Weird inquiry

[Karishma14]

I received an inquiry request from someone named Jose who wanted to book for 6 nights. His Airbnb profile was complete, but he didn’t have any reviews etc. however as soon as I sent the pre approval, the profile name automatically changed to Deepika (a girl) & the profile incomplete now. Does anyone know why would this happen & how to deal with it? 

They sent me some questions before I sent the pre-approval.. which I answered. So now I’ve shared information about my property, with an unverified ID. 

[Guy991]

Hello @Karishma14 ,

when you receive an inquiry, it’s sufficient to respond promptly to maintain a good response rate. There’s no need to press ‘pre-approve’ or ‘decline.’ I usually avoid using ‘pre-approve’ as it can block the dates without a real reason, and I prefer not to press ‘decline’ to help maintain a higher acceptance rate. There are plenty of weird inquiries, so instead, I simply respond and, if the inquiry seems reasonable, I encourage the guest to proceed with a reservation.

[Karishma14]

Thank you for your inputs Guy! I wasn’t aware that the dates are blocked in our calendar if you pre approve a booking! 

Learning everyday from helpful hosts like you! I appreciate it.🙏🏻

[Paula]

Hi @Karishma14, I am tagging @Guy991 here so they receive a notification of your message. This way, we increase the chances of them getting back to us.

Quick tip: To tag someone, tap "@" and select the host's username from the dropdown menu 😊

[Shelley159]

Hi @Karishma14 

Your title is correct, this is a weird situation. I have not personally seen the identity change during the booking process, but there is a recent thread where this also seems to have been the case.

Airbnb guest turned into a SQUATTER - Airbnb Community (withairbnb.com)

You can read the above post by @Heather1328 who also mentions that the reservation "updated" to show someone else. The people who stayed turned out to be bad guests in the end.  This doesn't mean your guest will be as bad, but I'm with you in simply wanting to understand how this change of profile happens!

[Paula]

Hello @Karishma14, our hosts have shared great suggestions. Let us know when you have time to read them.

Additionally, I’d like to follow up on this case. How did everything turn out with this guest? Is everything okay now?

Keep us posted.

[Karishma14]

Hi Paula,

thank you for checking in!

Thankfully, this guest did not end up booking! 

[Paula]

Thank you for the update @Karishma14 🙏