suspicious booking

[Tammy761]

Greetings, I have a suspicious booking at my location. I am a fairly new host and do not have any reviews. I have had someone book the place for three weeks. There are a number of reasons that I am suspicious about this guest: 1. She seems to be online constantly. 2. She booked and did not make any inquiries about the place at all, even though I don't have any reviews. 3. She also has few reviews, and she was only verified recently. 4. I reached out to her, and she seems that English is not her first language, even though she is from the US. She did have some unusual writing patterns and the responses just generally seem off. She said that she had stayed in the area before and gave me info that seemed to match a nearby airbnb listing, but was just from the information provided in the listing.

I do not have any solid evidence that there is an issues, so I am reluctant to report her or cancel her booking, which is for 1 week from now. I do have a bad feeling about it though. What should I do? What could the scam be if it is one?

[Lorna170]

@Tammy761   If you are uncomfortable with a booking, cancel.  Have you had a conversation with this guest?  Have they told you why they are coming and what they will be doing while in your property?

scammers will target new hosts.  They will stay and then demand refunds.  They may not leave.  They may damage your property.  As a new host, I would not accept rentals of more than a week until you are more experienced with hosting. 

[Helen3]

Why advise the host to cancel as you know they will receive a financial penalty and have the dates blocked in their calendar so this is really bad advice @Lorna170 

[Tammy761]

Thanks Helen3,  I am not going to cancel. I am just looking for advice on what I can do to protect myself and what could possibly be the scam, if it is one.

[John5097]

@Tammy761 

You have two very positive reviews that are visible guest and anyone who visits your listing page. They both have a lot of details about the house and location. 

You also offer a one bedroom place that sleeps 7 people. Four beds in the bedroom, pull out sleeper and a yoga mat or something. 

This indicates it's a budget friendly place and in the Caribbean. When you offer up to 7 guest you should expect some who are more budget oriented, which is ideal for a family, but also the more guest the more potential to exceed that or create more risk and issues for host.   

You have accepted a reservation for 3 weeks that does cary some potential higher risk. You can change this in the settings to allow a maximum of nights, say one week, but that would only apply to future bookings. 

Having a few reviews is usually a plus for guest. 

Airbnb does have penalties for canceling guest. 

You want to screen guest before accepting a reservation. You can use Request to Book, and have some questions you would ask all guest before accepting. 

So far everything you have mentioned isn't a red flag. 

In my experience the more diverse guest are the better, and the ones who I really don't expect issues with are more problematic and kind of scammy. 

My vote is to honor the booking and keep us updated. 😁

[Jennifer1897 · Accepted solution]

@Tammy761 from the information provided I am failing to see a real concern with the guest. I am not 100% sure how you know she "is online" all the time, but this in and of itself is not really a red flag. I actually appreciate when guest responds quickly and facilitates good communication. The fact that she did not inquire about anything before the booking is not a red flag either. Honestly only about 1/10 of my booking send me a message before actually booking. If your listing is well done and comprehensive, most guest can decide if it is a suitable accommodation for them by just navigating your ad. As for the reviews, are the positive or negative? If they are positive, again, I do not see a red flag. We all start somewhere in our Airbnb journey, and newbies are often some of my best guests. Lastly, just because she lives in the United States doesn't mean she should speak exceptional English. A lot of individuals within the US speak English as a second language. This is another thing I don't see as a red flag.

If you are concerned, communicate with her further about her trip.  It sounds like she is willingly responding to your messages. This way maybe you can ask her some more questions and feel a little more comfortable with the booking. At the end of the day, you can always cancel, but keep in mind this will be a penalty to you and inconvenience for the guest. 

[Tammy761]

Greetings, thank you so much for your input @Jennifer1897 . As for being online all the time, there is a green dot beside your avatar on your message if you are on the system. Hers is on all the time, day or night. I have shown conversation below. I don't think that there is any private information there. 

Some of the red flags are a little hard to explain. For one, all of Middle street is in St Ann, which she would know if she had been there several times. The border on google/AirBNB is in the wrong place. The title "hospital licensed clinical social worker" seems made up, or at least awkward to include in this context. 

Middle Street is actually fairly long. If she was familiar with it, I would have expected her to say. "At the bottom of Middle Street near the vegan place" or "that villa on Corn Piece" or "near Kings Bar" etc. 

In the second snapshot, she again states that she stayed on the St. Ann side. My listing is in Exchange, St. Ann - The community does not cross the parish boundary and the distinction between the varius segments of Middle Street is much more relevant than the imaginary and misplaced boundary between parishes. This would be clear if she was staying here.

Also, the information about the yellow AirBNB is straight out of the listing of a nearby AirBNB. LInda's is a fairly expensive touristy type place. Someone who has stayed in the area would likely be eating at one of the many cheaper/better/closer restaurants that are not necessarily showing up on Google maps.

So, like I said, I do not have anything vey concrete. On the other hand, I feel that if I keep asking questions, that I will be the suspicious one. Any ideas? 

[Tammy761]

Hi, Thanks for your input. Like I said, I don't have anything concrete. The main thing is that the information she has seems to be from the internet and not from actually being there. 

I am not going to cancel. Are there other things that I could be asking her about? I don't want to seem weird either. Also, if she is scamming me, what could the game be?

[Tammy761]

Update: I actually ended up doing a bqckground check from her ohone number and she seems to be legit...unless her identity has been stolen - i still have a feeling thst something is off woth the messages. But now i want to remove my comments with a lot of detail. How do i do that? I dont see an edit button.