Do you accept or decline first time Airbnb guests?

[TracieandJason0]

I tend to see the best in people and I think the same is true with other Airbnb hosts. I mean who else could open up their homes to total strangers?

I currently have a first time guest who is very very nice! But so many problems. Some first time airbnb guests forget that I am not a 24/7 concierge and unless it's an emergency, anything they have questions about or need help with should be communicated with the host with advance notice whenever possible or otherwise you just gotta wait. I've had to drive from far away late at night twice to help her. I've had to remind her of my house rules on different occasions. She's been very agreeable to resolution charges and is apologetic but I think she is maybe a bit inconsiderate and this type of understanding comes with more airbnb use. I've recommended to her that for future bookings, she should make sure her host is close by and can easily come help her.

I don't know if maybe it could also be my own naivety. It's been a learning curve for me and I've realized I need to stop accepting reservations for first time airbnb users. My hosting style is pretty hands off and my house is set up to be super guest friendly and you really don't even need me there. I've had plenty of great first time guests but the rest are not worth the headache. Anyways I think it's important to recognize if a guest's livestyle and manners fits with your hosting style or not. It's not to be discriminatory but just to ensure a good experience for both parties. 

[Janet440]

Since we have a beach house and I didn’t want it torn up with beach parties, I clearly put in the listing “This is not a party house!  This is a family home best suited for couples or grandparents with children” I think the name, Nana’s, also helps direct responsible folks versus the party crowd and I state clearly “no parties or events—maximum 5 people”. ( I also state that all people under age 27 must be accompanied by a parent. Seriously... young, single couples are the worst at a beach. Wet bathing suits on furniture, beer bottles in the yard  etc. ) We have some who ask for an exception and I just have to explain the septic system limitations and they are happy to look elsewhere! 

[Letti0]

@Janet0 You better be able to document that your insurance, bylaws or community rules back up your listings "24 years old and under must be accompanied by a parent" rule. It is in violation of AirBnB's non-discrimination policy. 

Airbnb’s Nondiscrimination Policy: Our Commitment to Inclusion and Respect

Age and Familial Status

• Airbnb hosts may not:
  • Impose any different terms or conditions or decline a reservation based on the guest’s age or familial status, where prohibited by law.
• Airbnb hosts may:
  • Provide factually accurate information about their listing’s features (or lack of them) that could make the listing unsafe or unsuitable for guests of a certain age or families with children or infants.
  • Note in their listing applicable community restrictions (e.g. senior housing) that prohibit guests under a particular age or families with children or infants.

 https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1405/airbnb-s-nondiscrimination-policy--our-commitment-to-inclus...

[Kristy43]

I have hosted quite a few first timers and on the whole, they are excellent!  My worst guest by far was a host herself.... bought 6 extra guests, refused to pay for them, screamed, cried and abused me over the phone because it was unfair that she should have to pay more for extra people (even though it is in the house rules and she agreed to the change of cost over the phone the day she checked in), abused Airbnb CS over the phone and I had to threaten police involvement to actually get her and all her guests off the property!!!!  She then poured instant coffee over the kitchen bench and wrote a rather 'lovely' parting message to me in it! Unbelievable!!!!!

[Huma0]

@Kristy43

Wow, that's terrible. Sorry you went through that.

I've not experienced anything like that, but I am a bit wary of hosting other hosts. They are not always the best guests. Some have been lovely of course. The last one who stayed was a very nice man, but accidentally caused a few hundreds of pounds worth of damage and then refused to take responsibility for it.

Most often, I find hosts to be very polite with good communication, but really demanding and/or picky, criticising everything (even if it's stuff that's clear from the listing) and expecting you to change your listing/hosting style to be just like theirs, even if you're the one with better reviews 🙂

The first time a host came to stay, he left me an essay of complaints in his feedback, telling me that he does things this way or that way and so should I. I was a new host then, so I was a bit upset, but the funny thing is that he had some very bad reviews and had written nasty responses to them, whereas I went on to become, and remain, a Superhost.

