Young man booked house for 1 night - 7 guests

[Jasmine76]

Hi, you know when a set of circumstances just makes your intuition do backflips?

This man by his picture does not look over 18. He has booked my 4x2 home with a pool for one night. 7 people. 

Besides the age concern, the alarm bells are ringing because he is from a suburb only 20 mins away. So for what purpose would his group of 7 want to be doing. 

I dont feel comfortable and i didnt get a chance to confirm a booking cause i allow instant bookins. 

I only just started hosting. Home becomes available late April and suddenly i am feeling very vulnerable and scared of who i am letting into my home. 

How can i go about polite ensuring my place is not going to get trashed or cancel this young mans booking?

Jas.

[Coln0]

Instant Book hosts can cancel 100% penalty-free under certain circumstances.

Unlimited cancellations

Hosts never have to host a reservation they’re uncomfortable with.

Some examples of when a host can cancel penalty-free include:

1. The guest has several unfavorable reviews that concern the host

2. The guest hasn’t responded to questions the host needs to know about their trip

3. The guest makes it clear they’ll likely break one of the host’s house rules, like bringing a pet or smoking

3 cancellations per year

As long as they do so within 24 hours of booking, Instant Book hosts can cancel penalty-free up to 3x a year if they’re booked on days that should’ve been blocked.

100% penalty-free

Penalty-free means:

• No cancellation fee
• No automated cancellation review
• No loss of Superhost eligibility
• No permanently blocked dates

Nevertheless, under whatever circumstances, DO NOT cancel on your own, engage Airbnb to cancel for you.

[Christine615]

Yes, in box them and ask what the purpose of the trip is for. And mention they live close.

Honestly - sometimes it is because family it coming into town and there is no place to put them. But you are entitled to know who is coming in the group. 

[Sarah977]

@Jasmine76   You might want to consider turning off Instant Book until you have some experience in hosting. It will lower you in the search rankings, but can make things a lot simpler and less stressful.

[Matthew285]

@Jasmine76 your place looks like an incredible value!

Do entire 4 bedroom homes with a pool really go for $85/night where you are?

In addition to being a great value, it seems like a wonderful place to throw a party.

Except for the fact that parties aren't allowed.

Are you close to the listing? Some hosts let the guests know that they will be checking names and IDs of all the guests staying on the property at check-in time... and that they will be stopping by to make sure there is no party going on.

When the guests find out that the host is actually going to enforce the house rules, often that makes the guest cancel and decide to book somewhere else.

If you make it completely clear to the guest that you will be making sure all your house rules will be followed, it should scare them off if they are planning to have a party.

[Kelly149]

@Jasmine76 please strengthen your listing by adding more description, more rules and a real profile for yourself. Also use the search here in CC to look up some posts about parties, additional guests, house rules, etc.

While you're reading, click on the picture of any host who you think has a sensible POV and then go look at how they have setup their listing. You will get some great ideas as to ways to improve your listing and how to help prevent problem stays.

BTW, if you reach out to ABB about this reservation absolutely DO NOT say that you are concerned that this guest is 18 (ABB is absolutely ok with 18YOs renting and they expect you to be good with it as well -- Age Discrimination). You may however be concerned that he has an inadequate profile, that he isn't returning your messages, that he won't tell you who or why they are coming to your house, etc

Please come back and tell us what happens, good luck

[Jasmine76]

Hi everyone and thanks for your imput.

I will be changing from Instant bookings to one that requires me to screen and have the choice to decline. 

I have contacted the booker and asked for proof of ID for himself and all other 6 guests. I have also stated that as the next door neighbour is a police officer, parities would not be allowed at the property to ensure everyone satisfaction with the AirBnB arrangments. I have also mentioned to him that a number of neighbours across the street have security cameras, so in light of these factors I would understand if he felt the property would not be suitable and offered for him to cancel.  I have not mentioned anything about age. 

I provided the reasons I am requesting the ID is due to him being a brand new AirBnB member with no prior history or reviews.  I advised that if he does not provide me with the ID requirements and information on what he wants to use the property for within 24 hours then I will cancel the booking.

Once i get this booking cancelled then I can increase the price and put in a few more safety measures. I am also worried that if I change the instant bookings now then AirBnB will dispute my rights to cancel no obligation within 24 hours.

I problem I now have is I dont know how to cancel the booking through AirBnB. I know how to cancel the booking through my profile and such but that is cancelling it myself.  How do I actually speak to someone from AirBnB?

Thanks all who provided imput!

[Matthew285]

@Jasmine76 to contact Airbnb:

On your Help page, near the bottom right is a "Contact us" button.
Or you can use this link: https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact_us

Once you are on the "Contact us" page, choose "Its something else"

This will give you the choice to either exchange messages with AirBnB or to speak to someone on the phone.
(Using the "Contact us" by phone gives you the option to have them call you, so you don't have to wait on hold.)

If you don't mind waiting on the phone:

Australia: +61 2 8520 3333
United States +1-415-800-5959 +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free)

[Jasmine76]

Contacted AirBnB, (still couldnt find the number of the webpage, but it is clearly displayed on the facebook page)  

AirBnB confirmed that I could cancel without penalty. 

So I cancelled the booking with a message to the booker saying that if he wanted to request another booking once he had all the information and ID i would look at discussing with him further a booking. 

I felt this way I am not making any judgements and leaving the door open for him to come up with the goods, and make another booking, this time i gave him the expectation that i would want more clarity and his agreement to house rules. 

My bet he will not come back to me with the information and it will be good riddens.

I have taken the opportunity to opt out of Instand bookings and also increased my price to $120 per night.  I think this is fair considering what is around our area at the moment, slightly cheaper, but I am only just beginning.  

I hope people book.

Regards

Jasmine