bogus guests?

[Yvette401]

Hi, lately the guests that are booking and don't seem to be the same person that shows up to stay. Three of my last four guests don't look anything like the picture of the person who is shown as the booker.

Also, two of the last four guests told me they were solo traveling and they ended up brining a plus one. Are these common practices or are these things something to be concerned about? Thanks!

[Lorna170]

@Yvette401  Third party bookings and single travelers with a "surprise" companion are apparently becoming the norm in certain areas and for certain types of accommodations.  

I send a detailed booking response that states that there is one person on the reservation (and no pets) and that only the registered guest (and no animals) may be on the property.  This usually elicits an "oh, I forgot to include my partner" response or the guest telling me that there will be an animal.  The most recent one was the guest who said "they" are coming for their honeymoon but only 1 person was on the booking -- they blew that off as "AirBnB made a mistake" which is total BS.

If you are having issues because the person arriving does not match the picture on the booking, you may want to add to your description a statement that a picture ID will be requested upon arrival, assuming that you are greeting the guest in person at the property.  Unless it was a third-party booking (where the guest was using a friend to book and the proffered ID will have the wrong name and face) this one can get a little tricky, as persons who have an old picture on their AirBnB persona created years ago may in fact look quite different today.  

[Yvette401]

Thank you for taking time to write a detailed response. Your suggestions are helpful. @Lorna170 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Yvette401 

Good question!

It is important that the number of people staying and the number of people on the reservation agree. It is even a requirement in my business insurance, license/local ordinance, etc. I always ask the name(s) of the people so that they are listed on my records. I had one guest who ignored multiple notices to change the reservation from one guest to two. This indicated to me that this person might not consider our clearly stated rules to be important, or even applicable to them. 

The booker photo that does not match the guest staying, is another issue. It is against policy to host 3rd party reservations, and rightly so. Also important to note about 3rd parties is that the guest who actually stays likely has not read and consented to the house rules, "good neighbor" behavior etc. The booker is responsible for other guests behavior, understanding of and respect for rules. It also is against the rules of my business license. 

Ideally, all these potential issues should be resolved prior to arrival. No, it should not be a common practice. Yes, it is something to be concerned about, imho.

[Yvette401]

Thank you. I appreciate your response. I don't want to be a "Karen" (sorry to all the Karens out there) but something has seemed off with these last few bookings and I wanted to check other's experiences. 

[Elisa]

Hi @Yvette401 😊, 

Thank you for sharing your situation here.

I’m really sorry that this happened to you, but I’m glad to see other hosts offering such helpful suggestions.

What did you end up doing in the end?

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need more help!