[Cathy422]

We seem to get a number of people who have been Airbnb members for a number of years, but no reviews - which raises a flag for us after some rather unpleasant guests who completely ignored house rules.  The current verification of email, Facebook, Govt Id etc (which hosts cannot see) are of no value.

I have a saved message stating that we have had bad experience and asking for some information on why they do not have reviews and what the reason for their travel.  Most come back with good reasons (usually joined for a trip but did not book), so I accept them.  Those who do not come back or fire back a complaint/argument are rejected.

As for new members with no reviews, I have the same thing.  Unless they have a background filled out, I send a message explaining why I want information, and again asking for background and the reason for their travel.  Usually again a nice response and explanation will result in accepting the booking.  I also provide them some information on why it is important to both have a good background info on their profile and to provide a review so other hosts can verify them.

[Pete69]

About 30 - 40% of my guests have been first timers. No problems. I think that a HIGHER PRICE is the best way to weed out potential trouble. Also just the general description of your listing. Paint your place as a quiet, peaceful place run by conservative hosts.

[Huma0]

I've also hosted lots of first timers and most have been great. You get good and bad first timers and good and bad experienced guests. 

Luckily, I've only had two sets of guests that I would describe as truly awful and wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. One pair were first timers with no concept whatsoever of how to behave in a shared home. The other pair had more reviews (mostly glowing) of any guests that I have ever come across, yet they were even more of a nightmare. I can't even begin to describe how disrespectful they were to me and my other guests.

So, while it's usually reassuring to see that a guest has a few good reviews, that doesn't mean they are always going to be a breeze to host. A lot of hosts don't want to leave negative reviews, so you might not be seeing the whole picture. Also, the other hosts may have a very different set up, e.g. live off site, only meet the guests briefly on check in, or not at all. They may have stayed only one night in most of the other Airbnbs and therefore not have had enough time to cause the host the kind of grief they could if they were staying a week.

I think it's best to go on the way the guests come across in their correspondence. It's not fail safe, but I sometimes think that reviews can be very misleading. I've also hosted guests that had bad reviews from other hosts, but caused me no problems at all.

[I10]

Had a similar guest, an Anesthesiologist in training. After day 2 he broke my bathroom light switch and my bathroom rod he ripped from the ceiling. Last straw was when he left my immediate door to my home open and went to work. Against my better judgment after the first 2 instances I still gave him another chance. Never again. I screen guests like a job interview now before I let them in my home. Now, I have a guest who is supposed to leave today, just came on Saturday, but want to stay another night and haven't called Airbnb to pay as yet. The disrespect is out of control and have me considering renting period .

[Albert92]

You just got to screen the guest and call the police to kick out any unwanted guest.

Wait until you have a guest who trash / damage your house. You’ll be in for a surprise. Airbnb’s 1 million host guaranteed is fake and Airbnb won’t have your back.

[Albert92]

I block first time Airbnb guest and accept the reservation on a case by case basic, and depend on how busy the listing is. 

Some of first time guests are nice to host. Some doesn’t know and expect a hotel experience. Then there are some trouble guests who create a new profile after they trashed a property and got bad review. Seriously, you can rent an Airbnb house, throw a party, trash it, then create a new profile and rent another one.

[Alexandra316]

I've hosted lots of first timers, and by and large, had great experiences with them. If they don't provide enough info, I typically just ask a few more questions. I almost never reject reservation requests. 

Unfortunately, I agree with the hosts who have said that their most worrysome guests are other hosts. I really wish this wasn't the case: I travel with Airbnb also, and I'm always a good guest. I don't know what gets in to some hosts when they become guests: the worst review that I've ever gotten came from a fellow host. I don't specifically discriminate against hosts, but now I'm nervous about hosting them. 

[Sam397]

@TracieandJason0, the way I see it is that even the very best guest had to be a first time guest at some point. By refusing someone for that reason not only means you are penalizing someone based on assumptions which is never a good thing, no matter what the situation ,  but you are also missing out on a potential great guest. I have said this before but there are a lot more good guest then there are bad so the odds of you missing out on a good guest are a lot higher than the odds that someone will be a bad guest.