Potential Reservations asking about using the mailbox

[Rajan2]

I am wondering if anyone has had this happen to them.  We have had two different guests ask to use the mailbox. Each potential guests has no rating and is new to Airbnb. They are only wanting to stay for 5 days but want to receive their mail at the house. We do not have a private mailbox for the Airbnb and don't want to be responsible for their mail. Upon receiving the second request a few weeks later, it's starting to feel very suspect. They don't ask anything except the following:

1. Hello how are you ? I’m interested in booking your home but was wondering is there a mail box attached ?
2. Hi  im on a business trip and im looking to book at your stay is there a mailbox available for me to receive my mail?

Has anyone else has this happen to them?  Trying to accommodate, but this feels difficult to accommodate. They will want the physical address to get the mail posted to them and when they leave, we will now be responsible for future mail to our address. Seems like a major overreach that is not part of our contract with the guests for their short stays. Any thoughts??

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rajan2 what did you report them for? Have they actually done anything wrong?

[Rajan2]

@Mike-And-Jane0  Airbnb uses the word report - so I wrote the same. I sent a message to Airbnb about their requests to see if they could help me the guest make sure we are not misinterpreting their requests and to see if Airbnb has had other requests like these? Having two in a row and never having had this request before (after years of hosting) requires asking more questions about their needs and it doesn't help that these guest accounts do not have reviews and that they did not respond to our questions about their requests.  I wish Airbnb had a place to directly ask them general questions and get a response. 

[Huma0]

@Rajan2 @Mike-And-Jane0 

I forgot to mention RE the guest I reported, it wasn't just that he was asking for the address to set up a business account. He wanted the address before booking. The same morning, basically as soon as I turned him down,  I got two more requests for that room for the exact same dates from  individuals without reviews. This was all within minutes, which is highly unusual for a small time host likeme.

Airbnb told me that two of these looked like fraud and the third looked genuine. I think I might have even hosted the third, but I can't remember now.

[Rouzbeh3]

I have 14 request in last 24 hours, All they need mailbox without review.
It's feel uncomfortable

I think it's serious problem and AIRBNB need to think about it

[Rajan2]

@Rouzbeh3 Please be careful. That is a lot of requests in a short period of time. 

[Nima11]

Yes, I had 3 different people that sent me inquiry about my space and asked if they and their family (!)can receive mail.  All of them were staying for a few days.  I asked why do you need to receive mail and you have made a reservation for 2 people who are your family.  One of them said he is coming to California for work and need to receive mail.  He was staying for a few days.  Anyway, I declined all of them.  By the way, they all joined ABNB within the last couple of months.

[Rajan2]

@Nima11 Hope this thread has helped you too. We are denying anyone who wants to stay and use our mailbox. 

[Rajan2]

Update: I did reach out to Airbnb to find out more about this specific issue and to see if they have more data or warnings about misuse in their system. This was there response: 

------

Hi Rajan. This is Zunain M from Airbnb. How are you?

I'm sorry you're facing such an issue. Please send us a feedback, so we can look into this further. We are always looking for suggestions to make our platform better for both hosts and guests, and insight from members of our community is immensely valuable to us. To send your suggestion, just go to our feedback form and enter a description of the feature you’d like us to create:

airbnb.com/help/feedback

You must be logged into your account on mobile web or the desktop version to leave your feedback.

Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns.

Regards,
Zunain

------------------------

AND THEN, 

They closed the thread.

------------------------

I did post to airbnb.com/help/feedback but there is not an option to explore my question. 

Thanks for all the posts to this thread. It has been very helpful. 

Rajan

[Rajan2]

New update: Airbnb has responded from their Safety and Trust Team. Waiting to see what they say about this.

[Dale711]

Please....... never and ever agreed ❌

[Rajan2]

Update: It's Sunday on Labor Day Weekend. I was hoping to get a quick response from the Airbnb Trust and Safety Team. We have not heard anything yet on this issue or their policies. Stay tuned.

[Nima11]

Hello Raja2,

Good luck!  They are not that concerned!