Prospective guest has no feedback

[Kelley47]

Hello, My husband and I are new to Airbnb.  We just finished building a new lake home and want to rent it out.  We have a prospect for this upcoming summer.  The problem is they are new to Airbnb and do not have any feedback yet.  Their profile says 1 verified, and I am not sure what that means.  It is a new home, and of course precious to us.  I dont want to invite trouble right off the bat, but also understand people need a chance to build their online reputation.  How does everyone here handle this type of situation?

[Cole24]

Would a bit more "chatting time" with them help?  Ask them a bit more about themselves and their plans?  Shrug it off as new hosts who are just figuring out the ropes...

[Paul1255]

Hi @Kelley47 I think that @Cole24 is right, have some more time chatting and getting to know eachother before you confirm the booking.

If the booking is for summer 2019, I guess that these particular guests will not be the first to stay at your listing, even though they may be the first to book- and by the time their reservation comes around you'll have built your hosting confidence?

You're right, everyone needs the chance to build their airbnb reputation- guests but also hosts too. Remember you're new too and don't have any guest reviews yet 🙂

The more complete their profile is and more verified info they have the better: phone, email address, government ID so on and so on, this will build trust until the reviews start coming in.

I will forever remember those first few guests who took a (educated) chance on me when I created my listing and they booked- without me having any previous guest reviews!

I am an in-home host, but I have had all great experiences with first time airbnb guests- I find they act on the side of caution as they are new to Airbnb, so they do need explaining about how things work, what's ok and what isn't but then they're fine and have a great time 🙂

[Rebecca181]

@Kelley47 If it were me, I would require this prospective guest to sign a short term rental contract, and they should be required to forward you a copy of their government-issued photo ID -which you can check again when they arrive. You may wish to do this with every guest, given the value of your home, and that it may attract party-throwers. Many hosts have been unable to collect on the Host Protection Guarantee or even the 'security deposit' at times, even with irrefutable evidence, including police report; therefore, you would be wise to purchase additional commercial liability insurance to cover damages from guests (this extra expense can be written off on your taxes, at least here in the United States).