Do you take guests who are local residents?

Deborah0
Level 10
California, United States

Do you take guests who are local residents?

 

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.  

 

61 Replies 61
Maria-Lurdes0
Level 10
Union City, NJ

I don't accept ANY guests that live within a 50 mile radius.   I'm hosting in the New York area and all I need is some young girl from wherever having her Tinder date pick her up at our place and seeing her key in the keypad code, then they go get loaded at a bar and start talking about the cool airbnb they are staying in and how easy the locks are....forget it!!

Till-and-Jutta0
Host Advisory Board Alumni
Stuttgart, Germany

Once we had a booking request from a guy who lived nearby. We thought "strange" and asked for the reasons before accepting. The guest explained that he left his girl-friend shortly before and needs a place to stay, before he moves to his psychotherapy. Was ok for us, so we accepted.

Here we don't want to tell more about this story, as guests now can read all - we just had the discussion at https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Let-s-define-quot-delicate-quot/m-p/230#M9.

Artur0
Level 2
Phoenix, AZ

Yes, I do, quite often. Some need extra space to stay while their family occupies their home, some have repairs and since Phoenix is so large, some come for a concert or even and stay in my spaces so they don't have to drive 40 miles to the other side of the city right away. There are lots of good reasons.  I've never seen a reason to deny a stay because someone is local, even to other hosts who just want to see what I'm doing.

We ask all guests the purpose of their stay and now especially if they live nearby.  We learned the hard way after we had a guest from out of state book for two and it turned his guest lived here. It took some sleuthing, but we figured out they were both married and having an affair. The other time we had local guests, the person who booked lied about their age. It was her and her boyfriend and they just wanted a place to party and get high for the weekend. Left the room pretty trashed. Then we have to be paranoid that they live nearby and can come do something to our home, so we privately report them to AirBnB and do not leave them a review. So, yeah, ask them why.

Fabs0
Level 4
United States

I rent airbnbs all the time locally if all my places are booked I have had some host ask questions but most don't say anything
Nancy67
Level 10
Charleston, SC

I also take local guests. We often have people who come into town who stay here with friends from out of town for weddings, or other events and don't want to risk traveling back to far reaching suburbs after having drinks. It's better and much cheaper for them to Uber or taxi from our house and back than drinking and driving. I Also have a friend of a friend coming in a few weeks who has to be out of her home for 3 days while her only bathroom is being retiled I cannot speak to the off-site local hosting issues, as we are only on-site hosts.
Ira4
Level 10
Athens, Greece

@Deborah0 I have Instant Booking so that doesn't allow me to choose my guests' origin, but even if I had a Request, I would accept guests from the same town. However, their reasons are not obvious in that case, I would ask them the purpose of the booking. I have already hosted a lady who lived in the same city and her purpose was to spend some days with her partner who came from abroad, because she was normally living in her mother's house. Another reason could be some people who live in a distant suburb or the town and they want to go out for some drinks downtown, so they prefer staying for one night at an Airbnb flat than taking a taxi to go back. 

If you have a rule that doesn't allow paries and big gatherings, make sure that people from your city won't book your place to hold a party, as it is a possible scenario. But of course, in any case, if you have that as a rule, the guest must accept it or if they don't, you can contact Airbnb and even ask them to leave. 

I wish you the best for your listings! 

Jimbo0
Level 2
Denver, CO

I always ask why and have turned down 90% of local requests.  I will allow another host who has booked their entire house out only after I read their reviews and that inclues reviews they have written about places they stayed. I hate it when I book a local host and then get some crazy review?  All of a sudden they turn into Rick Steve.   I will book someone who has an interview or has a late night thing and do not want to travel home drunk or high.  My red flags go off when I get "broke up from partner", or need a place to chill" or "can I do my laundry".  I have booked locals and I do not know why if I ever have a problem guest its the local guest.  I think maybe they are a problem because:  1) they do not have family or friends to crash for a night because they are strange to start with. 2) They usually are avoiding conflict somewhere in their relationships 3) They are the local "Rick Steves'"4) They use the kitchen more than out of towner 5)  They have intimate knowlegde of your home and that really creeps me out and can come back when ever. While out of towners leave and it takes effort to come back and steal.  And yes I have had locals want to store things for days or come back in to do luandry after check out.

What is Rick Steves? 

Travel guide 🙂

Also, they are more likely to bring a pet when they aren't supposed to.  People flying in won't bring a pet.  

Nataly24
Level 2
Kraków, Poland

Hi. What's a problem with local guests and why they are suspicious? Im new to airbnb as a host, and want to know possible pitfalls with "wrong" guests. I see many valid reasons, ex.  my parents or grandparents visiting my family, and I want them to stay somewhere nearby, so I'd book apartment for them somewhere near the place where i'm living myself.  

@Deborah0Third party bookings (booking on behalf of another person) aren't allowed by Airbnb, so that shouldn't happen. 

 

There are many reasons for not accepting local people. They could be looking for a place to party, have an affair, deal drugs, do drugs, or engage in prosititution.

There could be legitimate reasons for local people staying, like home renovations, a breakup, closing dates on houses not matching, etc., but many hosts don't want to take the risk. I take it on a case-by-case basis. 

For me, the problem is because " they're "local" meaning; Ease of access and ease to case a home. They know where you live, how to access your home, where things are located,  locks, doors, windows etc.  from the inside. Of course, that can happen anywhere from anyone, however, locals have again that ease or access and little distance to travel back to your home anytime.  Another issue is the homeless population and Airbnb is becoming a thing. There are times when they do get money and it would make perfect sense to get a hotel room for a night or two in order to get a break from the street or the shelter.

 

Word is out now that it's cheaper to book with Airbnb rather than a hotel. I've had many experiences with this from local homeless people, many of whom I know.  Most who I know are good people so I don't want to generalize this either but, I'm a social worker and for me, it's an ethical issue. However, there is also a significant prevalence of mental issues and addictions that can be accompanied by behavioral issues. I just don't want to get it in my home.