Guests with prior stays but no reviews

[Jess4683]

I am wondering what people’s thoughts are generally on a guest who requests to stay and has had 4 stays before but has no reviews? 
our house allows for 8 guests so it is generally bigger groups.

we only started air bnb a couple of months ago so are still new to it and have one particular lot of guests that weren’t great so we are a little nervous 

any thoughts would be great! 

[Mike-And-Jane0 · Accepted solution]

@Jess4683 I would also be nervous in this situation. As a positive we have had similar guests and they have been fine. Generally I would guess they were, most likely, a bit messy and the host decided not to leave a review. If they had caused damage or been really bad surely a host would leave an honest review if only to help with any claim they might be making against the guest.

I hope this helps (a bit)

[Nur785]

Hi @Jess4683 

I don't know if you still need thoughts on this, but the 2 occasions I accepted a guest with several trips but no reviews have been problematic. Two of the worst guests I've had and I thought, I think I understand why the previous hosts did not leave a review, so I made sure to leave one. 

I would avoid those until you are more experienced. I've started to decline these guests (although I accept guests with no trips and no reviews)  and feel really angry with hosts who didn't think anything of not warning other hosts. 

[Alexis1035]

I appreciate it's frustrating when a host doesn't leave a negative review about a bad guest, but I also understand why it happens. When a guest stays, they have the opportunity to 'case' the joint, ie windows that can be easily opened, or doors that regularly stay open. If you're a single woman, the fear of retaliation is prominent in your mind, and aggravating a guest who has already displayed an uncaring attitude could prompt retaliation. Self preservation becomes the priority, and you just want to forget the experience and move on.

[Eric9033]

We have the same situation. My instinct is to decline the reservation request, but I'm curious if anyone has some good questions that might mitigate the risk.