First guest with little information

[Ann-Marie106]

I received my first request from a potential guest. While they are verified, they have no reviews. It looks as if they have had 1 trip. They did tell me the purpose for their trip, which is moving back  the area and looking for a place to live. My biggest red flag is that their name is 1 letter. No first name. No last name. Just a letter. This makes me feel uncomfortable. Any advice on how to proceed? Thanks

[Joan2709]

@Ann-Marie106 

Is this an Inquiry or a Request to Book? With an Inquiry, Airbnb hides the guest name and only shows an initial. You will only see their name and photo if you accept the booking. They started  doing that to prevent discrimination as previously when the guest full name and photo were shown, some Hosts didn't accept the booking due to prejudice. I see your listing shows you have chosen Experienced First Guest, so wondering how this guest even saw your listing as they are required to have 3 trips on their profile to even see it in search results?

If a Request to Book and still just an initial, it is possible as once a guest confirms their identity with Airbnb they can change their name to anything they want and also put a cartoon or drawing as their photo. You can require a photo ID before or at check-in if you wish, but of course you will need to see his real name. You would need to disclose the photo ID requirement on your Listing in your Addl House Rules. Some guests hide their identity on the public Airbnb site for security/privacy reasons, but will share their identity info with you privately.

Here is a thread on that:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/No-name-just-initials-for-a-booking/m-p/1897215#M480...

A few things to consider...

Since you are a new host and this is a guest suite in your home I would be cautious. I would ask more questions politely. Something like we want to be sure our place would be a good fit for you as a guest and for us as Hosts.

How long is the booking for? Short Term or 28+ (monthly stay) be more cautious for longer stays

Does the guest have his profile filled out? If not, ask the guest to please complete his profile

If he shows 1 trip with no review, how recent was the trip?

You can send a message and mention you see he had a trip but no review? Could he shed some light on that?

You can ask who will be traveling with him?

You can ask what areas of town he might be interested in looking for a place to live as you could possibly provide some recommendations. Will it just be him or will some family members be joining him after he finds a place.

These are all ways to get a feel for how he responds. If he is vague and doesn't answer your questions, then I would decline the request to book. If it is just an inquiry, then just respond back if he is vague and say you don't think your place would be a good fit for him and wish him well on finding a place to live in the area.