Suspicious Inquiries

[Mike952]

I am a new host and already I have had a few suspicious inquiries. I live close to the Mexico border and on more than one occasion I have had an inquiry where people wished to view the house before renting.  The first time, I was very niave and sent a phone number where I could be reached to arrange a meeting.  AirBnB blocked the number in the message and the person sent an explanation on how I could bypass AirBnB security to send either my address or phone number.  This really woke me up.  I checked and this person was a brand new user to AirBnB.  Since then I gotten similar requests (mainly from new users in Mexico).  I automatically report these to AirBnB now, but I am wondering if this is now a regular fishing expedition by robbers from Mexico.  Invariably they are all new accounts with no or minimum verification.

We have had a few visitors from Mexico (Monterrey and Tampico) that were good and OK guests.  People from these cities often travel to border cities for shopping and vacations.  I am wondering if there have been any incidents or if I should consider extra security considering my location?

[Helen3]

I don't know what you mean by additional security/ @Mike952

However I hope as a minimum you use CCTV to monitor your property and have a local co-host on hand to manage issues that might arise at the property.

People who ask to see the property before booking are considered a red flag by established hosts and rarely turn into bookings/ask to pay outside of airbnb. I never consider them although I know some hosts who take long term bookings do.

[Alon1]

Helen, I have another way to deal with those asking to view the property. I ask for a 'viewing fee' on the basis that it occupies my time without guarantee. The viewing fee is implimented as a 'Special Offer', so effectively a booking takes place for a minimum of a day. I normally charge £ 30 or £ 40 for the viewing to be deducted if a stay materializes. However, the majority who request a viewing are those who conduct photo or film shoots, and it's also a way to weed out the time wasters. -- For Londoners who want a temporary-indefinite stay a viewing fee is also charged; moreover, they don't need to continue the booking beyond the minimum night stay via the website, I won't commit for more than an initial week or two to gauge compatibility. 

[Sarah977]

@Mike952  My experience with several Mexican "inquirers" is that they are new to Airbnb, often young, and it seems to be very common in this country to try to get hosts to give their personal info in the hopes of striking a private deal, avoiding Airbnb guest fees. It's a cultural thing to try to get "the best deal" possible. Not all my Mexican guests have done this, but I'd say half, and it is the experience of a neighbor who hosts as well.

I do report these to Airbnb. But I don't feel it's a security risk, they're just trying it on. But I'd never let anyone "preview" the listing.

[Mike952]

Sarah: Thanks, I am receiving at least one or more request a month from a different new user in Mexico to see the property before renting. Most of these requests are coming from new users from cities such as Monterrey and Tampico  which are hundreds of miles away.  These potential renters are "in the area" and wish to see the house first before booking a date maybe several weeks away.  I have only been on AirBnB since August and the sheer number of these requests in a few months has me thinking that this may be a regular fishing expedition by organized criminals in these cities.  AirBnB, to my knowledge doesn't publish information or post data about crimes against hosts so I was wondering about this.  One person whose profile was only a few days old, explained how I could send them my phone number one or two digits at a time to by-pass the AirBnB security.  

[Sarah977]

@Mike952 It might be organized criminal activity, there's certainly enough of that here, or it could just be people spreading the word to their friends on how to try to circumvent Airbnb fees. Like you say, there's no way of knowing.

If they all follow the same pattern, tho, new account, "in the area", bookings for several weeks away, coming from the same area of Mexico, and a whole raft of them, that sounds pretty suspicious. Either way, I think they may try to look for newer listings where they figure the host is inexperienced and will agree. 

Maybe you should contact Airbnb to report this- ask them to look at all these requests and the suspicious similarity between them. Support isn't known for its responsiveness to host concerns, but users trying to circumvent the platform is something they're usually all over.

[Linda108]

@Mike952  You have the bases covered as long as you just stay within the terms of service of Air BNB.  As @Sarah977 has indicated, there are many reasons why a guest may ask for something outside the TOS, but stick to your guns and gently deflect back to Air BNB.  Good thing you have a co-host.

[Corrin3]

One time I had someone figure out where my property was and just decided to show up and view my property (without my permission). This family just walked into my property, the kids started playing pool, and the parents walked around. My cleaning lady was new and had no idea what to do. Thankfully she took their information and told them they had to leave. We apologized to her and now she makes sure to keep the doors locked while she was cleaning. We never heard from that trespassing family, but would not have rented to them regardless. We have had a few people ask to preview, but generally we say we can not accommodate the request. They can look at the photos/online reviews. 

[Patty89]

I have a property in the USA, and have never had someone ask to view the place.

i recently opened my parents property in Tampico for Airbnb and I get at least one request per week to view before booking and other times they have showed-up at the house. The cleaning lady now knows to take their name and phone number and to call me so that I can talk to them. These people usually ask to pay directly and it’s at that point that I give them a special offer (so they pay less to make up for the fees) - but I am careful to still do it thru the platform. If they don’t want to, then I don’t rent to them because that is a red flag for sure. 
But, yea I have to agree that it’s a bit of a cultural thing. 
if I may ask… where in Tampico do you have your property? 

[Sarah977]

@Patty89  How do they show up at the house? How do they get the address?