends and I decided to take a weekend trip to the beautiful lake Bled in Slovenia. The only problem was - we have 4 dogs, we all smoke and need parking for our car. Everyone's dream guests, right? :)))

I searched ABB and found a perfect place to stay. It was pet-friendly, had a terrace and a garage so I made an inquiry. I have to admit I was prepared to get a "No way" answer, but, the host is obviously brave like a Lassie and he accepted us 🙂

The funniest thing was - my Silvia misunderstood our ABB messages and she thought we got an inquiry so she called me, all upset and told me to decline 😄  I said, shame on you! You would decline your own mother and our dog !? 😄 😄

Of course, we were good guests, smoked only on the terrace despite the cold weather, left everything clean and got 5* review. The host even offered us a discount if we ever come again 🙂

My question is - what was the most "scary" inquiry you accepted and were glad you did? 🙂

[Heather133]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 we had an interesting one this summer. A man instant booked The Barn at Bourne House, which happens to the listing across the driveway from my house. Shortly after he booked it, the listing was cancelled by Airbnb. The man called my cell phone and left a message saying that he had looked on line for other ways to book the apartment, but couldn't find a way to do it and was still hoping to stay. In the meantime I received a call from Airbnb saying the reservation was cancelled because the guest didn't pass a background check and potentially had a criminal background.

I searched the internet for his name and location and some horrible stories showed up about a man who had chained his teenaged son in a basement for 7 weeks with no food apart from a daily bologna sandwich. There was another man with the same name who had spray painted white supremicist slogans on someone's home. I didn't want either of these people anywhere near my home.

The next day Airbnb let the man book our place again. He (and Airbnb) assured me it was all a mistake and he had been able to prove to Airbnb that he was neither of those people. We had a few jokes back and forth and he sent a photo of himself with his wife and infant child. They turned out to be lovely guests and we'd be glad to have them back.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

 @Heather133  OMG..  I can imagine your surprise when you googled his name 😄 poor guy!

[Helen350]

@Heather133 Well, I guess it's a pleasant surprise that Airbnb DO perform background checks & cancel bookings....... Were we not all thinking they allowed anyone in these days, for more revenue?

[Heather133]

@Helen350 I thought the same thing. Unfortunately they did it AFTER the person had my address and phone number. But it's a start!

[Sarah977]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  Well, I have to say that Silvia is very adept at spotting red flag inquiries 🙂

When I first saw that heading "Guest comes to die in my house", my immediate thought was that a guest had planned a suicide in the Airbnb. (I know someone this happened to, although it wasn't an Airbnb guest). I was so relieved to find it was a completely different, and beautiful story.

I've never had a "scary" inquiry, such as @Heather133's.  But the one that gave me the most apprehension had a profile photo of 3 guys holding up glasses full of wine, said the guest was a student, and I saw he'd been a member for about 4 years, but didn't have one review. Then he didn't answer the message I sent asking for some more information. He ended up being a wonderful guest who left his room and bathroom cleaner than any guest ever has to the point that it didn't even look like anyone had stayed there for 4 days. I suggested to him that he update his profile and gave him his first review- 5*s all the way.

[Heather133]

Ha @Sarah977 ! I've had a couple like that. Sometimes the ones you worry about the most turn out to be some of the best! 

[Lawrene0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 , the scariest that turned out well was this one:

New user instant books. Profile photo is extreme closeup of a pit bull (a breed of dog that is banned in my province). First name is a nickname and last name is an initial. One word in the message: hi

My questions get brief but acceptable answers. 

Quiet 18-year-old and his quiet girlfriend and their friendly dog (not the bruiser in the photo) show up on time and are cheerful, respectful, resourceful, and clean. They do not review, and that's okay, because I think the system stymies them a little and that someone at home helps them book. But they are repeat guests, well reviewed now by me and other hosts, and always welcome.

Thanks for this thread. Your story is hilarious!

[Heather133]

Awww @Lawrene0 it's like you're a little Airbnber mid-wife, bringing great little Airbnber's into the world!

[Sean433]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

The scariest were a bunch of out of town feminist activist who wanted my home as a base for their man hating campaigns. I wondered why they would request a home from a male host, maybe to leave me a bad rating afterwards? or to conduct some weird voodoo rituals.  Who knows.  It left we wondering what made them so angry and if there was anything I could do as a host who is a male to change their minds but I quickly realized they were a radical bunch from their social media. I would rather accept a guest with 4 dogs who all smoke then to go down that lose-lose path. I wonder who ended up hosting them and what their experience was like lol.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Mr @Sean433  I am shocked you compared us to radical feminists!

[Sean433]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

lol imagine if the feminists each had their own dog or cat and they all smoked too. That would go down as the worst airbnb experience ever.

[Inna22]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 The most nerve-racking for me is when I suspect they will have a party but cannot prove it. When they keep answering all of my questions correctly and even if I read them the riot act of having the counter installed (party squasher), checking everybody’s IDs and checking on the property regularly they continue to insist it’s just them and their cousin hanging out on Sunday night and they need the Airbnb even though they are local because that’s how they spend their Sunday nights or something along those lines. I had two of those on Sunday before Columbus Day. One ended up admitting that’s what they were planning on doing when I would not let it go and one had to be kicked out. Have one for next Sunday night. I guess my other option would be to cancel them but I get enough of these due to my location that  Airbnb will eventually just punish me for doing it. So I think I have gotten good at detecting them and explaining to them that this is just not a place to have it and most cancel.  But some just keep going. Then it’s all that I think about it till the reservation and then worry the whole night. The one for next Sunday has told me she’s booking to stay with her daughters and they do not have school next day due to teacher strike. Clearly she knows more than anybody else if she is able to plan for teacher strike 10 days out. As I asked her more and more questions she got more and more confused. She first said she lived in New Mexico and her daughters in Chicago but now she lives in Chicago and her husband lives in New Mexico. It is clearly all a lie

[Ann72]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  Love your story!  And you proved everyone who says hosts make terrible guests wrong.  🙂

I had a guest a couple of weeks ago whose inquiry wasn't scary, it was actually quite touching, but there was a hint of cluelessness about him that made me worry he wouldn't be happy at a cabin in mid-October in Maine.  He wrote that he was planning to surprise his wife of 8 years with a trip to the cabin, except she thought they were going to Vegas.  It was a long message with possibly a touch too much information but really really sweet.  I accepted the reservation and suggested he pack a secret bag with some sweaters for her in case she packed for a trip to sunny Vegas.  Two more messages come in:  one asking if he could buy pot legally in Maine, even though he hadn't smoked it since high school lol, and one suggesting I check out his Facebook page - which showed him sporting a "Make America Great Again" hat and holding some guns.  Ummmmm....

Check-in day arrives and I don't hear a word.  Power went out one day and I message him about it and didn't hear a word.  He leaves and I don't hear a word.  Finally, late on checkout day, he messages that he'd had no cell service the whole week, saw my messages, they had a great time, and he was going to write a review.  Nice. 

The review arrives the next day.  And it was hands down the most beautiful, the most well written, the most emotionally open, and the most poetic review I've received in five years.  (For anyone interested, it's the most recent review here:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23646613?preview_for_ml=true&source_impression_id=p3_1572132982_eJpCBUa...)

You just never know with people!

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ann72  Thanks for sharing it, this is really the most beautiful and unusual review I've seen here 🙂 You could use their review as your listing's description