Colleen - thank you for your message! We DO have that box checked so we are avoiding people instant booking who aren't verified and don't have good reviews, but we are still getting requests from near blank profiles and its the dealing with these requests that is frustrating since we're having to decline all of the guests who are unresponsive.
We did just learn about the pre-booking message that will pop up before they can confirm a reservation so hoping that might cut down on some of these generic unresponsive profiles. Here's what we put in our pre-booking message that goes out before they can confirm a reservation...
Thank you for considering our lake cottage! BEFORE submitting a booking request, please make sure your profile is filled out and verified with a gov. ID. Also, please let us know:
What brings you to Lake James?
What other guests are coming, if any?
Please confirm that you've read and agree to all of our house rules/policies.
We look forward to hosting you!
Corey & Michelle