SCAM! Beware! Don't allow guests to receive postal mail at your address.

[Martin280]

I had a guest book a single night and asked to receive a letter at my address. He said he was attending a conference and they would be sending a confirmation code for his attendance here in NYC. He had two positive reviews and I thought it sounded legit. I've also been hosting for four years and never had a problem so I agreed.

He called the day before he was to arrive and said he wouldn't be coming because the conference was cancelled but that he needed the verification code so he could sign up for the next one. I told him the letter arrived. I noticed it wasn't addressed to a person but a business, WILLIAMSBURG IRON PRODUCTS at my Williamsburg address and was from Google Business. Luckily, I'd run a web development company for two decades and this looked familiar.

I opened it and it was a verification code but didn't mention any conference. It said along the lines of, "Enter this verification code into google businesses and start letting customers know you're open for business." I knew this flyer. It was how Google Places verifies businesses are at a physical address. The guest insisted it was in relation to his conference. I called Google Business, sat on hold a half an hour then spoke to a manager and he verified I was right.

The only purpose of the letter is to verify a physical address and had I sent that code to him he could have removed my existing business (Graphic Designer) from that address and put this ficticious one there in its place. He said destroy the code immediately. And I did. 

Be warned fellow hosts!! 

[Cherry-Ann1]

This is very helpful.  well the last recommendation RE: Amazon 🙂

[Huma0]

It's in my house rules that guests cannot give out my address for mail. Although I would make an exception for a long-term guest staying a few months, I don't advertise that.

However, several guests have given out the address regardless and usually only ask if it's okay once they've already done it! I don't think any of them were involved in a scam, as far as I'm aware. Thanks @Martin280 for bringing this to our attention though as this is not something I would have thought about.

There are a number of reasons I have a problem with guests giving out my address.

Firstly, it's very hard to get your address off a mailing list and writing 'return to sender', putting it back in the post box,  etc. doesn't usually seem to work. I am still receiving mail for former lodgers who lived here years ago and it doesn't matter how many times i send the letters back to the sender informing them. I regularly receive letters from a bank for someone who lived here in 2009/10 and, without my permission, registered a business at my address. As far as I know, the business is still registered here with Companies House as well as with the bank. Not cool.

Secondly, some companies will sell address details to other companies and so you are then bombarded with spam mail. It's bad enough to get this for former housemates, but if short term guests were regularly giving out the address it could get out of control.

The most important reason is for security and to not have problems with bailiffs etc. because guests have given my address not only for delivery but as a BILLING address.

A friend of mine came home one night to find her front door had been kicked down by bailiffs due to a former tenant (from years before) having outstanding bills. The bailiffs hadn't bothered to check if the same person was living there now. She couldn't find anyone to come and fix the door that night so she and her small child had to spend the whole night with no front door.

So, when I started getting demands for payment from Fedex for a guest who had stayed here two days, I got on the phone to them. Luckily they agreed to have the address removed from her account. This guest had initially told me she had spoken to Fedex and asked them to send the letters to her home address. After that, she ignored my messages and Fedex said she had not spoken to them, nor could they get hold of her, nor been given any other address than mine. Eventually she got back to me claiming she had no idea what the bill was for, which doesn't make sense if she had indeed called Fedex as previously claimed. She clearly thought she could get away with not paying because they had my address and not hers.

If I said it was okay for guests to have mail sent here, I'm sure that sort of thing would happen on a regular basis.

As for opening the guests' mail, I wouldn't feel comfortable about that and I belive in the UK it is illegal to open someone else's mail. So, I will continue to say that guests simply must not give out my address.

[Linda748]

All I can say is wow!

[Tueykay0]

@Martin280

Thank you for letting us know!

[Pete69]

Thanks for the heads up. Personally I would never open any mail that's not addressed to me, even if asked. I would stick it back in the mail and write "return to sender". I would tell the would be guest that I never even received anything. White lies solve problems easily sometimes.

[Ephraim0]

How bad would it suck to open a guests letter only to realize you’re covered in a mysterious white powder!

seriously I’m with you Pete I’m not comfortable opening mail not addressed to me- even with permission it would feel uncomfortably intrusive. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ephraim0 

well, if the mysterious powder is cocaine, then no problem, but if it's anthrax or novichok  ... it would really suck 😄

[Jan209]

THanks Martin for the warning.  I had a female book once and about a week before she was to stay (it was only a weekend stay) she asked could she get some online shopping delivered to my place.  I refused, it sounded odd as she only lives on Gold Coast (1-2  hours drive from here) . I thought that she would cancel and she did. I was nervous for a while, who knows what she wanted to  get delivered. 

I also had some travellers who were applying for working visas and they asked could they get the letter delivered. THey were young and starting their working holiday around Australia.  I said that was OK as by that time I just knew they were genuine.  

[Cormac0]

@Martin280

Using someone else address is a high risk and therefore high reward strategy in my opinion and on that basis, it must be very suspect.

This has come up before and one's answer should be No No No, and even if it's legitimate so many things could go wrong, it’s not worth the Host acquiescence.

Take for example delayed post, or the post is not delivered is the host a suspect in the theft of the item?

[Letti0]

@Cormac0  I gave one guest the local UPS Store for him to use and pickup a package. 

[Christine615]

Thanks @Martin280

This is a new one. Wow. Just wow! Hard to keep track of all the scams people try, but I feel better informed on this one!

[Christian769]

I would have never thought it! Thanks a lot for sharing this information! 

This is the nice of Airbnb 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Martin280

He couldn't delete your business if he verify his business at your address !

There are other businesses in the same building where our apartment is. We all have "google business" listed but my verification code is just mine and others in the same building can't update, change or delete my listing.

Yes, opening someone elses mail is forbidden BUT to verfy some non existing business at someone elses address is forbidden too, so .... 😛 🙂

[Any2086]

I think it is a bad idea to give a personal address to other people. They may use it for whatever purposes. And not all people have good intentions. So I suggest you should avoid it. In case the guests need a temporary address, you may give them a weblink with the address of courier post offices. They may give such service as a temporary address. I believe it will be a perfect solution for a short-term period.

[Brenda860]

I just had my very first Airbnb guest call before he checked in, he wanted to stay for a month. He said he had sent a package to my address on Amazon. I said you did what? I said I am canceling your reservation and you call Amazon and cancel your package. Airbnb called me and said they were going to charge me $100. I said, oh hell no. This was my first customer and this seems like something is not right. So, they waived the fee. I don’t know if I want to continue hosting.....