Last minute booking request from guest with NO verifications

Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

Last minute booking request from guest with NO verifications

So I just got a last-minute booking request from a guest. They had absolutely no information on their profile, and zero verifications. ZERO! Not a cell phone number or email address, even. I asked why they wanted to stay, and they said that they're locals and their landlord needs to fix their bathroom. Yeah, no, sorry. What I can't get over is that Airbnb would even let them send a request with absolutely no verification of their profile. I really feel like Airbnb is starting to take the piss when it comes to guests.... we aren't able to do even the most cursory of checks on them because they now block all info before the booking is completed, and apparently they're not doing any checks either. It takes the giddy buscuit.

 

How much does Airbnb value our safety when they are allowing guests who have not provided any personal information whatsoever to book with the platform?

125 Replies 125

@Elizabeth164 PS Refusing to rent your space to people over a certain age is discrimination. You can't choose who you're going to allow into your space based on age, unless you live in a place that has age requirements for residence, like a retirement community. How do you even know how old people are now with the lack of pre-booking photos?

I do not refuse my space based on age. However, I do mention that for folks with mobility issues, 2 flights of stairs to a bedroom may be too much, especially if they have to come down a flight of stairs to use the bathroom. I'm extremely careful about such things. I can't imagine having urinary incontinence and having to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and having to walk down a flight of stairs to get to a bathroom. Can you? I just am straight=forward and honest in my postings, and my guests LOVE me for that. Cheers, E

Hi Leigh23, When I declined a guest on Christmas Day, because I didn't like what I was hearing, airbnb staff told me you could go in and unblock those days. I still wonder iff that's true.

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Jane627 

Yes Jane, if the dates were blocked as a result of a decline you can maually go in and open them again. The only time you can't reopen blocked dates is if as a host you cancelled a confirmed guest reservation. Your callendar will remain blocked in the event of a cancellation!

Cheers......Rob

Leigh23
Level 2
North Dakota, United States

I see some other folks have answered the dilemma. I’m thrilled to learn a host can re-open the dates after a decline. Woo hoo!

@Leigh23 I never accept or decline inquiries and nothing happens to my stats.  Just keep communicating and maybe they'll go away.

 

I've been hearing from a couple for the last month with questions about my cabin.  They lastly wrote "I assume it will be fine for the dog to run in the woods."  I wrote back, "The woods are populated by bears, coyotes, fishers, bobcats, and other predators."

 

I haven't heard from them since lol.

Leigh23
Level 2
North Dakota, United States

Ha ha! I like your style! I don’t tend to decline all too often but there are just some people who push the envelope right up front. I figure if they exhaust me during the reservation REQUEST process they are definitely going to be a pain once they arrive. Therefore I do not always accept a reservation. When I was a new host I always did but now a few years into this I take the time to vett each one. While the good experiences outweigh the bad, I will say the doozies leave me with heartburn that lasts a long time so to all (newer) hosts please be choosy! Remember, it only takes one super bad experience to ruin your home or a few eerie experiences to leave you on edge. 

@Leigh23  @Ann72  was talking about neither accepting nor declining Inquiries, not Booking Requests. They are totally different. Messaging back the guest within 24 hours on an Inquiry, without either pre-approving or declining, is fine and won't affect your stats at all. The Inquiry will expire after 24 hours. A Request is different- you do have to either Accept or Decline within 24 hours or you will be dinged.

Thanks for clarifying @Sarah977 and @Leigh23 thanks for the wise words - and the virtual guffaw.  🙂

 

While I'm here on this long and unwieldy thread, @Elizabeth164 why are you hounding the brilliant @Alexandra316, whose skills and experience as a host are demonstrably exceptional?  Could you not have gotten your point across in two or at most three replies?  And why do you think @Alexandra316 needs cheering up, much less your advice on simple settings?  It doesn't appear you read her original post with much attention to detail.  So many replies on a thread really looks more like trolling than the collegial exchange at which so many on this board excel.

@Ann72  I was about to chastise the superior tone of those endless posts as well, but couldn't be bothered. Glad someone did 🙂

@Ann72 Thanks for your kind words, Ann!

Dear Alexandra316:

1. In your listing parameters, indicate what your guests are required to list. If you don't set those parameters, then you get guests with no verifications. That's your job... on your end.

2. If for any reason you are uncomfortable with a guest, I suggest you call Airbnb and indicate why, and then have someone walk you through how you set up your guest parameters.

 

Seven-year host, Elizabeth

p.s. I still get guests who have "avatar" images up for themselves, rather than a photo of themselves. Because I'm a single woman, that is not okay with me, even if the guest is a woman. I require all of my guests to have a true photo of themselves, and a true full name on their account. People fudge with this all the tiime, but if I am uncomfortable, as a former criminal litigation paralegal, I can usually find out who someone is.... usually, and if I find the information a guest has provided on the Airbnb site does not match with what I can find online, I'll gently inform my guest, or, if I'm anxious enough call Airbnb.... my safety, and the safety of my other guests in my home, is paramount. 

 

I believe Airbnb has been doing a fantastic job of creating parameters for safety, and overall I'm still as delighted with Airbnb as I was when I started working with them 7 years ago.

 

However, one does have to get used to the fact that they change their system about every 5 months, as they adjust to new technology. So, one is always on a learning curve with their application. 

 

Consider it a constant mystery unfolding, and you'll be happier.

 

Best, Elizabeth (7-year host)

@Elizabeth164 Maybe you feel good about Airbnb's safety standards: many other hosts don't. When Airbnb has no information on the guest whatsoever, how can they be doing a good job with host safety and verification? As it happens, Airbnb's own guidelines state that guests must have a minimum verification of at least an email and phone number, so how did this request even slip through the net?

 

I do have requirements set on my account... you can set all the requirements you want and if things slip through, Airbnb won't back you up. As outlined below, I had a guest book with no last name and no profile photo (they had a pic of a golf course), and even though I have a requirement set that they must have a profile photo, Airbnb told me to go pound sand. You can't REQUIRE a guest to give you their true information, and I find that ridiculous. You can do all the research you like, but if someone tells you their name is John Smith from London and their name is actually Richard Poole from Paris, it isn't going to do you a heck of a lot of good.

 

Dear Alexandra: I'm horrified you have been having a terrible experience. I have not, but I can't but wonder at what you must be going through. 

 

My only other recommendation is that you send a firm, "stately" polite message to your potential guest. I have done this many times over the past 7 years. Here is what I write:

 

"Dear XXX: I look forward to meeting you. However, I do require all of my guests to have a real photo of themselves and a real name on their account. This is as much for your safety as mine. Please update your account." If there is no response, then I write,  "Dear XXX, Because you have not provided me a real photo of yourself, I have decided to call Airbnb, to report your account. I'm sure you're just busy, but this is a fundamental safety issue for you and me. Thank you for your attention to this." 

 

Be firm, be clear, don't wobble, and follow through.

 

You do have more control than you're aware of.... but you have to exert it.