I had my instant booking settings set to require Airbnb standard requirements: Confirmed phone number, email address, payment information, and agreement to House Rules; Government-issued ID; Recommendation from other hosts; and Guest trip information, but when I switched the primary account to my co-host, these settings went back to only the Airbnb standard requirements. In the time that the settings were only ABB standard, at least two guests instant booked and the two that I know of have been a nightmare.
The first was a teenager whose ID did not match his profile. He threw a party with 7 teenagers and two strippers in my home partying with alcohol and illegal drugs. We were alerted to the fact because they brought a bass system and our entire 4 unit home was thumping.
The second is a woman who booked this weekend for three people. She showed up with 4 adults and 3 children. We do not allow children and we do not allow more than 5 people in the home. These people have cancelled their reservation for the rest of their stay, but they have left all of their belongings strewn throughout the house and we have no idea if or when they will be back to collect them. Additionally, they are now no longer booked at our house, so we have no ABB protection to make sure that they do not harm our property while they are collecting their things.
We have bookings through May and I have no idea how many other people have slipped through the cracks of this glitch. ABB customer service has offered no help in resolving this issue.
Beware if you switch your listing to a co-host. Double check all settings to make sure your original requirements are still in place and providing you the level of protection you believe you have.
