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 · Accepted solution]

@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!

[Yvette401]

@Elisa Would you be able to share the Airbnb written guidelines around 3rd party booking? Thanks 

[Elisa]

Hi @Yvette401 😊, 

Here is the link you need 👉 Booking a stay for friends and family. 

Let me know if you need any more help with this!

[Yvette401]

@Elisa, thank you. The current guest who is trying to book is pushing back because she states that she and her husband "share" an Airbnb profile and because they are both in the profile picture, this covers them. I've told her joint profiles are not a thing but she says she's never had a problem with it before. 

I said this is response but I don't know how accurate this is (see in quotes below). Is there a written guideline on Airbnb about insurable incidents not covering guests who are not on the booking? 

"Also, from an insurance standpoint, if there are guests in the unit who are not listed on the booking and, god forbid, an insurable incident occurred, neither we nor those guests would have any recourse with Airbnb, since there would be no official record of their stay."

[Yvette401]

@Elisa Also, why does Airbnb allow profile pictures that don't show the guest's face? That is another problem I'm having. I checked the box for "guests must have a profile picture" and now I have pictures of a tractor or a landscape but no person. That said, the guest often, but not always, has a verified account even without the profile pic that doesn't help me identify them at all. 

We've just had about 5 guests over the past few months who have seemed to be up to sketchy business and do not match their profile pic, don't have a profile pic or have a pic but it is not of a person. 

I also changed our booking requirements to have the guest answer the question, "What is bringing you to the area?" and one guest out and out lied. He said he and his wife were going to be visiting and she fell in love with our place. When he arrived he was with a man (yes, I understand maybe that was his wife) but they spent most of the time on the property sitting in their car smoking pot with the windows down.