Declining a guest

[PaulAndSusan0]

A potential guest made an inquiry several weeks ago.  He seemed to be confused about the fees.  We answered his questions and eventually he responded politely.  This person does not have a photo of himself as a profile picture.  It is a partial photo of a dog I believe.  He has a phone number and email.  We require a photo, government ID etc.  Tonight he sent another email asking if we would lower our price.  He gave occupations for himself, wife, daughter and her husband.  He does not even say where he is from nor does his profile....only the United States.  We have declined this guest.  Just get a feeling it's a scam or ?

[Fred13]

"Tonight he sent another email asking if we would lower our price." That is the one that speaks volumes.

[Ali40]

I always go with my gut. I automatically decline anyone who asks me to lower my price. (They should search for lower priced listings). I would also require a proper profile picture unless I have a good conversation with a potential guest and several verifications. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@PaulAndSusan0 I'm with @Fred13 - I don't deal with hagglers. They are never worth it. 

[Susie5]

@PaulAndSusan0, There are several red flags here. First the haggling - as the others have mentioned, I never deal with hagglers. That is just the beginning of problems, the haggling will not end.

But more than that, he/she is unwilling to provide basic info - who cares what their occupations are? you need more concrete info and although I totally LOVE my dogs, I would not post them as my profile picture! that's just dumb - or worse, they are trying to conceal something. For example, a third party booking (which is forbidden by Airbnb). Anyone could book and then someone else turns up - it won't be the dog! 

If you really want to continue with this guest, I'd say at a minimum you say the price is firm, and that you require a true profile picture, not a photo of a dog, and information about their location etc., to ensure your personal safety and that of your family. If they balk at providing that, stay well away.  Also - how long a booking are they looking for? be wary of long term bookings. Good luck!

[PaulAndSusan0]

Thank you Susie and all who've responded.  This is the one aspect of airbnb that freaks me out a bit.  The photo of the dog isn't even a good one.....doesn't show his face.  We have declined this person.  Our rules require government ID, profile photo etc. We also added "we require the booking guest to show ID upon arrival".  We've not asked a single guest thus far, to produce ID because all look like their profile photo.  Now I think we should add, "our price is firm". It was like he hadn't even read our listing. We are new at this and have had five bookings......all successful, thank goodness.  Thanks again everyone and feel free to give us any advice from your own experiences.  

[Fred13]

"Now I think we should add, "our price is firm". Good point. Recently I also added on one of my bullet points: "We are on Airbnb's 60 Super Strict cabcellation poilcy, which we strictly follow"; to discourage the 'if I cancel can I have my 50% deposit' automatic requests. I do sometimes, but this has discourage them from automatically asking for it.

[Fred13]

cancellation policy*