Guest wants to see the place before comming in

[John7]

I have had several requests for people to see the place before they commit. Air BnB does not allow you to give information about address or telephone number before they receive the money. Is ther a way around this - I have absolutely no intention of short changing Air BNB. I also dont want to lose the potential client.  I would like some advice on how to handle this - Kind regards

John Mills

[Wendy117]

In my first year i allowed 3 separate people to view before booking. I sent my phone number as a list of words.  Absolute time wasters who turn up late, wish to convince you to reduce the price for them, accept payment outside Airbnb, and of course they cant pay right away due to some issue. None eventuated as a booking.

I like the 48 hour cancellation period because i can now tell anyone who wishes to view that they can book, look and cancel penaly free within 48 hours.

I am not surprised that no-one has taken me up on this offer and i am happy about that.

Sure there are exceptions, but I have always found that those with demands before booking usually have unreasonable demands right through the booking and rarely leave 5 star reviews.

[Charles224]

Hi Sarah, 

And did you also note that Jennifer has been a member since 2016 and apparently had no reviews?

A cute photo of a child isn't enough to get me to give info about my place without a booking.. There are too many sad stories about hosts being abused, and while Jennifer may be legitimate, surely she can see that her behaviour and story is exactly how scammers get people to let their guard down.

[Sarah977]

@Charles224  I didn't look at her profile, and while that does raise some questions, I've had guests before who also showed they had been members for a few years, but had no reviews. In one case, the guest said she had joined way back then, but had only "armchair traveled" and the few trips she and her husband had taken were made under his account. In the other instance, she had had 2 trips, but the hosts hadn't left reviews. In both cases, these were middle-aged women, and both turned out to be stellar guests. So while it can be a red flag, it's not always the case- when I see this, I just ask the guest for a little explanation. 

[Charles224]

I totally agree Sarah, 

the issue is when they want to 'preview' your place rather than book it.

Previews are an opportunity all sorts of mischief making... 🙂

[Jasmine326]

This response was a tad snarky. Both parties are at risk... and likely ppl don't rent as much as a host hosts... so guests don't actually know this is not an appropriate question to ask. 

A guests money will be tied up until any potential issue gets resolved and it may be all that's  budgeted for stay during travel or transition... not to mention the inconvenience of finding a new place if something were not right upon arrival.

I asked a host if I could see the place first. The place was the best listing within reason for a month stay but the host has zero reviews and I don't want to get scammed. Some ppl have blind trust others are a little more cautious.

[Susan1188]

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@Jennifer1610 wrote: I am traveling from outside the country and am not sure if these photos are accurate. ...  I understand the rentors trying to protect themselves but what about protecting the actual consumer?

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Dear Jennifer, I understand we are all wary of the other party;

But if you read more on this forum you will see how secure Airbnb is for the "actual consumer"!

If the property does not correspond to the photos or in any way disappoints you when you arrive, you can call the Airbnb help desk and they will find you another accomodation or let you cancel at no cost!  Even if your complaint is unjustified, too bad for your host the reservation will not be paid!

If the photos or listing is not accurate, the person will surely have bad reviews.   So a true scam would only be possible for a very new listing with no reviews.  And even so, if you arrive and are disappointed see above.

There are surely hackers and "scam" hosts out there but they will be rapidly penalized on the platform!  If you go for a listing with several reviews there is virtually no way it can be a scam.

If you want to see a property before arriving then you should go through a classic realtor to find a rental and not use Airbnb.

[Noel102]

I will not ever do this. Never. 

To the posters who take issue because they had a request declined - some bad actors went and ruined it for everyone else.  I politely respond to the inquiry with, "Thanks for your interest and viewing request, Unfortunately, allowing visits of that nature violates the AirBnB terms of service, which are designed to protect both the guest and the host.  Our listing includes more than 40 photos of the property showing all of the amenities, both inside and out, and we have many five-star reviews that will affirm the quality and comfort of the accommodations we offer."

[Jennifer347]

Noel, thank you for your input.  I think your reject message is super.  It doesn't offend anyone and does the job.  I do find people who want to pre-view the accommodation usually want a deal outside the Airbnb platform or they are too picky.  I've learned my lessons and won't waste my time with those people anymore.  

[Rwan121]

@Noel102 I loved the message it is more than enough. If you allow me, I will copy your message because I spent now few hours trying to put the right words together so the people won’t feel bad. I have stayed in few places with Airbnb and I never asked to see it. I understand that some people are living around and it is easier for them to come and see the place compared to us travelers coming from the other side of the world. I am a new member here listing the family house. A person asked to see the place and I agreed, when they asked for the address something made me stop and search in google to see if it is ok or not to do so. When I knew the result I was shocked so now I have to write them again with a response that is the opposite of what I said.. 

[Sarah977]

@Rwan121  Be really careful about accepting bookings from locals. If they are from your area, you have to be suspicious about why they would need to book an Airbnb in the same area where they live. Usually it's because they want to throw a party. 

[Mandi-S-Just-Business-Ro0]

Previews are a massive waste of time. They are the main reason why I quit LTR's. No show rates are over 50 percent. They aren't prepared to commit. And most of the time they haggle. That's the big one. 

Of late I have been adding back more LTR's. What I do now is to block off two 2 hr sessions a week, inspired by realtor open houses. No more "must see this by 8 am tomorrow" nonsense. I am way too busy for that.

I lose about 1/3 of my showings this way. I lose people with their parents, girlfriend, and snooping others interrupting myself and other guests, turning on showers, and having to be reminded to take their shoes off as they traipse all over my city, reducing my probability to, say, 1/5 as they decide by committee what to rent. And if they want it, I am now beholden to the group.

I rent to adults. If parents are involved I politely decline. I host rooms. I don't run a chaperone service.

[Steven373]

It is a waste of time. Having been through the process once I will not repeat the same mistake.

[Mandi-S-Just-Business-Ro0]

Agreed. Including long term. They want discounts. 

[Amber1]

Don't do it

[David1747]

I found this post interesting to read because my experience with previews has been completely different - although usually the requests for previews come through our website or Facebook page. A lot of people book our house for pre-nuptial photo shoots because it is on the top of a hill and has 180 degree views of the whole of Metro Manila. It was also designed by the Philippines' national architect so is very "Instagrammable". The photos on our AIrbnb listing do a good job of showing it off, but because a pre-nuptial photo shoot is an important day in the lives of many of our guests, many of them want to actually see the house before they commit to booking it (we require them to book both rooms for a minimum of one night, and then they can use it from 2pm to 12 noon the next day for their photo shoot).

We do an average one preview a month (at some times of the year a few more) and 100% of those previews have resulted in bookings. We state on our website and Facebook page that we ONLY accept bookings through Airbnb. A couple of times prospective guests have asked if they could book direct (they didn't ask for discounts - they just wanted to save the AIrbnb service fee) but we've just politely said no, we only do bookings through Airbnb for their protection and our protection. In all of those cases the guests accepted that and none of them tried to pursue the issue.

We've never had anyone doing a preview who was a scammer or was in any way an "unsavoury character" - they've all been lovely people and it was a pleasure to show them around. In some cases they completed their bookings through the AIrbnb apps on their phones whithin 30 mins of leaving our place.

I'm not offering contrary advice to what all those hosts above have suggested - I just wanted you to know that there were situations where previews could be justified and there is at least one host who has done it with no negative experiences!