The Air BnB Representative that called me...

[Darci4]

On July 17th I contacted Air BnB about a suspicious guest who booked, then had trouble paying.  I messaged the guest twice and then sent a request for money.  I then received a text from the guest asking me to wait, he was putting money in his account.  When I tried to look at reviews and his "story" there was nothing on his page.

Then this guy shows up at my door.  I show him the room and bathroom.  He says he's going outside to use the phone.  Then he left with no explanation a few minutes later.  It was all super scary and I'm glad my boyfriend was here at the time.  Was this guy casing my house?  Would he be back to rob me?  Is he going to come and kill me in my sleep?  What was going on?  

The next day I see that the payment came through at some point.  I refunded the money immediately because I didn't want to have anything else to do with this guy...

I said in my review that this guy was "sketchy" and asked them to investigate. 

Later I sent in the above information.

Tonight (about 7:30pm Central on July 20) I get a phone call from someone who says she's from Air BnB.  At some point I asked her if she was in the US because she had a pretty thick accent.  Heck.  Is this Jorge's partner seeing if I'm home?  I'm still not convinced she was with Air BnB...

I looked all over the website for a direct phone number so I can check all of this out, and can't find one.  My daughter is a Super Host and she says she has a number for someone that will answer 24/7.  Hmmmm, shouldn't that be available to all of us, especially when we could be dealing with criminals and God knows whatelse?  

The woman I spoke to was insulted because I asked her if she was from the US.  Well...gee.  She didn't seem to have read the information I sent about this guy and was indicating she was going to do something about the money.  The money?  NO.  Check out this GUY...the one that acted so suspiciously, with no reviews and no background info on his page.  She was NOT understanding at all and I'd like to know exactly where she was in the world and if she REALLY and TRULY works for Air BnB.  Advice anyone?

[Farah1]

@Darci4 did she say whether the call might be monitored for quality and training purposes?

[Darci4]

Heck, ANYONE can say that... yeah.  She did, but that doesn't mean a lot to me.  It was REALLY noisy in the background.

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[Farah1]

@Darci4 There's no need not to be nice. I'm just asking. Yes anyone can say that, but apparently not everybody is smart enough to say that. I have someone called me before claiming that she was from Airbnb and she didn't anything about recording the call. I thought it was weird and I didn't entertain the conversation. I called Airbnb right away after that and they confirmed it was a scam.
So, if you are that worry, you can confirm with Airbnb.

[Darci4]

I'm not being mean...I'm just a  VERY direct person.  

Air BnB needs to make sure we as hosts are getting the info we need and that guests are communicating.  

I'm sure you're a great person.  I'm a teacher and kids seem scared of me until they know me.  I think would 

be different if I was a man. Ha!

Darci

[Ali40]

I've actually spoken to an Airbnb rep that was a woman with a Russian accent. Her English was great, but I asked her where she was from because her accent was nice. 

[David126]

The last guy I spoke to had an Indian accent.

[Andrea9]

@Darci4

Strange story.

Personally, I'd start doing ID check on arrival, best to even make a not of ID no., but you'll have to incl. this in your House Rules.

That will help keep away the up-to-no-gooders.

Same-day bookings are also a favorite with this crowd, so until you have more experience in handling hosting you might want to turn that off.

One thing a real Airbnb rep - accent or not - can do that a fake can't, is look into your previous exchange with the guest, so I guess I would have asked them a question regarding that and have them read that back to me. If I would have been in doubt, I would have tried that.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide-UPDATED/m-p/413245

[Marit-Anne0]

@Darci4

Maybe I am missing something here, but how did this person get your personal details like address and phone number with no confirmed booking/no payment going through ?

[Darci4]

I have the automatic booking turned on (if they are verified), but I think I may turn it off.  I need to see who it is that will be staying.  Up until now, it's been ok.  Time to be wary, and err on the side of caution!

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[Karen313]

@Darci4 100 percent agree, err on the side of caution, at the least until you personally understand the in's & out's of working with this company. Otherwise I fear you are in for a lot of mishaps based on your post. Good luck, look out for yourself!!

[Jeet0]

I have the same question as @Marit-Anne0, even if you have automatic booking on, they guy, ideally shouldn't have got your contact, address, until the booking was confired. Something is really not sounding right here. Were you able to call Airbnb and verify?

[Fred13]

Hosting falls in the realm of being in the 'people business', a high degree of ~finesse~ is a requirement, while being "VERY direct" may prove to be a conflict.

[Martina195]

I agree, Fred.  Greating guests as welcomed and important visitors is an important part of hosting.  Same concept applies to being in a classroom.  Guests nor students should be afraid.

[Darci4]

@Martina195, @Fred13-- I think that interpretation of "things" is always about the individual.  I love my students.  They know it because I tell them in class all the time.  I tell them on my websites.  I sometimes tell them on Google Classroom and in emails...but sometimes you don't always love what people say or do (they are afraid because they know that I will hold them accountable, call parents if we have a problem, etc., I teach them about life, manners, expectations, the golden rule).  It's contradictory to what your beliefs/morals are. Cultural and environmental aspects sometimes play a part in relationships with people.  I have worked with the public since I was 13 years old...Successfully.

You may have missed the point here--It's just that sometimes you don't expect people to act suspiciously and not be able to communicate properly and it's frustrating.

I assure you...I am having fun hosting and staying in Air BnB's. I have met some great people, but I have also met people that need to learn some social skills.

It's 2017 folks and the world is "freaky".  

High expectations and effective communication skils are not something difficult to obtain, comprehend or display as a human being.

Experience, live life and interact with respect.  That's what I'm asking of everyone.  It's not difficult, rude or unjust.

d