What are some known Guest Scams?

[Anthony608]

I have been hosting for two years now and have seen my share of shady and suspicious guests.  I am wondering what actual scams other hosts have seen committed by potential guests.

The most serious scam I ever saw was what I believed to be a key-copying scam.  A man in Boston booked my room, then on the first night of the reservation, an unknown woman came to the residence and was knocking on the door, apparently unaware that the door had a keycode entry. She did not have any of the check-in instructions and had only been sent on her phone a screenshot of the home’s address. Once in the residence, the woman began asking repeatedly to be given an actual key. After several minutes of explanations, she finally understood that there was no key but rather a keycode for the door which would expire at the end of the stay. This clearly upset her a bit and she became visible nervous. She then went outside and was on her cellphone for a minute before walking away towards the local bus stop. She did not return to the residence on the first night, but closed the door to the room and left the lights on as to give the appearance that someone was in the room. Upon checkout, the room was found to be undisturbed and it did not look like anyone had slept in the beds.

Another, more complicated scam, involved a guest who was trying to gather information about the property without actually booking.  Over the course of six months, I received  three pre-approval booking inquiries - they all said the same thing - mainly that a guest wanted to book the room for a large number of days, was "moving into an apartment" and needed the room right away. The first of these I agreed to, since I thought I had a good opportunity for a booking and there were no real warning signs. However, the pre-approvals would then expire, and then the guest began sending numerous messages through AirBNB asking for extensive details about the house. More messages followed, asking details about did I live alone in the house, who else would be there, and also they wanted the specific street address prior to booking so they could come and see the house before booking. When I explained this was against AirBNB policy, the messages suddenly stopped. Then, several weeks later - pre-approval request again, asking about the room, moving into an apartment, need it right away, etc, etc. An obvious script which was being repeated.

To a lesser degree, I have received numerous questionable messages about same day bookings.  Typically strange vague messages, speaking about emergencies and needing the room right away.  Of those I've approved,  20% of them never show up and of those that do about 30% don't stay the night.  Obviously something going on.

What scams have other hosts seen?

[Caroll47]

The same thing happened to me! I just received a request from a new Airbnb user who had just made their profile this same month of June.m and Gad no reviews (first red flags to look for!). The inquiry is for the whole month of July. Started with normal conversation but after a few questions such as : “What floor is my apartment on? Do I live in the unit? Do my dogs bark when I am not home?” They wanted me to text them a video of my street so they could see the construction across the street and they also asked me if my bedroom was the same style as the guest room (which obviously my personal bedroom is not in any photos in my listing). They said their English was not very good, so I was extremely polite and patient. I told them there are a lot of scammers on Airbnb so please understand my concern that I am not able to exchange personal contact information because it is against Airbnb policy and that is when they got a little creepy and started asking me if I have ever been scammed or have experienced fraud. They told me to please feel comfortable that there will not be any cash transaction outside of Airbnb. They continued to tell me the will be booking the reservation with me in the next few days (this is 10 days before the reservation). After reading all of your experiences, I now understand that this person wants to keep my calendar blocked so my unit is empty that way thieves could attempt to come and steal everything! Very happy that we have Airbnb and each other here to help and support. This is my income and my business that I take very serious and I am proud to call myself a super host! Be safe everyone!

[Alexandra85]

