Inquiry from a guest nearby

[Phil26]

Any of you find that you get inquiries from guests that live nearby? I have gotten a few of these and I'm not sure if they are asking for a friend or trying to set up a space for an encounter of some kind. In all cases I reply and decline the reservation and point out to them they live nearby and why the inquiry. In the cases of asking for a friend, I think some are legitimate (like asking for their parents), others have never replied back making me think they had ill intent. In any case, it would be helpful if Airbnb compared the address of the accommodation with the address of the inquiry and informed the host and inquiry of this discrepancy. 

[Jim472]

Quite a few of my bookings are from people nearby. I don't have a problem with it. I think your idea of airbnb doing some type of automatic inquiry if the guest resides in the area of the property is crazy. 

[Ann489]

@Phil26    as a rule of thumb, I am super-cautious when it comes to booking requests from "locals".    Often, those can be associated with parties, etc.  Especially, if the booking is only for one night.  There are dozens of nightmare stories here in the forum about this.  I will say, we did accept a booking from a local couple once who were simply moving and in between homes.  I would suggest to take it on a case by case basis and ask a lot of questions, as well as ask for a copy of their driver's license, or other picture ID.

"Asking for a friend, etc", is considered a third-party booking and, according to Airbnb's new TOS, only allowed for businesses.  Personally, I would NEVER accept a third party booking.  I always ask that the persons booking, creates their own guest account.    Otherwise, you have no way of holding the guest liable, should any damage occur.

[Lawrene0]

@Phil26 , there are some legitimate local bookings, though. I get them all the time. I expect nearly every unique space does - the treehouses, the yurts, the pirate ships. Staycations. 

Also there are the people who need something while their home is undergoing repairs, that sort of thing. 

It would be hard to have Airbnb flag addresses. Guests put in an address, then move and don't update it. Or they get it wrong. They are from Perth, Ontario, and choose Perth, Australia, from the dropdown. I had one of those awhile ago. I was expecting cool accents and got flat vowels 🙂

I think you just have to keep doing as you are doing. The address is there for us to see. Ask questions. If the answers don't add up, say no. 

[Colleen253]

@Lawrene0  @Phil26 that's a good  point about their location often being outdated/wrong. I had a guest whose location said he was from the Netherlands, and it turns out he is actually from Texas, and now lives locally to me! I was a bit taken aback when I found that out. I don't take location at face value anymore.

[Helen350]

@Phil26 A young local man with no reviews IB-ed my biggest private room at c.2pm on 2 Jan last year, - for the same night, telling me he'd be round in an hour.. Grrr, my check in is from 5pm.... As it is the norm in the UK for industry to close for 2 weeks over Christmas & New Year, I guessed right away what the problem was....! - He'd spent too long cooped up with his girlfriend over Christmas, they'd had a row, & so he quickly joined Airbnb & headed for the cheapest room! When he arrived, turned out I was right! To my dismay, he didn't start back at work for several days & spent the whole time in his room, nursing his wounds.... What else is there to do in early January? He'd booked 3 nights but left after 2, having patched things up... Gave an ungracious, nit-picking review, complaining about 'lack of amenities' & 3* overall! (Most guests don't need 'amenities'; they're out climbing mountains or doing a day's work! ) Under his circumstances, he was obviously in the mood to find fault, & I stood no chance! - Plus the locals are gits! - I much prefer foreigners!

[Helen3]

Why do you think the hospitality industry closes down for two weeks over Christmas. It is their busy period where they make lots of money. That makes no sense 🙂 

Always best to block out same day bookings if you don't want to attract last minute guests.

[Helen350]

@Helen3 I think you misunderstood...

1) The hospitality industry does not shut down over Christmas.. I just said 'industry' (works holidays) - round here it's the nuclear industry that has a mass shutdown for non-essential workers. - Like my guest!

2) I have no problem with last minute guests! Such a large proportion of my guests are last minute that I would do little business if I didn't host them....

MY POINT WAS: This local lad booked with me LAST MINUTE, OVER  NEW YEAR because he'd had a row with his girlfriend..  Whom he'd just been cooped up with for 10+days because of the Christmas shutdown!!! Both 'last minute' & 'New Year' & '2 week shut down'  are significant here....... Remember the OP is about hosting locals & WHY they need a room....

(I think the humour is somewhat lost in the translation!)

[Beth80]

@Phil26 

I'm not sure how they would truly check addresses. My last three reservations said the guest was from France, London, and Egypt. They were all Brazilians, those were the locations they had lived in when they made their profile. I've also had guests admit that the name on their profile isn't their real name.

[Phil26]

Beth,

I understand your point and I would think that France, London and Egypt are not local to you. And if you are accepting reservations from people that later admit the name on their profile isn't their name, seems like you are setting yourself up for a serious problem. The rental agreement between them, Airbnb and yourself is invalid if you are renting to Joe Smith but the guests real name and identity is Jim West, and if Jim West damages your place, I don't think you have a leg to stand on if you try and claim damages. Your call on that. Good luck.

[Kelly149]

hate to burst your bubble @Phil26 but the abb profile in no way shape or form is required to list a guest's actual name and that's how ABB likes it. Similarly, as several hosts have told you, a guest's listed home city could be quite wrong as well.

I'd save my declines until I was sure I really needed it, but knowing who your guest is and why they are coming is always a good idea!

[Colleen253]

@Phil26  Airbnb isn't too interested in implementing features that are helpful for hosts, so I think we're probably out of luck on your suggestion. If you don't want them, have you tried posting a note on your listing that you do not host locals? Maybe that would cut down greatly on the number of their communications you have to field, and then your declines would decrease. My listing is in a quiet rural area just outside of a big city and I have had a few guests from the city, coming out for a weekend mini vacation type stay. If we were a party magnet, I would absolutely be leery of local bookings. 

[Laura2592]

A lot of my bookings are from people less than an hour from my cottage. Its a unique space and Maryland is a small very urbanized/suburban sprawl kind of state. Locals look for a get away. So far no issues that a non-local would not also have. We do a two night minimum so that really helps to keep away parties. And with a 5 or 6 night max, we don't have anyone homesteading who is couch surfing in the area.