My wife and I recently had an “almost booking” from someone that, on reflection, we realise was most likely a drug trafficker.
The signs:
1. They sent an inquiry to ask if they could bypass the Airbnb system and pay us directly, which we immediately declined.
2. They told us they contacted Airbnb and asked if they could “pay it off” for only a 3 night stay in our budget little space (according to them Airbnb said yes).
3. The booking inquiry was very last minute for an international journey (4 weeks away).
4. They had unverified ID and looked about 19-20 years old in their profile picture.
5. They did not provide a full name.
6. Last but not least, although they insisted they required time to pay off the 3 night stay, they seemed to be able to afford a return flight from the US to New Zealand to stay for 3 nights only, before leaving the country again... riiiiiiight.
On the basis of the above, we are fairly sure they intended to hold up and purge their ingested drug parcels in our bathroom over the course of 3 days...