I had a similar issue on another platform. Guest used insta book. At the time had no reviews, but sounded nice, said she was not tech saavy. (I did not catch the scam beginning) At time I accepted one well behaved dog 25 lb max. she said she had one well behaved dog 25 lbs. max ok with $50 deposit. She confirmed she had one older sweet dog and pd. pet fee. In the meantime, I stopped allowing pets due to all sorts of issues with pet disclosure and cleaning issues. So, this person contacted me prior to driving here by doxxing my phone number. She began texting, calling and leaving messages for me to contact her back because she was not tech saavy so could not use the STR platform. I told her that all communication must go through the STR website. She kept wanting to have personal contact. I told her that I no longer accepted pets/dogs as before, but she was already approved with her one dog. She confirmed her dog was sweet and well behaved. Then, she kept asking for my address which had been given by the STR at least twice and continued to call and text. I sent STR 800 contact # and link to mapquest for directions. She made it seem that she never read welcome emails sent twice or contacted the STR. She did finally respond to the STR message thread and claimed to not know how to use Mapquest/google. All of this going on until after 10 pm. Then the next day, she walks outside with two dogs that seemed to be twins! I have security cameras watching the gate that evidenced the two dogs - one was not leashed, which is required. I sent message about the two dogs when she only was accepted and later confirmed with one dog. I do not have a damage deposit so I said I was charging her $100 for second dog - two dogs can create havoc! She refused and came to my residence banging on my front door, yelling, and exhibiting agitated behavior - scared me. did not open door. Each time I contacted support and sent videos of dogs and bad behavior. She said she was really a nice person, etc. Then, she began to make claims that I was not being nice and her stay was unpleasant, etc. She was having a horrible time.Then, she began to claim bed bugs - No bed bugs ever! She even took photos of little black bugs (2) on chair and bed..I live in a large garden and use pro pest control for tiny black ant. The place was recently treated safely - Next thing she says she is checking out and claiming a full refund - bed bugs, etc. She did go the following day and did a chargeback. So, I was naive about the scams out there --after reading about numerous scams by some guests on STRs, I realized what she was up to. The requests to communicate outside of the STR platform using the excuse of not being tech saavy, not disclosing two dogs bc she would not have been able to book if she had, then using the platform to make false claims bed bugs. I was lucky that she left and that I required all communication be through the STR platform. She is what is termed a friendly fraud - I have contested her chargeback with the messaging thread, and Ring videos of my front gate (two dogs) and her behavior on my front porch. That is the evidence hosts must have or those out to defraud will get away with their game. I am fortunate indeed that this guest did not turn out the be a STR squatter w two dogs and also getting her money back for her initial stay!  The big mistake I made was not taking into account the fact she did not have any reviews. She left a libelous review mirroring her own behavior. So, beware.

[Helen744]

Hi Caroll47 Never block your calendar for someone who is not certain to book , like someone who is already staying and waiting to see work dates that you know are legit and you are happy to host. There is no real need or expectation that you would 'hold dates ' for people you have not hosted before. Send them an acceptance but let them know that others can still book those dates, do not ever send an acceptance to someone not able to pay. You are in business and must have the common sense not to accept every sob story. It is of course your choice but try and tell the difference between when its a scam or honest legitimate people . H

[Blue117]

We have been hosting for years and have straight 5 star rating. one scam we encountered twice recently is another host mentioned earlier that someone wants to discuss offline on whatsapp for instance. Total red flag. Another one is a guest who stayed and then claimed someone broke in and stole some cash. The guest admitted to the police and the manager that they did not lock the door. Police also verified the locks are intact and functioning. We out of goodwill offered to reimburse the small cash the guest claimed to have lost. That was refused. We offered a discount of future stay, also refused. Then the guest proceeded to demand a few thousand. When we refused, a horrible review riddled with factual lies appeared online. Then the guest proceeded to request full refund, again we refused. To say the least, this is very infuriating experience. We went out of our way to make them feel comfortable and they repeatedly told us they enjoyed the stay. Then they turn around and want a free trip. 

[Melissa37]

I have had 4 bookings this week, all from guests who have:

- No profile photo

- No reviews and 

- only started there account this month.

I have been hosting for 5 years now and have never had this many strange requests. May want lengthy 6 month stays, which immediately appeals to me but is suspicious. In addition, they all try and get in contact off the platform prior to making payment. 

[Jo827]

I’ve been getting requests like this too recently for my 3 bed NYC apt so came here to see what is going on.  Long term requests from people with new profiles, very short messages just saying things like “how long can I rent for?”.  Generally weird communication. Many of those I’ve ignored I see have been blocked later by Airbnb. I’m wondering if it’s prostitution, or identifying whether the place is empty to rob it. Anyone have any ideas? 

