I'm so uncomfortable with the anonymity of a potential guests now

[Donald28]

I really, really, really, really, HATE, HATE, HATE the changes airbnb has made to the booking proccess regarding the anonymity of potential guests. I now get booking requests from people with 0 reviews, no photos and only a first name. That is so wrong. I stopped instant book a while ago because I wanted a little control over who I allow to stay here. It was the best descision I made on airbnb so far.

I'm supposed to click the accept button for a complete stranger who I know absolutely nothing about to come stay at my home and property? I am having such a hard time with this. Someone please tell me I'm totally wrong for feeling like this and why I should just blindly trust eveyone on airbnb without any vetting myself?

I get why they did this. They think this will stop supposed racial discrimination. There's gotta be a better way. 

[Julie143]

It’s actually forced me keep Instant Book on. It sounds counter intuitive, but with IB, you get all the information, including the first and last name.

To me, the full name is more valuable than the photo. I do a quick check on social media and the search engine that begins with G.

This way I can usually get an idea of the person, at least enough to reassure me they are who they say they are, and that they aren’t a wanted criminal.  You get 3 “free” cancellations with IB. So far, I’ve only had to use one. Know the name and looking at social media helped me learn that the potential group was a bunch of semi-local sorority girls celebrating a 21st birthday. Nope!

OTOH, I don’t host every week. Just a couple of time per moth. For someone who was aiming for full occupancy it might not work, because they would go through their 3 free cancelations quickly.

[Zacharias0]

Its a shame it has come to this. Why cant guests be more forthcoming with information? If AirBnB put the security deposit in the hosts hands Im certain we'd have a higher amount of quality guests and wouldn't have to do all this social media digging.

[Donald28]

For me, instant book led to a more than few guests arriving within minutes of their booking. I think they were nearby, looking at airbnb app for a place to stay, found my place, booked and immediately came here. Many times,  I wouldn't even see the booking email info from airbnb before they arrived. I don't like people just showing up at my house unannounced. It's creepy having strangers roaming around my property looking for the tinyhouse in the backyard. No more of that when I turned iB off. I feel like I've lost a few bookings but I love being completelyinformed and in charge now. 

I also found having the guets full name, photo and area they are from very helpful. A quick search of their FBook page can give you a very realistic idea of the type of guest/s they will be. 

[Kelly149]

But you can have IB without allowing same day arrival. You can require more notice. 

[Sarah977]

@Donald28    Assuming every guest has a Facebook account. I don't. Couldn't pay me to join Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media site.

[John1080]

@Sarah977 @Donald28, I also do not use FB. But, generally, I'm able to find some information about my guests online by entering their full name and phone number. Typically, I can find where they work, their address, etc. Kind of scary how much information one can find about others online! 

[Annette314]

But this is the whole thing: Airbnb want to force hosts to accept Instant Booking. That is why it's only on Instant Book that you get the full name of potential guests!

[Susan151]

@Annette314 . Actually, Instant Book hosts get the full name because there is a confirmed reservation; the same as any host with a confirmed reservation. Instant Book just eliminates the middle steps.

[Annette314]

Ah! That explains it then. It doesn't work very well if you're with a few agents, though, as one calendar isn't linked to the others. Therefore a potential instant booking could occur for a certain unit when it has already been booked out by another agent. So you've got to keep all calendars up to date.

[Ricardo85]

@Donald28 

It is mutual.

Ricardo

[Kelly149]

@Donald28 I exert a lot of control over who stays here

1- my listing & my rules are very explicit

2- my pricing is high (compared to what ABB suggests)

3- I'm on multiple platforms

4- I require a rental contract and ID to be given to me by the guest immediately after they book

5- I've pre-decided that problem people won't be allowed to come. (ABB reservation is a starting point, it isn't an ending point)

I agree with @Julie143 IB strangely enough seems to offer more options.

Or as a more drastic measure, when you have a paid HA subscription then you are allowed to have full contact info of guests prior to any booking so there you have the benefit of full communication prior to making a reservation and also a real true security deposit

[Helen56]

How do you have the guest give you their ID before they have arrived?

[Kelly149]

@Helen56 via email

[Donald28]

I've tried ALL the other STR companies and only get bookings from airbnb. I did get 1 booking from vrb0 over the course of 2 years. LOL