Possible scammers? Please help

[Tyler370]

I am new to airbnb and recently received two requests for the exact same length on time on the exact same days.

The first message read.... 

"Hi, Tyler. My husband and I will visit some friends at Ontario. We will work from home during the day and enjoy the city in our free time. Thank you :-)"

The second read...

"I will be visiting Kitchener with my wife to get to know the city. We are both software developers and we intend to move from Winnipeg and Kitchener was is one of the possibilities (it has a good IT ecosystem) but we need to get to know the city before deciding to move :)"

First off they both said they were from Winnipeg. Yet he first one had a profile which said they live in Brazil. They both wanted to stay an entire month....on the exact same days? And they both added the same happy smily face.

If you read the first one closely, they say they want to " work from home during the day, and enjoy the city in free time. Excuse me,  there's COVID restrictions. Everything in my city closes at 9, what night life are they enjoying? 

The second  says they are "software developers" yet can't type a coherant message?  

Question is this common? Am I being paranoid or over cautious,  or is this a scam or game to target new hosts who have many open days?

[Anonymous]

@Tyler370  The fact that these were identical dates is a little odd, but nothing looks immediately suspicious. Presumably, if both accounts were able to contact you about the same dates, these were Inquiries and not Requests (a request locks the dates until you take action). 

Did either guest have reviews and Verified ID? Neither is foolproof, but they can lend some credibility.

[Tyler370]

Both guests had accounts which said they lived outside of the country they also had no reviews so I declined.

[Laura2592]

@Tyler370  I would ask more questions. I might say "Wow, you are the second inquiry we got for these dates from Winnipeg! What a coincidence. Can you tell me more about why you chose my listing? Have you checked out our house rules? We are in a bit of an odd time with COVID restrictions in my city..did you have questions about what might be available? Are you planning to bring pets? We don't allow overnight guests so please verify that this request is for X number of people...."

And on and on. 

I will beat my drum again-- new hosts are better served by not accepting long stays. Be clear on tenancy laws in your area. Understand that one bad review from a scammer can tank your score. Best to build up your cred with multiple short stays. Weirdos do target new hosts. 

[Tyler370]

Thank you so much for the advice, I declined both requests. As you were right to suggest getting more short term stays to build up reviews. I went with my gut that something wasn't right with these requests.

[Heidi588]

It seems to me like they're spouses but not telling the same story. I don't think it's weird she wants to get to know the city during their free time, or how they write for software developers but all the rest seems odd.

I would say to trust your gut. If your gut says there are red flags and this is off, I wouldn't engage with them at all. I have always regretted whenever I tried to talk myself out of believing a red flag was a red flag. 

[Tyler370]

I took your advice and trusted my gut declined both. Best part was I was  able to end up booking most of the month with short term stays. Something just didn't feel right about these requests. Maybe I was overly cautious but better safe than sorry.

[Sarah977]

@Tyler370 I wouldn't advise you to take long term stays anyway as a new host. You should only take shorter ones to build up your reviews. Also, in most places, a month-log booking means that guests turn into tenants and are subject to landlord/tenant laws (which many "tenants" know inside out) . I know something about those in Canada. You'd have a helluva time getting them out if they refused to pay rent and refused to leave.

[Tyler370]

Thanks for the advice Sarah, I declined both. And will keep taking the shirt term stays to build up the reviews. I'm very happy to get your response.

[Katrina79]

@Tyler370 @I had the same thing happen with two different families from Brazil. They were immigrating for an IT job with Skip. I had two suites and both families stayed for the exact same time frame in each suite. I think the company hiring may have helped look for accommodations. I wouldn’t be worried, I would just communicate with them. 

[Tyler370]

Hi Katrina, Both of these requests were also from Brazil. I decided to not take any long term stays at the moment. Thanks for the advice.

[Fred13]

It is one of those things it is best to play straight because it may be indeed a coincidence or like it was said above, it may be two separate people with the same need, for the same work reason. There is no harm in random inquiries, when accepting bookings is where caution should start.

You been reading a lot of mystery books lately by any chance? 🙂

[Tyler370]

lol No Mystery books, but maybe too much COVID information he a little paranoid.  

[Ann72]

@Tyler370  It's funny/odd but I don't think it's suspicious.  And just to be pedantic:  1) their smiley faces were different (one had a dash, the other didn't), and 2) it's no surprise to me that a software developer isn't a good writer!

[Tyler370]

Good and valid points, I think I might be overtly cautious as I'm still new at this. But I still declined them and decided to take shorter term stays for the time being thanks for the input.