Hosting a first time guest - to Airbnb

[Pam2462]

this is the first time I have a reservation from a new Airbnb guest. They want to rent for a month and appear to be from out of the country? Thoughts

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Pam2462 

A month is a long stay to approve of, with a guest new to the platform. If this is a request, I'd engage in a conversation with the prospective guest. Ask what is the purpose of the stay, what are their goals, eg are they house hunting, job hunting, exploring the region on a lengthy trip? We love to pamper guests new to the platform, of course. Guests coming from abroad are great, we love when they stay with us; but we do have a week limit in our home share. Then again, this may be a fishing expedition without good intentions, as others have written about on this forum. 

Do let us know how this evolves and resolves.

[Joan2709]

@Pam2462 

I agree with @Kitty-and-Creek0 to use caution accepting new guests for long-term stays. I advise Hosts I work with not to accept long term bookings unless the guest has at least two, 5-star reviews.  Ask alot of questions and if they don't answer them, are evasive, ask you to send them a video of the property, or communicate off-platform it is a scam. 

[Pam2462]

@Joan2709 Thank you.  I've been hosting for 2yrs, and this is my first time encountering a first-time guest.  I am extremely hesitant to accept the request.  I was honest and asked her that since there were no previous reviews, I wanted to understand why she was coming to the area.   Her response gave me little comfort: "This is a business trip, and this time, the main part of the past was to explore the wine market .A total of 3 of us, are women over 30, we have no pets and don't smoke."  Thank you for confirming my gut instincts. 

[Pam2462]

@Kitty-and-Creek0  —Thank you for your thoughts. I, too, thought this might be a fishing exercise, which would be my first encounter on this platform and happens to me frequently on the competitor platform.   I am not going to accept this request, and I appreciate your validating my initial reaction/response.