Advice: Questionable Guest

[Jerry422]

We are brand new to hosting (listed this week) and have already had multiple bookings, requests and inquiries. One request has us concerned and we aren't sure how to proceed.

Guest: Requested booking for three guests for a month (we have a max of 22 days, but request to consider longer stays). Guest said they were moving from a nearby city, closing on a house in our city and needed an interim place to stay.

Us: Since she has no reviews, we asked her to update her profile (which had only her name) so we could get to know her better and make sure she read the house rules.

Guest: Updated the profile, then mentioned she had a pet (ok, we are pet friendly) and also asked if her friend could come and stay here and there throughout their stay. She also offered to give us her landlord's information (which would be great, except it's blocked in messaging.)

Us: Unfortunately, we do not allow overnight guests, gave her the pet fees and wanted to confirm the actual number of guests

Guest: Things have changed and we now will have 6 adults, one infant and the dog

When the number of guests jumped from 3 to 7 and a dog, this caught our attention because originally, she said they already closed on a house in our city and just needed an interim place for 3 people.

Especially being new, we don't want to get dinged for a decline, but this just isn't sitting well with us. 

Advice? We have 6 hours left to accept/decline.

TIA

[Emiel1]

@Jerry422 

You will not be "dinged" when declining, you can also explain to the guest there is no good match and ask to retract the booking request.

Please note a month stay is a "long term stay", with special Airbnb rules like cancellation policy.

[Jerry422]

Thank you so much! We appreciate the timely response and advice.

[Jerry422]

@Emiel1 what happens if she doesn't retract the booking. Can we unblock it manually?

[Sarah977]

@Jerry422  I would decline. If this is just an interim place while their house sale closes, it seems rather odd that the guest count would change from 3 to 6.

Also, you should not take month-long bookings. In many jurisdictions, guests become tenants after 28 days, with all the rights tenants have under landlord/tenant laws. They could end up squatting and you'd have a hard time evicting them.

If this guest had a page full of excellent reviews, it might be different, but as it stands, a decline is your safest option.

Guests with bad intentions often target new hosts, which is something you should be aware of and on guard. Asking her to complete her profile was smart, but the changing parameters of the request are a red flag.

[Jerry422]

@Sarah977 Thank you so very much. All of this information really opened our eyes to a few other concerns. We were just thinking about getting our place out there and not bringing anything negative to our record.

We've adjusted our settings and in hindsight, wished it would've been Monday before our first bookings happened. Live and learn, right! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jerry422 If you continually decline requests then an Airbnb bot will message you BUT a small number of declines or even a call from the bot is way way better than taking a dodgy booking.

I agree with the previous advice and suggest you decline this booking.

[Jerry422]

@Mike-And-Jane0  Thank you! Feeling better already!

[Sarah977]

@Jerry422  I would also change the wording in your listing description where you say "While not available in person, hosts are available by phone".

Wording which indicates to guests that there is no one nearby overseeing things can attract those who want their activities to be unwatched.

And aside from emergency situations, it's best to keep communications with guests on the Airbnb messaging platform, not phone calls, Whatsapp or texts, so if an issue arises where there is contention between host and guest, there is visible documentation of exchanges for Airbnb to review.

[Jerry422]

@Sarah977 We responded with: After serious consideration we've decided not to accept any requests for long term stay at this time. Please retract your request and consider rebooking a shorter stay. Thanks for your interest!

Her response: Okay, may I ask why?

Continue in the thread? Or just decline and move on?

[Sarah977]

@Jerry422  It seems like she's been polite in her communication so far, so if it was me, I'd probably answer something like "As newish hosts, we are still learning the ropes and fine tuning things, so, as I already said, we have decided that month-long or more bookings just aren't what we are prepared to accomodate at this point."

Yoy should also change your availability window to max 28 days or less, so requests like this fall outside your stated policy.

[M199]

@Jerry422 

I think your response was sufficient.  As much as we like to please our guests, you do not owe them an explanation.

[Sue714]

@Jerry422 Just decline and block a day or two off in your calendar if you can. Looks like “you will be dodging a bullet”

[Kath9]

@Jerry422  always, always listen to your instincts. The guest may have been fine, but there were definitely alarm bells, so why take the risk? You've done the right thing here. It's unfortunate for the guest, but you need to protect yourself as a host, and as @Sarah977 has rightly pointed out, there are people out there who will take advantage of newbies. Stick to short term stays and don't advertise the fact that you aren't nearby.

[Rebecca181]

@Jerry422  - In case nobody here mentioned it, in many Counties in the U.S. the tenant is considered a long-term tenant after 30 days and you have to evict them to get them out, which can take weeks or even months, depending on where you live. And yes, it HAS happened, including to AIrbnb hosts (as reported on this forum). This is why I never rent my place out for more than a couple of weeks, to avoid this type of situation ("Oh please, can I just stay another week...?").