Guests without reviews

[Gavin216]

My settings currently don't allow guests without reviews to instant book, but I still get requests from these guests which I have to approve or decline manually. What extra security checks can/should I do for these requests?

Also, a guest with one review can still instant book, which still doesn't give me a lot of confidence, can I change this setting so that a guest has to have numerous reviews?

There seem to be a lot of Airbnb members trying to book who have had Airbnb accounts for years but have done very few or no trips, how concerned should I be about those?

Thanks in advance.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Gavin216 All Airbnb guests started with no reviews as did all hosts. Don't let the tiny percentage of bad stories on this and other communities overly concern you. Yes be careful and weed out the party types but in general just go with the flow and you will be fine.

[Gavin216]

Thanks for your reply. How do I weed out party types if they don't have any reviews?! I don't see how people are making judgements about guests with few or no reviews. Do you basically just have to hope for the best?

[Helen744 · Accepted solution]

@Gavin216 this is the skilled bit , communicate communicate and communicate. You will improve your ability to sniff out a party crowd before they happen . Ask questions about if they have read the rules , why they are travelling and encourage them to ask you questions about the accommodation , it gets easier as you gain skills... H

[Fred13]

"What extra security checks can/should I do for these requests?"

Ask questions; trust your intuition.

[Ayodeji5]

It’s actually ridiculous that hosts will even consider rejecting a guest just because they don’t have a review. Airbnb is not a coffee shop, a grocery store or clothing store where people visit more frequently. Airbnb is for stays when people travel and if they have not had any reason to travel or use airbnb, they will not have a review. For most of my vacations I have stayed in hotels or resorts. Just because I couldn’t get a hotel with cooking facilities at my destination, I opted for an airbnb. On taking one look at my face, the host rejected my booking. It’s ludicrous. You are in a business and it comes with a risk. Even I am taking a risk to go live in someone’s house, for all I know they may kidnap me or my kids or do us some arm or I get there and they don’t respond or give me keys. No review is not a bad review!!! Worse case, take a deposit.

[Gavin216]

As far as know, hosts can't see a guest's profile photo before the booking is confirmed, so I doubt they rejected you based on your face.

I don't expect a risk-free scenario, but Airbnb profiles offer very little info' to make judgements with, which is why hosts put so much weight on reviews.

[Helen744]

@Ayodeji5 noone took a look at your face and rejected you Ayodeji because Airbnb have a strict policy which does not allow hosts to see the guests face until after a firm booking is made. Hosts are also penalised for all cancellations without reason . hosts do have varying reasons if they are not on IB to not accept guests. None of them though are your lovely face , so good luck  for the future... H