Guest wants to book a 3 month Stay

[Angelica684]

Hello Airbnb Community,

I hope y'all are doing great! Last night I recieved an inquiry for a reservation from January 10- April 30, 2025. When I first recieved the notification I thought it was a little fishy because the inquirer only had he's email verified and nothing else. Plus, I already had someone inquiring for a stay in February. So, I declined his inquiry and told Airbnb I felt like his account was possibly a fake account. The next morning (today), he sends another inquiry for the same dates. I find it strange so I asked him what brought him into town for such a long stay and he simply replied, "Business Trip". As a new host and as someone who hasn't had a stay longer than a week I feel a little anxious accepting this inquiry especially after already declining it last night. Additionally, he is asking to see the house first. I would greatly appreiciate all kinds of feedbacks! 

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Angelica684,

I often host long-term stays, which generally work out very well. However, I tend to ask more detailed questions to ensure I feel comfortable with the arrangement. In this case, I would likely decline the inquiry, especially since they are requesting to see the property in advance.

It's important to be cautious, as there has been an increase in scams where individuals ask for videos of the property and later use them to pose as the landlord, attempting to rent out your listing to others. To protect yourself, always keep communication within the Airbnb platform and never agree to show the property before a confirmed booking. This can not only be unsafe but may also lead to scams or future security risks.

For further guidance, Airbnb has an article on handling requests from guests who want to preview a listing:
When a guest asks to visit before booking

Happy hosting!

[Kia272]

@Angelica684  Asking to see the house first is a HUGE red flag. Based on that alone, you should absolutely decline this request. 

The second request from this person is also a HUGE red flag. Decline again and block this person so he doesn't contact you again. 

The whole thing reeks of scammer, especially since those people target new hosts. 

Just say no. 

[Angelica684]

Hi @Kia272 ,

Thank you for your response! I completely agree with you with the red flags. The first time I declined it, I didn't feel good intentions from the inquirer's side. I've also noticed that scammers tend to book for longer dates so that the payout for the host is higher. I declined the inquiry, however I couldn't find where to block the inquirer. 

Have a good one!

[Kia272]

@Angelica684 in the upper right-hand corner of any message in your AirBnB inbox, there's a 3 dot menu. Click on that and you'll see an option to report the sender. Unfortunately, the only options to choose from are harassment/abuse or trying to deal off-platform. Something like that anyway. Just pick one. 

This is if you're using a laptop or similar. I don't see the report option in messages in the app. 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Kia272 @Angelica684 

To flag a guest from your phone it's in the message stream too but you have to hard press on the message itself and you'll see the pop options to:

*Add emoji's

*Copy the message

*Flag this message

You did well Angelica and normally, the fact that you declined this enquiry, this should automatically stop the guest from being able to send you a request to book.  I say, should because I had a case this summer when this didn't work but after much backwards and forwards with CS, I  got put through to a wonderful person in the Escalation team who assured me that this was an exceptional case where this didn't work but it shouldn't happen again🤞

All the best with hosting

Joëlle

[Angelica684]

Thank you so much, Joelle! Yes, oddly enough this person was able to send an inquiry a second time. From my experience as well, Airbnb has a really great customer service system. 

[Angelica684]

Thank you so much! 

[Angelica684]

Hi @Dave-and-Deb0 ,

Thank you so much for your response! I definitely feel the same way on asking more detailed questions. I definitely always keep communication on Airbnb. I declined the inquiry and hopefully he won't try to reserve again. 

Have a good one! 

[Bradley181]

You don’t have to accept or decline an inquiry until they put a trip request in. If you decline the inquiry it can look bad against you and you can be penalized for declining too many people. Keep the inquiry active and tell them they are welcome to submit a trip request when they are ready. Emphasizing that the time they want to come tends to book up and make sure that you have a strict no refunds policy. This will either veer away any questionable bookings or allow you to see the person is serious about the length of time they are wanting! I pride myself on having quality over quantity and I learned how to weed out the true bookings from the fake ones. And if in doubt before you accept or deny anything contact the Airbnb support team and they will insure that you have a positive outcome. And feeling of security. They are truly here to help us!!!

[Rebecca]

@Bradley181 I'm tagging @Angelica684 here so they receive a notification of your message. This ensures that they get a notification that you've replied to them specifically 🤗

[Angelica684]

Hi @Bradley181,

Thank you for your tips! I completely agree with you quality is better than quantity. I personally always tend to contact Airbnb's support and they have always been super nice and helpful! 

Have a good one!