got my first message looking to rent my room

[Lee187]

So i got my first message, and its ringing alarm bells, but maybe im just being paranoid.  As I will be living with the person and my belongings will be in the apartment im a little more skeptical.  Firstly, I believe its against the rules to not pay the fee directly to airbnb, am I correct?
the user says he does not have a credit card and wants to send me money over interac (Canada). Ill post the message.....

Hello, How are you? Im interested in staying with you, Im **** from Mexico and just came to Vancouver to work in the film industry doing visual effects. Im staying in hotel for now but need to move on dec 21 and I need to wait 5 days to get my new apartment on Dec 25. Looking forward to hear from you soon. [Guest name hidden]

hope someone can help... thanks 😄

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

For me, it's simple:
No credit card, no stay.
No payment through AirBnB, no stay.
Listen to your alarm bells. They are there for a reason.

[Marie82]

@Lee187  complety agreed with @Michelle-and-Ray0 dont enter into any long discussion 

No booking with ABB = NO stay

No payment with ABB= No stay

You are not a charity organisation wish him good luck and decline so that stop all non sense

This type of guests always see newest host and try to trick them

If any guest want to book a stay in ur apartment be firm all communication and booking process will go through ABB to protect them and to protect you as well

Good luck in ur hosting adventure 

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

What @Marie82 said. You don't need this kind of "guest". The right guest will come along soon enough. Good luck!

[Sonia323]

Hi Lee, I agree with both hosts above, just politely say that you only take bookings and payments through Airbnb as this protects both you and the guest, thank them for their interest.  If you are in any way uncomfortable then speak to Airbnb about it, their staff have been really supportive.  The point is to also enjoy the experience of hosting, I was really nervous at first and my first guest was a little too 'comfortable' on their stay with us, it never happened again, you learn by trial and error.  Enjoy hosting! 

[Sarah977]

I host in Mexico, and can tell you that almost all the requests from Mexicans ask for your personal info so they can contact or pay you directly- they are trying to go under airbnb and save the fees and taxes. Forget it, decline. Definitely not saying not to rent to Mexicans- some are great, but this is definitely an issue here, and friends who host experience the same.

[Stacey76]

Yeah, I'd go with a "Thanks for your enquiry, unfortunately all payments must go through AirBnB. Regards etc" and decline that enquiry 🙂

We just recently had an enquiry asking if the guest can bring their dog. Our listing says no pets. Initially I was really wanting to help them out, and their reviews from other hosts all said the dog was great. But then I decided that I'd said 'no pets' for a reason, and I didn't need to apologise for that.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Agreed, @Stacey76 When we rented long term, we were VERY clear about our no pets policy in our listing and we still had dozens of people asking anyway. What part of "no pets" did these people not understand? It gets very frustrating and quite exhausting after a while. So far, I'm much happier with the AirBnB model, since I know that if someone irritates me (hasn't happened yet - yay!), I know they will be leaving shortly, anyway. 

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@Lee187 Let me see if I have this right, the guest doesn’t have a credit card to pay? 

BEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPP !!!!!!!!!! Stop right there. 

When i design in my head my perfect guest, nowhere on any list, have I ever written down ‘accept guest who have problems with credit cards during booking’. 

No place in my plan for my business does it say ‘sign me up for guest who can’t afford to stay with us, what could go wrong?”. 

Now what you need to realize too is Canada allows Mexican nationals to travel to Canada very easily. 

Are you prepared for a protracted eviction of unknown number of guest in January? This might be a migration and not just a short stay.

Anyway, I don’t even know why you are entertaining this, point blank, DECLINE!

’You know it’s hard out here for a Host’

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

@Rene-and-Zac0 
I can't believe what I just saw you write!

"Now what you need to realize too is Canada allows Mexican nationals to travel to Canada very easily. 

Are you prepared for a protracted eviction of unknown number of guest in January? This might be a migration and not just a short stay."

SERIOUSLY? There is ZERO indication that this is the case with this guest. You jumped to conclusions simply because he is Mexican and didn't want to use a credit card. Wow. SMH

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@Michelle-and-Ray0 I’m not sure what triggered you but if you found that offensive, I apologize. 

[Lawrene0]

@Lee187, you have your answer - that wanting to pay outside the system never goes well, and that new hosts are sometimes targeted for this. Lots of us have been. When you say no, you can console yourself further with the fact that "to work in the film industry doing visual effects" says "I have no job yet". If he already had a placement, he might not mention the particular project name, but it would be "to work on a film/tv show/commercial". The "in the film industry" sounds only hopeful, in the worst way.