@Laura2625
I find that mismatching names are not uncommon and it isn't always a reason for alarm.
1. If the guest was registered as part of a group for a trip that another guest booked, they will often have a review where the host mentions the booking guest's name, not theirs. Groups of friends who travel together often take turns to make the reservation (especially as Airbnb sometimes gives discounts to first time bookings). However, it should mention under the review that the booking was part of a group reservation booked by someone else.
2. On a similar note, because Airbnb is offering discounts to first time users and really don't make it difficult for a guest to set up more than one account (even though they should), people will naturally take advantage of this to save money.
3. I have found that people of certain nationalities use an anglicised name insead of their real one (presumably becaues they get sick of people misspelling, mispronouncing and generally misunderstanding the latter). Sometimes, they decide to change that anglicised version to something else. That's confusing for the host, but not necessarily fishy. I find his common with Asian guests and I have a lot of female Eastern European friends who never use their actual real name. Sounds weird, but they think it is normal and not at all suspect. Examples: Tatjana = Tanya, Ioana = Joanna, Marta = Malina and Agnieska = Agnes, Agni and Aga. These are all people I know!
Also, loads of guests, especially the less experienced ones, have zero info on their profile. They just don't think to fill it out, not realising that hosts need to vet their guests a bit. I usually find if I simply ask them politely for the information I need, they respond positively and asap.
I agree, however, that if your gut instinct is telling you no, go with that. I am not keen on the idea of groups coming to party for Spring Break either! If you are getting a bad feeling in general, then better not to risk it, but don't ever do a cancellation yourself. Call Airbnb, explain the situation and ask them to do it on your behalf without any penalties to you.
