An upcoming guest - bad feeling, help

[Eli22573]

Hi there - 

We're a new host who's rented three times - we have a three bedroom newly renovated cottage in a remote area of Northern Ontario.  

An individual just booked us for 8 nights.

The concern is that they're a brand new AirBNB customer (this month) with no reviews and no history, and they've booked us as a single person.

What should we do?  We want to make sure our place isn't treated poorly and also that there's an appropriate number of people staying there.

We're nervous and considering cancelling, but not sure what the repercussions of that will be.

Any advice?  HELP!  😉

Thanks,

Eli & Iris

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

Welcome to hosting! 

I sure get your stomach has those butterflies, they are normal. At some point we just have to trust our guests, and it gets easier as you do more of it. We've had the best guests who are new to the platform. 

May I suggest that you send them a confirmation stating their one person as a guest, check in and check out times, important things to remind them of, and ask if they have any questions about the house rules and house manual. You might include a weather forecast, as it is remote in Northern Ontario. Ask their goals for the stay, and how you can assist with them. Welcome them to the platform, and say how you are thrilled to be their first hosts. 

Finally, may I suggest you meet them in person for check in and orientation. Assure them that you are available in case they have questions or needs. 

May this be another wonderful guest for you! Let us know that it was!

Kitty

Best of the season to you, and 

[Lorna170 · Accepted solution]

@Eli22573 

As @Kitty-and-Creek0 have recommended:

send them a confirmation stating their one person as a guest, check in and check out times, important things to remind them of, and ask if they have any questions about the house rules and house manual.

Whenever I have felt unsure about a guest, I send them a detailed Welcome message stating that they are ONE person, arriving on X, departing on Y, that they are bringing NO pets or extra guests.  That usually gets me a response with an "oh...I am bringing my wife, my kid, my dog, etc.  Communication is the key here...you communicate with your expectations, and they will probably respond back.  If they do not respond, and you are still not sure, then contact AirBnB and ask that the guest is cancelled for not responding.

If you are using Instant Booking, I suggest that you turn it off until you have a better feel for the kind of guest you will be hosting.  Guests who have to request a booking will often tell you more about their plans and the people coming in hopes that they will be approved to book.

[Eli22573]

Thanks so much of your help Lorna, much appreciated.

[Karina694]

I have often send this kind of messages, explaining the 1 person rule, no guests, no parties, decent hours to be a bit more quiet etc etc. Still, some people stay with more people than agreed. This is not okay, but the worst guest are way more disrespectful. Somehow guests that are ok, yet you have a debate (for instance, they forgot to cancel a reservation and who should pay, which is a normal debate between host and (potential) guest). In cases like that, AIRBNB takes more often sides with hosts.

In my experience, the worst guests are not blocked by AIRBNB. Often they are new guests with limited reviews. I had 2x a really terrible guest: including aggressive behaviour against me, hard drug usage, stay many days after the booking ended while I was on holidays, shared keys with total strangers who hadnot booked, damages, leaving front door open in winter, stayed with more guests than booked etc etc. And in these 2 instances, AIRBNB just didnot do a thing not even afterwards. It was clearly borderline criminal behaviour (beyond bad guest) and AIRBNB just "lost" my e-mails about it, ignoring it, than stating it was too long ago (after first ignoring my immediate next day e-mails!!). The problem is, when you refuse a guest the day of arrival, AIRBNB sometimes charges you for it (penalty). So you are pushed very much towards accepting a guest even with bad feelings about them. And when they are indeed terrible guests, AIRBNB does not chose your side nor do they share contact info. 

It seems AIRBNB lets guest pay for a dispute, if the guest is a decent person making mistake (damage or reservation mistake). And the 2x I had guests who were just terrible thugs borderline criminal, they get away with anything and AIRBNB blocks your messages at the contact center (!), ending the dispute without doing a thing. So beware, the screening of AIRBNB is not good. The 2x really bad guests I had, both didnot even look much like their ID, which AIRBNB does not seem to mind. 

My advice. Do the full ID check yourself beforehand, as afterwards you cant count on AIRBNB to help you. As guests pay through AIRBNB, it is difficult to find them afterwards. The worst guests use fake IDs. And AIRBNB will not even send you their contact information, so you cannot contact the terrible guests yourself afterwards. 

[Sudsrung0]

@Eli22573 

Whats the panic? we get new guest all the time and I have IB turned on from day one,

The worst guest we have had have been the ones with reviews, so who knows?

Add to that other host can be your worst guest.

Lots of guest dont like being interrogated before they arrive, 

Some years ago I had a guy book one of our 3 bedroom pool villas he paid the full price whats it got to do with me why he booked............? He did tell me why he likes the space, fair enough

[Eli22573]

Thanks for taking the time to help out!  Much appreciated!

[Karina694]

I really cant agree with you. Since AIRBNB is not very helpful in solving the worst matters, hosts should make sure they have ID and all contact info about a guest beforehand. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Eli22573 Don't panic. Many newbies make the mistake of only booking for 1 person. Also don't forget these folks are taking a risk booking with a new host.

Just message them and ask them to confirm if they are really only booking for 1 person.

[Eli22573]

Thanks for taking the time to help out guys!  Much appreciated!