@Geoffrey191
Hi Geoff, Airbnb is not like opening up another box of breakfast serial, you need to feel your way into it.....learn what to expect as you go.
The Hilton hotel chain has one big thing going for it! When you book a Hilton room, no matter where it is on earth the standard is the same........same bed, same pictures on the wall, same condiments. You know exactly what you are going to get!
Airbnb is a massive guessing game, every host has a differing perception of what hospitality is, and what they expect from a guest. It could be anything from suite in the Marriott Waikiki Beach resort on Kalakaua Ave in Honolulu to, a tent that doesn't leak in Outer Mongolia.
Geoff, as a user new to Airbnb this is not the first Airbnb booking you should be making! I see a number of red flags here.
1/......2 months is a long time to get along with a stranger, sometimes you hit it off, sometimes you don't. A first up booking of 2 months has more chance of being a disaster than a success. The boundaries between short term rental and long term rental are entirely different.
2/......Any host who contacts a guest in subtle ways to make contact outside the Airbnb platform is not a host you should be dealing with. You forgo any protections that Airbnb might offer.
3/.......You say the host has a guest average star rating of 4.4. That is just about as low a rating as is tolerated on Airbnb. I am pinching this screenshot from one of our great past contributors, Ute 42 from Germany, I hope she doesn't mind but it explains how the Airbnb rating system works.
Geoff, as a new user there is no way I would jump into a 2 month booking with someone who wants to game the system. I would first of all do a short stay or two with an Airbnb Superhost so you can learn what to expect from the experience.
I wish you luck and hope something I and others here have contributed can help you!
Cheers.........Rob