New users without reviews

Fatima421
Level 2
New York, NY

New users without reviews

Hello I am new to hosting. The first 3 reservations I’ve received are from new users with no info on profiles. All are international. No reviews. I’m somewhat worried that these are bot profiles and / or digital hackers. I’ve raised the issue with Airbnb who said they can’t help and if anything goes wrong to check aircover for coverage. Anyone else experience this? Am I being too paranoid? Thanks! 

6 Replies 6
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Hello @Fatima421 

 

They are new to Airbnb as are you. These guests could equally think the same about you!

 

You can vet guests by

 

a) only accepting guests with photo ID

b) asking vetting questions

c)turning off instant book if you use it so you can ask vetting questions BEFORE the guest books.

 

What did the guests tell you about why they're coming to NY and why they chose your place?

 

Your place looks very cheap by the way - have you checked pricing for comparable listings in your area?

Fatima421
Level 2
New York, NY

Thank you so much for responding! Yes you’re right there are precautions I can take and they may absolutely be new like me. However,  I have a lot of info on my profile about who I am and of course the property.  I’m concerned bc the reservations all came in one after the other, the profiles are completely blank besides photo and location, and no one has responded to my welcome notes.  Have other hosts had a similar experience or ever had an issue with bot profiles?

Renee291
Level 7
Cincinnati, OH

I agree with @Fatima421 . I recommend setting your booking settings to requiring photo ID, and no instant books. I don't let anyone instant book that has no reviews or bad reviews. I can approve them after asking questions, however.

Fatima421
Level 2
New York, NY

Thanks all! Ok I think I will change settings away from instant book. Yes my place is priced low-ish bc it’s new and bc it’s a shared property. 

@Fatima421   There's a very high likelihood that at least some of these guests booked without realizing the home is a shared property. You do spell it out in your description, but a huge portion of guests hit the Book button without reading the text. If someone was just going by the photos, they would assume that they're getting a private pool house.  If these bookings are still within the grace period for free cancellation, I'd recommend contacting them to make sure they're 100% aware of the arrangement and reminding them that if it isn't what they thought it was, they can act quickly and get a full refund.

 

A nice swimming pool is one of those amenities that some people go nuts for - they see that up front and it blinds them to the details. That's great for getting booked quickly, but you don't want guests showing up on your doorstep wondering why your family isn't leaving the house. So in addition to turning off Instant Book, I recommend including some discussion of this being accepting bookings. A significant portion of the guests will withdraw their requests, which will be disappointing at the time but it will spare you some huge headaches.

Thanks so much for this. I will make these changes now. I sent welcome messages to the 3 reservers reminding them of the shared situation but no response from anyone.