What are your red flags when it comes to guests?

What are your red flags when it comes to guests?

Hi,

I am a brand new host. I have been fairly lucky in not having any issues with guests yet.... but being so new I was wondering what are red flags for more experienced hosts? What is usually something you see on a persons profile that leads to reject them? 

46 Replies 46

** EDITED FOR TYPO**

 

Hi Melanie @Melanie285 

 I hope you get this response but unfortunately the system would not allow me to tag you correctly .  So it may seem that another Melanie might get this message as well .  Oops. Haha 

 

 I wanted to let you know about something that happens quite frequently to me ....  including even a week ago .  I host in my home and Co Host 4 listings too. 

 

 I received a booking request from a guest who had no reviews .  It also showed that she had joined Airbnb in June 2018 .  However as a cohost its my job to vet  EVERY guest For the host who hired me.  And Yes,  I asked this particular person if they were new to Airbnb .  She admitted they were not. 

 

 It turns out she started a brand new account ... with same email address, same phone number and the system allowed it!  That’s a big No No. System failed. 

I was shocked.  I immediately called Airbnb to report this as this is a violation of the Airbnb guests terms and conditions . Guests CANNOT create a 2nd account to avoiding hosts seeing a bad review or any other reason for that matter.  And yes, Airbnb did confirm she had a 3 Star bad review on her ORIGINAL acct. (smoking Rule was broken) 

 

 I had the case manager contact her to inform her of this violation and they immediately deleted her second account . She was warned. 

 

And no, I did not take her booking.  For several reasons actually, one being she lied and told me she couldn’t access her ORIGINAL account re: password issue.  It’s my belief, she just didn’t want me to see the negative review. And thank you to the host ((who like me,  also writes honest reviews and states the fact when a guests is not a good guests , not following rules,  lack of communication, leaves bathroom filthy, etc.  I just state the facts and send the guests photos too  in their inbox so they can see it for themselves how their room looked to my entire family. (House rules stipulate to keep a tidy room in our Family house).  My own 14-year-old daughter keeps her room cleaner then some of my guests. 

(( I will never forget  the 2016 guest who blew their nose 10xs a day and threw their dirty bunched up Kleenex all over the floor and on the bed instead of always using the bedroom waste basket in the corner.  YIKES.)) 

 

 It’s 100% OK to ask any question you want .  Remember it’s your home ,  your property ,  your comfort, your safety, and your rules.  Airbnb is there for support, but you need to be the one to hold the reins and take control. 

 Take a look at my Detailed House rules... I think you might find them very helpful. 🙂 

I can assure you that they help to weed out the ones I probably don’t want to host, reviews or no reviews.  Doesn’t matter. I always ask questions.  And if they don’t answer honestly , that’s a HUGE red flag. 

 I received a booking last night ...  and the this particular military officer who was new to Airbnb,  ended his message with “I’m an open book, ask me anything to help you feel more comfortable hosting me!” 

BRAVO to this AIrbnb  newcomer. I’m so excited to be his first host.  And yes, it was his ORIGINAL acct.  haha 

 

 

If you feel that me or another host have helped you, feel free to click on the "thumbs up" button at the end of any post. Thank you so much.

Aloha, Momi

Great way to contact Airbnb or via Twitter at AirbnbHelp / Facebook


בקורת רעה על אורחים. בדרך כלל האורחים שלי היו לי כבר למעלה ממאתיים הזמנות מאוד מסודרים .נקים.משאירים מטבח נקי. זה שהחדר שלהם מסודר או לא לא מענין אותי.כי אני אומרת להם שזה הטריטוריה שלהם ואני לא נכנסת לשם בכלל.האחריות שלהם על החדר .הניקיון הכל. שהם יוצאים רובם משאירים חדר מסודר.כם אם משאירים מיטה עם מצעים הפוכים זה לא אכפת לי כי הכל הולך לכביסה.. הקווים האדומים שעברו אצלי היו: נכנס מישהו לשירותים שכתוב פרטי. עברו בלילה מחדר אחד לחדר ריק שני בלי לשאול. סתמו לי את השרותים עם תלבושות הגיוניות. והכי גרוע כאשר יצאו הכלב יצא אחריהם ולא מצאתי אותו.זה קורה לי הרבה.זה יכול להביא למצב שהעירייה תתפוס את הכלב משוטט ואני אקבל קנס. עוד קווים שחצו זה לקחת אוכל שלי כמו חבילת ביצים מהמקרר. לכבס בלי להכניס כסף לקופה. להשאיר אורות דולקים.  אוקי..אני תמיד ביחסים טובים לכן אני לא כותבת להם בקורת רעה .  

@Laura-and-Noah0

 

When the profile pic is not of the guest and when they ask questions that make it obvious they did not read my listing description at all. The red light starts flashing. 

 

Then if they start haggling with the price or ask to be the exception for a clearly stated house rule, I just tell the potential guest to go look for a different listing that better suits their needs. 

 

Also, the tone of messages and the impression and gut feeling I get during communication with the guest are really important for me because my listing is a private room in my home. If I don't get a good feeling from a couple message exchanges, how am I going to manage sharing living space????

 

I am a relatively new host that started out with no reviews and out of the 4 wonderful guests I've hosted, 2 guests were first-time Airbnb users with no reviews so I do not consider this a problem. 

To this day, my fav red flag I ever received was this FIRST message from a potential male guests from CA that I couldn't  decline fast enough.

 

"hi momi

your place looks amazing. right now its just me staying in your home. but if I find a girl to come with me, can she stay for free?"

 

WTF!?!?!!?!?!?!?!??!  LOL!!!!!!!!

 

ok ok, I admit it, I didn't decline him. I just sent him a Special offer charging him $999 a night for 2 guests.  he's the one who declined.   Next.  

