Possible 3rd Party booking Guests arriving tomorrow

[James1278]

I have a guest that supposed to be arriving tomorrow (let's' call him Joe).  He used instant booking to reserve 4 guests for 10 nights and the only info he gave is that "We just need a quiet place to sleep."  When he booked, I immediately responded with a question of how he would like the beds made up since there are two beds that are convertibles sofa/beds.  I never got a response.  One week before check-in, I repeated the question via Airbnb messaging and still didn't get a response.  Three days before check-in, I repeated the question again via Airbnb messaging and included other info such as self check-in codes etc.,  and still no response.  Two days before check-in, I sent a message to Joe via e-mail and text to say that I had send multiple messages via Airbnb messaging and not received any response and wanted to make sure he got the information.  I got a response from Joe this morning (just one-and-a-half days before check-in) saying that he forwarded the information to Jeff and John who are already on their way.  I responded to the text  immediately with "Are Jeff and John part of your party and will you be here before or after they arrive?", but again no response.

My suspicion is that Joe isn't actually coming but he either booked my listing for his employees (he owns a business according to his Linked-in profile) or for other family members (he grew up in my metropolitan area even though he now lives 1500 miles away).

What should I do if my guests arrive tomorrow afternoon and none of them are "Joe"?

I read some previous discussions, like this one:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/3rd-Party-Reservations/m-p/328701#M43173

But while it seems like good advice, it's a lot of effort and doesn't really help me understand what practical resoutions hosts have reached in the past using the method.

[Robin4]

@James1278

Hi James, yeah it does have the tones of a 3rd party booking doesn't it.

You can say via that email link you managed to catch him on........."We welcome all Airbnb guests, but as you may know Airbnb has a protection scheme which protects both hosts and guests. Part of this protection scheme requires all guests who will be staying in the listing to be discloed by name to Airbnb on the reservation confirmation. I am sure you can appreciate un-disclosed guests create an unacceptable risk not only for us as the hosts, but you as the guest. Can you please attend to this as a matter of urgency because I will not be in a position to grant entry to guests who have not been declared on the reservation confirmation"

Something like that should flush him out James.

Good luck mate.

Cheers.....Rob

[James1278]

Is the part about guests being disclosed by name true, @Robin4?  I admit that I'm a newbie because I've been hosting for only 2 weeks and have hosted only two groups of guests so far, but Airbnb has never provided me with a list of guest names.   All I see is the name of the guest that booked and then "Guest 2", "Guest 3", "Guest 4" etc.   Basically, all I know is that I have 4 guests arriving and one of them is supposed to be "Joe". 

[Robin4]

@James1278

No James technically it is not true, but the guest doesn't know that, and it does spur them into action, they either come clean and offer to make a compromise to keep things back on track or they cancel.

As far as the naming is concerned, when a guest books they are required to furnish the names of other guests staying plus their email addresses if they have one. Airbnb may disclose those names or they may not if instructed by the host.....and James many guests just ignore that but, once again, the guest does not know that. A bit of bluff goes a long way in this business James.

Congratulations on joining us mate and I hope your hosting career can be as rewarding as mine and many others here has been.

All the best James

Cheers.....Rob

[Sarah977]

@James1278  And if he doesn't respond ASAP to that message @Robin4 suggested, I'd contact Airbnb and let them read the "guest" the TOS he's possibly violating.

I actually never let this non-response thing go on too long. If I send a guest a message with no response, and then another asking them to please respond, and they still don't, I contact Airbnb. The 2 times it happened to me, the guest responded right away after Airbnb got ahold of them. In both cases the reason was something understandable (one guest was away for a week where there was no Wifi, the other had a death in her immediate family) but it's too stressful for a host to have their messages go unanswered for too long and could indicate a possible bad scenario.

[James1278]

So, I got a call from Jeff about an hour after normal check-in today saying he was supposed to check-in but had only the address and not any additional information.  I told him that Joe said he forwarded the information to him, but he said the only information Joe forwarded did not have check-in details.

It turns out that Jeff and John are employees of Joe.  They are selling their company products at  a couple of events in the Phoenix area and also Las Vegas.  Joe is the owner, is always busy traveling and so he isn't good about responding to everything.  Joe is arriving on Wednesday with another employee.  I talked to the Jeff and John and felt comfortable with their explanation and plans.  Better up-front communiction from Joe up would have prevented the misunderstanding, and of course, he really should follow the correct process to properly do 3rd party bookings for employees.  I'll make the suggestion to his employess and to him if I am able to talk with him when he's here.  Otherwise, I'll make the suggestion in the private comment of the review I leave for him, not that he'll ever read it.

[Ava30]

@James1278, sounds like you have it dialed, for now. Joe can set up a Business AirBnB account for future similar trips that involve booking for employees. These are the ONLY 3rd party bookings that AirBnB will support. You might want to add to your House Rules that you need the names off ALL the adults in the group before you will send Check In Instructions/codes, etc. I have it in mine and in my Welcome message I remind the booking guest that I need that information please. Most are happy to give it, some need a couple more prompts. If the other guests have their own AirBnB profile, they can attach them to the reservation. I have had a couple that have done that and it’s quite helpful. Good Luck!