Potential guests with no reviews or profile

[Sarah883]

Hi there,

I have recently had three potentail bookings, all from people with no profile information and no reviews.

I'm wondering what other hosts do in this situation?

Thanks!

Sara

[Valerie279]

I have a request from a young couple under the age of 25. They are new to airbnb and have no reviews. We are a new airbnb and I have put the request that only people with prior airbnb reviews can be approved. What do I do now? I'm a little hestitant to take a chance.

[Michelle92]

I have been hosting with Airbnb for over 3 years. I have seen a lot of great reviews for a guest, only to find that the guest was less than stellar, ignoring our basic rules. If the issues are small it makes the host look petty to complain on a review.

A recent guest did a lot of small things that added up beyond my tolerance, including leaving the front door unlocked when they left, (I suspect was a spiteful and intentional move on their part). 

This guest had a made up profile (a combination of 2 first names), the profile picture was a dog, and he asked me for a military discount, which I actually gave him, requiring only that he show govt. ID at check in.

My gut feeling was right; I should not have trusted him. The 6 or 7 reviews he had on his profile could not have been real. I didn't meet the same person in those reviews. You are taking a risk and you have to make your rules very clear to guests. And PLEASE write honest reviews if it doesn't go well.

[Kevin616]

I’d really like to know if I can unblock a guest after I’ve blocked them.

as newbies he’s not someone I want back in the short term, but if he improved his behaviour once getting better acquainted with how it works, I might like to give him another chance

[Paul482]

Once you understand that Air makes its money from fees, and guests pay fees then you can understand why Air does what they do.  Hosts are free to Air so Air doesn't bother to warranty much of anything,  controls the right to make decisions in their favor of paying out on their own insurance policy.   They want the guest to feel safe, to feel like they can back out at any time and that its easy peasy to make the reservation.  They want the guest to think its going to be a five star hotel experience they are checking in for and then they want to drive you to put the price so low that the guest simply can't book anywhere else.   They embellish on what they could possibly deliver to hosts while  simultaneously not bothering to emphasize the risks that hosts are taking.  They punish a host for being safe by removing dates and listings and lowering search position,  Now it might seem like I think Air is misleading.  I don't.  I think its a marvelous business model and since it works most of the time, the chances of the horror story are small.   Could Air be fairer to hosts... sure... but will they... why would they?  The appearance of fair is what they are selling, true fairness would affect their bottom line.  VRBO.COM was a great fair model before Expedia bought them out.  Now they are just another booking service, that forces payments to their inside credit card company and makes sensible renting by hosts a thing of the past by screening basic information and the ability to share.  They don't give us the benefit of the doubt as hosts that we think they should get their fees and we should get to talk to our guests and get basic ID and credit information relative to seeing if the guest is a reasonable risk.

Air should never ever suggest that a host rent long term on no reviews or without basic renter information, credit history or ID.   And I could go on.

If you request an ID you will get a reprimand from Air since the guest ID is never shared with hosts as part of their basic contract of listing.  Its a silly business model if fairness is the standard.  Its not... its a profit motive cloaked in a sales marketing of putting people together.  Its not a good model for absent hosts.  Its possibly a very good model for hosts who can lock you out and let you in the door.   In town hosts have control  Out of town hosts who rely on basic homework are playing russian roulette with Air.    Take a look at their price suggestions  ... 34 dollars a night is what they suggest for my Phoenix one bedroom condo,   Who in their right mind would rent a condo for 34 bucks a night during high season?  

[Mei-Ling2]

Hi fellow Airbnb hosts, I have my flat available for a short period of time while I am travelling over the Christmas and New Year period.  Today i've received a  request by someone who wants to stay but they have no reviews or even a profile pic (joined in Jan 2018). It's a illustrated bitmoji-like.. Does this feel legit to you?

Last week I declined a request because a different guest indicated they wanted to hire my property for a video shoot (yes, we we're all thinking it..)  and even though I was told it was for an online commercial for spices, I didn't feel comfortable using my flat for commercial purposes. I can't help but think the new request is a workaround to my previous decline? It's different dates but still a profile with no proper photo or reviews doesn't feel quite right.

Does anyone have any thoughts of how I should proceed? It would mean 2 x Declines in one week as a host 😕 Appreciate any sage words of advice!

[Dallas1]

I declined two similar guests this week. I believe that if guests want to hide behind a veil of secrecy they shouldn’t expect any hospitality from me. I’m not running a hotel. 

[Russell49]

I agree. If they do not have profile pictures, I ask for one. If I get no response, they get no booking.Likewise, I will often turn down people who do not meet the required info. Rules are in place for our protection, not for their pleasure.

[Michelle92]

After having problems with a renter who had a picture of a dog for his profile, I now insist on seeing govt. ID if there's no profile photo and it has to match the person I check in. Reviews don't tell you the whole picture, it's just a guide.

[Jessica1121]

Michelle, when you say "insist on seeing govt ID," you mean that you want to see the line checked that they've provided it to Airbnb, correct? Or is there a way for hosts to actually access it?

I have a pending reservation from a guest with no profile photo and no reviews (despite being a member for 3 years) that was submitted at 3:30am. It feels suspicious to me. Advice?

[Daisy80]

Jessica, curious to hear if you got an answer to your question.  We are thinking about putting our Denver home on AirB&B, but I don't like the idea of not knowing who's renting our family home.

[Kim1043]

But how does one show their ID? Do they send it to your email? Does Airbnb even allow us sharing emails on the message board?

[Kelly873]

Trust your gut.  The one set of guests I did not have a great feeling about b/c she vibed high maintenance from the getgo- was indeed a nightmare.   Happily, I had friends in town who had wanted to stay with me anyway so everything worked out for the best but...I wish I had listened to my intuition. 

[Esther13]

Hello. I have just gotten a recent inquiry and a recent request from people who have no profile information, offer no information about their trip, and are asserting that they will arrive early in the morning for checkin.  Now that we cannot see their picture, it is a huge problem for me.  This seems very self centered to me.  Why would someone assume that you would consider them when they offer no information about themself or the purpose of their travel?  I noticed that this nonsense started when I tried using the setting for offering a lower price if not booked for the immediate future.  I have removed this.  It seems the lower your price, the worse the prospective guests are. Anyone getting the same type of thing?

[Trang37]

I am experiencing the similar issue, the difference is they say they’ll arrive late at night. The girlfriend contacted me first using “her” account, asking questions. Then the boyfriend requested to book mentioned “my girlfriend did contact you.”

I don’t know why they would need 2 accounts for a 4-day booking. Both joined Airbnb in March 2019, no reviews, only email & phone # verified.

I message them back asked for ID to be verified.

I really don’t feel 100% comfortable with this request.

[Michelle92]

It could be that the renter is underage, or had to close a previous account for other reasons. My rule of thumb is that I don’t rent to anyone who doesn’t have a verified govt. ID. and the person on the Airbnb account must be the same person who I check in. Otherwise you have no recourse on the insurance or deposit.

Anyone can have an email address or social media account. If it doesn’t feel right to you then go with your intuition.