Do you take guests who are local residents?

[Deborah0]

This is an interesting question that has come up on the host community groups from time to time, so I thought I would ask it here again to see what responses we get this time.  Do you take guests who are local residents? Meaning, they are people who live in your city, or in a nearby city.  If you get a local person inquiring, how do you respond?  Are there any specific questions you would have for them, that you would not generally ask other guests who were not local residents?  Would you have any specific concerns?  If you were "on the fence" about taking such a guest, what would allay your anxieties? If you would not consider taking a local guest, could you say why?  If it does not matter at all to you where your guest lives, let us know what reason you have for that approach.  

[Sarah977]

@Michelle53  If it's an Inquiry, rather than a booking request, you don't have to Decline it. All you have to do is message back within the 24 hour window. You'll receive annoying messages from Airbnb prodding you to pre-approve, but you can safely ignore those and they'll disappear if you clear your cache after the inquiry expires. You don't get marked down or get any penalties for simply answering an Inquiry without clicking on pre-approve or decline.

[Michelle53]

Thanks !   

[Judi71]

I got the same sort of reason for wanting to book my Airbnb. "Local"  "get away" "no reviews", "just joined" "third party rental". Feeling kind of uneasy.

[Yulianna0]

Will do my best not to take local residents. One happened just in the beginning of my hosting experience. He booked for one and places his girlfriend to my room. But then he decided that he will visit her whenever he wants and without my permission. There were other problems with this girl, so it was my first cancellation. 
Two days ago I got an inquiry from local asking if there will be other guests and mi in the flat or they will have it just for them:) Noooo! 

[Emily487]

Locals tend to bring friends, family, laundry, parties....

I state "we no longer host local guests" at the top of our listing but it doesn't deter them from trying to book. I also have instant book on so if they DO end up booking, I use the fact that I have this statement in the listing as my "out" to cancel them penalty free. It's worked every time!

But honestly, I will still take them if the story is good - my bathroom is being gutted for a few days, my mom is having a 6 am surgery a block away at KUMed and we need a place to stay and rest during the day, my husband and I take a staycation twice a year and explore a new neighborhood.

21st birthdays, guests who are not friendly and forthcoming from the start, ones with brand new profiles do not get to stay and I just call AirBnB and decline or cancel them penalty-free. 

[Michael5912]

I like that you state "we no longer host local guests" and that airbnb accepts that as a valid reason. I think I'll do the same. I thought of putting in the house rules section but in the main body is better or maybe both.

I live in Hawaii and a lot of homeless and questionables.

[Brittani7]

Sometimes yes sometimes no, it all depends on their situation.  I've had locals staying to get away from things like an older local gentleman booked my place because him and his wife were separating.  Generally if it is a single guest who is older or if it's a single night stay, I don't mind renting to them.  

The biggest turn off when a local wants to rent is when the local guest's boy/girlfriend are coming from out of town and it's just the two of them renting.  I have found those specific bookings never end well, especially if it is a younger couple.

[Manasui0]

@Deborah0 

A guest is a guest.. is easier to host locals.. but they also some times seems to try to learn some thing like stealing.. some times I just said to my self.. why don't they ask nicely.. I would be more than welcome to help and discuss things..I mean I treat every body like a teacher for me .. 

I believe our flaw that makes us capable of being hurt.. 

I try to complain less and blame other less.. 

it helps me simplify things in my heads..

cheers

is not like they give less income toward our business..

[Jadan0]

It has never turned out well for us, there are always at least double the people that find their way in the home, a party, smoke off, or just people trashing the home! If your local you better have a really good reason as to why you want to stay at our home. 

[Damon42]

I've rented local twice. Once when my MIL was in town and my wife and I wanted a break from the kids. 

Another was for my wifes b-day. I had some of her friends come in from out of town - so I paid for their AirBnB. It was around the corner from our house and I told the host up front. 

I will say, I have had a couple of sketchy local request when we first listed. It was mostly when we had our price too low - $50 with no cleaning fee.

[Maia29]

From my experience in Anchorage AK, hosting locals from my same city is a very, very bad idea. Every time it ends up being a drug addict. 

[Kris88]

We have certainly learned from the past that locals often like to share their fun new space with their local friends.

Now, after getting a clear acceptable reason for their stay, we remind them of our strict "no guests of guests rule".

[Alienor-and-Piers0]

This is a really interesting question!

My partner and I are currently looking to book a place locally (one is just around the corner from our flat actually!) because we're getting married in June and want to get ready in the same place but in separate bedrooms and our flat only has the one bedroom. I think it does help that I host myself and have good reviews, but I've also been really transparent about the plan: just us staying overnight the night before and night of the wedding, but bridesmaids & our mothers will come the morning of the wedding along with hair & makeup artists. People seem to have been just fine with that!

[Julie-Ann21]

I take local guests all the time. I am wary of people who are alone from the area for 1 time a local woman stole my bed sheets, curtains, and towels! However, Airbnb did reimburse me.

Most of the times when I get locals, it's because there's a problem in their house, a pipe burst or is getting fumigated. I live in New York City so often times people live in cramped situations. Sometimes they need time to themselves so they seek for a place that's local where they can get a peace of mind. My home is very quiet and, although it is in busy New York City, Staten Island is technically more of a suburb! My home is in a corner of a quiet street and my apartment is very quiet and private. I have customers that come who are local, just so that they have a little alone time. I also get customers that rent for family members. I have no problem renting to local people, as long as I could check in on them on Been Verified for safety reasons as I would for any other guest. And by the way, having a Been Verified account is an investment that I feel as a host is worth it!

[Yi-Shin0]

Just learned the hard way and would not host locals again unless they have legitimate reasons like moving. The guest booked for 1 person but tried to sneak 3. After they canceled the reservation because I couldn’t and wouldn’t allow 3 guests, they demanded a refund and even went as far to try to break in my house to get a refund from me by using the door code I gave her before their cancellation. Since these people are locals and know where I live, I feel unsafe because they can come by anytime to seek revenge or harass me. To put icing on the cake, I have already refunded them the money to avoid exactly that problem, but they want instant money back and literally tried to break in. Btw, the locals here are from Baltimore city,

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