I just reopened for bookings after going offline during lockdown. Strangely (or maybe not so strangely, considering all the folks who've been stuck at home), all I've gotten so far are reservation requests from newbies. I have instant book on, but part of my "screening" (ha) is to have prospective guests tell me a bit about what brings them to town, and I also specify instant book only for guests with a review history. I've accepted three reservations so far for this summer from new users who all sound perfectly legit. Today, I got a request from a guy who wants to come with his family. He wrote that they're regular visitors to the area, and I'd normally accept the reservation right away, but he says, "We've stayed at Airbnbs before," yet he has no reviews and only joined in March. The simple explanation for this is that his spouse/significant other or a family member made prior reservations and he just became official on the platform, but I'm struggling to find a tactful way of finding out if that's the case. Maybe I'm just having an off day communication wise, but the couple of drafts I've written sound weird/prying/suspicious.
It's funny; if he'd never claimed to have used Airbnb before, but just said he was new, I'd feel perfectly fine, but for some reason, I feel odd about this. How would you tactfully ask a guest who claims to have Airbnb'd but has no history or reviews what their deal is? I'm a single mom and the apartment is attached to our house, so security is always in the back of my mind.