Hi @Kim3759 It is definitely good to be cautious and vet your guest. A while back my area started breaking ground on a high-speed railroad and for months I was getting newbies requesting to stay saying they were assigned to work on the project in some capacity. So multiple people coming into town for larger projects is not entirely farfetched.
A good thing to do is ask questions and gauge responses. Legitimate people/bookings will likely be open to answering your questions and be forthcoming in their answers. A lot of the sketchier request or inquires I get are people that provide little to no information, and never answer any follow up questions.
If someone is brand new I usually lead with a friendly welcome message such as the following, "Thank you for your inquiry/request, I am excited to potentially be your first stay, would you mind telling me a little more about yourself and what brings you to the area?"
As far as verifying their employment, that might be tricky, as not everyone is publicly listed as an employee with a particular company. Also, as a guest, this might seem a bit invasive. However, ultimately it is up to you.