[Green-Estate0]

This keeps happening to me too and that’s why I looked up this thread

[Valerie-A26]

Yes, I have hosted for 7 years and all of a sudden this is happing to me, too. 

Yikes!

I block them and report them to Airbnb.

Not sure what else to do.

[Michelle3303]

How do you block someone?

[Robyn401]

Yes, I’ve been getting those as well.  I suspect it is money laundering - they pay, then seek a refund less a small amount.

[Valerie-A26]

Airbnb needs to get a handle on this and get software to sift these out before they even hit us.

[Sarah4811]

Hi! Very interesting and quite scary! Thanks for sharing that. I have recently joined as a host and have received two or three very odd inquiry’s. One of them was Chinese and at first I thought it may be a language barrier, but then they asked to communicate outside Airbnb which automatically I realized it was a scam. One odd one I just got was someone with a random name asking if they may stay long term (3-6 months) and when I asked how many people they said with their assistant and secretary who are a couple ( also strange especially since assistant and secretary are also pretty much the same thing). Then when they again asked to text outside the app I said no. What are these people gaining from doing this is my question? Also if I had accepted the pre approval, would that money been refundable for them had they been actual scammers? Thanks !

[Kirstin38]

Here is a request that I received:

Nov 1, 2022

Message from Airbnb Service

Inquiry sent · 1 guest, Dec 1 - Dec 31

Garland10:46 AM

I have a 6 month work contract starting 12-1-22
Will this work?

Kirstin10:48 AM

Hi, Garland -

Thank you for reaching out to us and for considering our Airbnb. We love Central City and we’re happy you’ll get an opportunity to stay here. Will you be working in Central City?

How did you hear about us, Garland?

Message from Airbnb Service

Pre-approval sent · 1 guest, Dec 1 - Dec 31

Garland4:10 PM

Air BNB

Kirstin5:01 PM

Have you ever used AirBNB before?

[Kirstin38]

I'm using this recent inquiry as an example.   If you have a 6 month work contract and it starts a month from today, wouldn't you be very quick to find and book a place?  I have learned not to jump with excitement when someone asks for a long term stay.  I've also learned to ask questions that make me uncomfortable.  I don't want to be too inquisitive but I also don't want to get stuck with a person who thinks they can move in, pay a minimal amount and then they decide to extend their stay and they don't end up paying.   

We had someone who told us they were closing on a home and were staying with us until the closing.  The closing was moved and they asked to extend their stay.  I told them to go in and request the new dates.  They said that the Airbnb app stopped working.  Then, I called Airbnb and found that the people were no longer accepted.  Their credit cards were not going through.  I told them they needed to leave and they asked if they could pay me when their first paycheck came through.  It was very messy.  I was notified by the police that the Airbnb folks parked illegally and when they ran their plates that they had warrants in Florida and Alabama.  Very scary to then walk over and ask them to gather their belongings and leave.

The experience did make me inquire more throughly when someone requests a longer stay.  If they have zero reviews then I get even more inquisitive on what their purpose is in staying in our area.

[Suzanne923]

I have a 35 day guest that just moved in two days ago.

6 positive reviews.

Her age says 52 on the platform, but she said 56.

curious how Air does their screening.

long story short, now I have a woman who has told me that she is bipolar, going through a divorce, her dog has bitten her, and she smokes vapes & brought about 25 trash bags of clothes into my unit for 35 days. She said her ex is crazy.

I feel sick to my stomach- I live in the main house with two young boys and my boyfriend.

I am very concerned!!!! Advice?

she has been very sweet, but texts a lot. Might be my fault for trying to be friendly & understanding of a woman going through a divorce- I learned the rest after she moved in.

my gut says I need to have her move out.

how do I do this?

worst timing ever, you should never feel unsafe in your own home!

please help!

Thank you