BEWARE OF INSTANT BOOKINGS BY GUESTS FOR NEXT DAY

[Jeff69]

I have had to turn OFF instant booking recently because of a serier of similar incidents.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have had 2 next day instant bookings, "to visit family in town", which I did not think much about, until the second guest arrived.  He was verified through Airbnb and lived in Santa Maria California with a CA phone number.  

Yet, he had no luggage, he was in a black Escalade with totally blacked out windows, and FL plates - so you could not see the other guests, and rental companies don't provide cars like that.  I told him, the dryer was broken and I would have a service person look at it, and I would text him the wifi password.  He proceeded to give me a local phone number.  When I questioned him about the phone number, he said he used to live here, which is why he is returning to visit friends.  

While in my car, texting him the password, the back door of the Escalade opened, then immediately closed, and they remained in the car for (no exaggeration ) 10 minutes while I sat in my car watching them, after which they drove off without exiting the car.  My front door is a key pad door lock which registers each time the door opens and closes.  That evening, feeling very uncomfortable with the guests,  at 11:00pm I checked my computer app for the door history, and the door opened 77 times between 2pm and 11pm.  Absolutely, unusual for guests coming to town to visit family and friends.  

Next day, I made the excuse that I needed to see the dryer, and there were 2 different cars in the driveway.  I texted the guest, and he said NO NEED, I WON'T BE USING THE DRYER".  I told him I was just down the street, and no problem if he was not home, I had a key. I politely knocked, and heard shuffling in the house, and after knocking 2x and then getting ready to open the door, a different man answered the door, while another closed the bedroom door and another closed himself in the bathroom.  Total count - 4 men.  

So I decided to ask where was the host - JOHNNY... (who's name on Airbnb was different).  One guy said he was showering in the bathroom, never asking "who is Johnny".   

MY REAL CONCERN IS THAT PEOPLE ARE USING AIRBNB AND OTHER VACATION RENTAL SITES TO RENT HOUSES FOR ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES.  Since yesterday - I have had 3 more "NEXT DAY" requests to book, and in researching the guest further, found out they have local phone numbers or IDENTICAL phone numbers.   

I reported this activity to Airbnb, who I am sure will take measures, but I think the HOST COMMUNITY needs to be aware that criminals are wising up and using alias' to rent properties for short periods of time and running illegal activities out of the house.

BE CAREFUL - BE SMART - BE SAFE.  

Jeff - Tampa Florida USA

[Timothy25]

Were you at the AirB&B conference yesterday? I spoke to someone named Jeff in the lobby who seemed to be talking like you write. I thought I got your contact info (phone #) for my partner who was too ill to attend.

If not, could you suggest someone? She is just starting out.

[Jeff69]

Hi Timothy,  I was not at the conference.  I just returned from Costa Rica. Hope you enjoyed the conference, and it was productive. 

If if you want to stay in contact, type Tampa Florida into Airbnb's location search, and I am always one of the top listings (if you search a date far enough away).  I am the one with the Indiana Jones hat

cheers Jeff

[Grace16]

Thank you for posting about this very disturbing incident. We have a 3 night minimum which helps to weed out people wanting to have a weekend party at the house. Even so we have had people who still abused our patio curfew so we are vetting even more rigorously even asking what brings you to Venice Beach.

[Amy38]

Please forgive me for going far off subject, but I think we are all upset about the removal of our property titles.  If 20 people like the post at the link below, it gets moved into consideration by the big boys.

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Host-Voice/We-want-our-home-descriptions-back/idc-p/263422#M5614

[Jolanta1]

I had a lady booking the condo in Seattle. She said she's from NYC and that her husband will be coming first and he's from Atlanta, GA... ? 