 

Happy New Year Jessica and Henry. 

 

 

 

If you feel that me or another host have helped you, feel free to click on the "thumbs up" button at the end of any post. Thank you so much.

Aloha, Momi

Great way to contact Airbnb or via Twitter at AirbnbHelp / Facebook


first good laugh this Sunday morning - thanks for sharing, it's hilarious!

@Graham108 

 

You are so welcome! Ive been asked to write a book by so many other hosts bc my stories are plentiful after 3 years of hosting. If you wanna know how I seem to attract the “crazy” ones, read my House Rules.... all the way to the end and you will understand why yesterday I declined a 4 nights booking request from “Miss Life Coach” (as per her profile) when she wrote telling me that one particular house rule was ridiculous! 

Glad she did, bc that was all the red flag I needed to say.... NEXT! HAHAHAHA 😉

 

 

If you feel that me or another host have helped you, feel free to click on the "thumbs up" button at the end of any post. Thank you so much.

Aloha, Momi

Great way to contact Airbnb or via Twitter at AirbnbHelp / Facebook


Monica4
Level 10
Ormstown, Canada

Discount inquiries are an automatic decline. I will accept potential guest who have no reviews and have recently signed up with Airbnb if they give me a plausible explanation for staying at my listing.

@Laura-and-Noah0   Asking for a discount - it has not been a good experience the two times I accepted. Not responding to messages. Asking many, many questions I have covered – one or twice, okay,  but 5 or more times, not okay.  I take a lot of newbies and have had great experiences. I hesitate to judge anyone on their profile, not everyone is public profile savvy and not everyone has good language skills, better to message them and see their response.

Very good advice about considering that not everyone is public profile saavy and not everyone has good language skills.  The only way to gain insight and information about a future guest and their plans is to ask questions, and to ask questions that matter.  I ask the same questions to all guests and over time I notice a pattern.  Here are the questions I ask.

 

1. Names of Guests

2. Work Occupation/Profession

3. Have you used Airbnb before?  If yes, where & dates? 

4. Reason for being in the area?

5. Why are you interested in this accomadation?  

 

My recent guest is Korean.  He had no picture !  Very broken English.  He didn't understand all of my questions.  He misunderstood #5 as being how did he find my place, so he replied Internet. 

 

The sign hosts need to look out for is they answer all of your questions about them.  My Korean guest also gave his full and last name, as well as the name of his guest, and their work profession, so it was easy to look them up on fb to corroborate his answers (he doesn't use facebook much either...he's a researcher, another good sign...stable people have careers or are retired!).  Bad guests with something to hide or guests who aren't serious in your place will not take the time to answer your questions and look for another unsuspecting host. He and his guest were no problems at all. 

Kathleen44
Level 2
Kennebunk, ME

We recently gave a guest a not very complimentary review for their unfriendly behavior, like avoiding us, not communicating when here or when departing, leaving dirty dishes, and complaining about our charge for a cleaning fee etc.

Our guest area is in a seperate part of our house and interaction is feasable if desired and it is AirBnB after all; not a motel room. We provide an amazing array of guest amenities which have been very appreciated.

AirBnB now allows guests to respond to "negative" Host reviews of guests. This is new. 

One other thing to also watch for is local people looking to book. Sometimes it's ok if good reason but normally a big question sign too. 

If not homeless they could come in with lots of things and invite friends not sign on Airbnb to visit them in your house. 

 

I think Airbnb is moving more and more towards  appeasing the guest, and away from supporting hosts. 

Allison116
Level 10
Walnut Creek, CA

You have many good responses here.  I have learned too from others responders.  I agree, discounters are a no-no.  Because even if they end up booking at full price they will not be happy.  No matter how great your place is, they are going to feel like they overpaid.  But I have noticed a lot of articles on the internet that purport to be how-to's and tips for being an airbnb guest flat out say to ask for discounts.  

 

Locals can be a problem unless they have a good reason.  I had a couple that stayed with me for 2 weeks because they sold their house but their new house was not going to be ready for 2 weeks and they worked out fine.  Or sometimes people are staying while they look for permanent housing which is also okay.  It can be hard to find permanent housing in my area so this would not be unusual for someone to take a couple of months to find a permanent house/apartment.  But without a good reason locals can just be motel hoppers/borderline homeless people just looking for a nicer place for a day or 2.

 

People that ask way too many questions or expect you to be their personal concierge.  Asking questions is fine and I don't mind answering some.  But I had one person ask 3-4 questions every day 3 days straight. And keep in mind they had not booked yet.  After they asked me to send them a picture of the shuttle bus they would need to take I blocked them from booking.  Oh yeah, and one of their questions was if they could have an additional discount.

 

 

Lisa658
Level 10
Hervey Bay, Australia

@Laura-and-Noah0  

 

Your post has come up again.  I am not sure why no one has added this link from a host named Deborah.  http://globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/455/red-flags-hosts

 

It has been floating around on the forum for more than a year.  It is a good read and pretty comprehensive!  

 

Lisa 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

Laura and Noah- great question! I have been lucky to have almost all wonderful guests, partly because of how my listing reads. I don't (and never will) use instant book, and I usually exchange a few messages with guests prior to their booking approval and before their arrival. This gives me a sense of who they are and what to expect, although of course, reality can vary.

Anyone trying to get your personal info prior to booking- "I have a few questions, can you send me your phone #?" is a huge red flag. Also, "I see you only list for 1 guest- but my boyfriend will be traveling with me, we're ok with the single bed."- another red flag- they want a cheap space designated for 1 guest, don't want to book a more expensive one that sleeps 2. I have specific reasons why I only host solo travelers, not the guests business. If they read your listing description, but then ask about bending those parameters, they are people who think everyone should accommodate their own personal desires.