I checked on them, but never could find the 'wife' but met 3 young guys entering the building. They were introduced as friends. I start getting complaints from neighbors and had to warn the 'couple' that they can not extend the stay. After they checked out, I noticed everything in the text book of prostitution and extortion!!!! I canceled that property immediately after 

[Sara252]

Hi Jeff-

I am new to AirBNB and am pretty skeptical of the instant book. I've rent other properties through other sites so I'm familiar with guest communications. Honestly, I'm concerned with only having 24hrs to get to know our guests before confirming.   Otherwise, your response rate will be affected.  Your post confirms my worst fears and the fact that airbnb  couldn't support your concerns frightens me. We are hosting our entire house as well. On the positive, I am happy to hear that most of your interactions have been positive. Thank you very much for your post and your warnings. 

[Santana1]

Wow this is so crazy! I had the exact same thing happen in Houston. They said they were landing from New Orleans and it was her and a business partner. I read their reviews and she only had a few on there. It was a man and a woman and apparently both were named Terri. When I was leaving, I saw them unloading video equipment and some other big items. No idea what the hell happened overnight either. I felt uneasy about it after. I should have reported to Airbnb but nothing was damaged and they left the apartment in great condition after. 

[Chao1]

Wow thanks for sharing. I will be more visual of that now. 

[Anne251]

thank you for sharing that!

[Stan-And-Juris0]

@Jeff69 and other hosts, thank you for sharing; helps a lot!

Stan and Juris

[Kim177]

Hi Jeff,

I think I came across kind of similar situation as you. I am new to AIrbnb and I had a recent booking that a guy from Virginia, he had everything verified and wanted to stay at my place with a two days noticed. As a new comer I was delighted to accept it and when the day came he asked if his uncle can pick up the keys instead. To make my story short I think they were also using my home in illegal activities because everytime I tried to get a hold of the person who booked it he said he stepped out. Then when they checked out a strange guy came to our home asking our cleaning lady if we knew a guy named "Danny" because he owed him money. 

By chance can someone direct me where I can report this things? I recently had another inquiry in AirBnb and Homeaway about my property with a lady name Mayin with no verifications and when I asked her what she was doing in my area, just to get to know her she never replied, then 10 minutes later the same person inquired about it in Homeaway with a different name but her email address still had mayin in it, so my gut feeling is that it is the same lady and it might be another illegal activities! Scary! 

[Jeff69]

Hi Kim,  some hosts have suggested requiring the guest must have 2 positive reviews.  I found this ineffective because I get a lot of first time Airbnb'ers, and don't want to loose them.  When you do leave a review for that guest, the last window is a message to Airbnb.  If I am unsure of a guest's legitimacy, I mentions such in my review of them, but I also mention to Airbnb that I believe this profile to be bogus - so Airbnb can investigate further.

I had a similar incident as your second comment as well.  I had a request from a verified guest, with a phone number in my area code. I declined it, then on VRBO, I get a request for the same property from a different guest with the same phone number as the Airbnb guest  but different profiles and names.

I have had ZERO issues with reservations since I added two things to the HOUSE RULES.  1: all guests must be registered prior to arrival and have ID upon arrival.  2: Access code will only be given to booking guest at time of arrival.   I would also like to add Booking Guest must present CC used to secure reservation, but I don't know their credit card details, so I would not know if they did or did not book with a specific card.

KEEP EXCITED, for every 1 bad guest, there are 200 great and wonderful guests to meet.   Cheerio, Jeff

[Stephanie13]

Thanks for sharing. 

Stephanie

[Ryan111]

My general opinion is that next day guests are not a good idea unless they have been burned by another airbnb host and airbnb calls you to help them.  Anyone using airbnb in a smart way knows that booking more than a day in advance is by far the best idea and on my last minute bookings, have always had a bad experience.  I would rather have empty days than the headache of trying to accomodate someone who is scamming me.  The first time we did this, it was someone who wanted to complain about everything, just for a free stay.  The second time we did this, and broke my my own rule, they trashed the place.  

[Brett25]

I think this seems to be a USA problem as I tend to see there are a lot of issues reported on here. We are in Australia and in an area where local bands play at a nearby venue. A lot of guests book last minute because they decide to see a band last minute wanting to have a couple of drinks at the venue and be in walking distance to where they are staying. We have had people of all ages do this with no issues and great reviews from them. We are on the property but a different residence, so maybe that makes a difference.