Cancelling reservation due to inappropriate guest contact?

[Kerry11]

Hi All,

A guest has contacted me outside of Airbnb by SMS asking me if he can bring additional guests, I have told him no but his communication makes me feel uncomfortable and I don't want to host him anymore.

Can I cancel his reservation? It is 2 months away.

Thanks for your help,

Kerry

[Monica4 · Accepted solution]

@Kerry11 If you cancel you will receive a penalty from Airbnb, your calendar will be blocked for those dates and you will lose or not get the Superhost status. Do not cancel but contact Airbnb (their facebook is a good way to get someone) and tell them what you have written here and that you no longer feel comfortable hosting this guest. Ask Airbnb to find them other accommodation. They will do it.

[Kerry11]

Thank you so much, I was thinking cancelling couldn't have been the only open. That has definitely put my mind at ease 🙂

[Dan2]

@Monica4, I notice you mention FB (FaceBook) is the best way to reach AirBnb. That's good to know as I've had miserable luck in the past actually reaching anyone there in a timely way. Would you be willing to share more details about how to find them on FB?

Thanks!

Dan

[Monica4]

@Dan2 I don't know if this link will work for you....if it does, just type your message/problem on their timeline:

https://www.facebook.com/airbnb/?fref=ts

[Anne112]

I am brand new to AirBnb, and have my first guests staying now, and had a reservation for a single guy to come this Sunday to Thursday.  He wasn't verified, and didn't have any reviews, but I accepted him anyway.  He didn't fill out the guest questionnaire, so Airbnb cancelled his reservation wtih me.  He is texting me now, on SMS rather than through Airbnb, asking if he can just pay me cash bc he cannot get the reservation to reset.

I am on hold wiht Airbnb for the next 30 minutes to ask why they cancelled him.  I don't know anything aobut the questionnaire, do you?

Something doesn't feel right.  Shoudl I just let this guy go and leave it cancelled?  I feel kind of vulnerable now, and not worth the risk to have a creeper... I told him I don't want the cash, we need to do it all through Airbnb.

  any feedback for me?

[David126]

Tell him you only book through AirBnB and he needs to sort it with AirBnB so he can make the reservation.

[Maria238]

What David said. Let it go through airbnb. 

[Jamie5]

I wish I knew about this FB page for help.   I was desperate and felt very uncomfortable and vulnerable, as well, with a guest I just cancelled his reservation that he made a week ago.  I cancelled 3 days prior to his arrival.  I have rented my home 10 times with STELLAR reviews and July 1st I would have earned Super Host Status.   

The request from my guest (right from the beginning) didn't feel right in so many ways.  I won't go into details but I reached out for more information about this guest and found many discrepancies in what he said and portrayed.  Information found was that he used several aliases, addresses and phone numbers that were not jiving with the infomation he provided.   Gut instinct told me that I would be safer cancelling this reservation than to make a potentially bad decision all for a BADGE of recognition. 

Next concern I have will be to inquire with the Community Center and now with the FB page. 

Thanks for sharing. 

[Lois-and-Darryl0]

We are listing our vacation home very soon, so reading lots of reviews and doing research.  I'm sorry for your concerns of a guest, and have read a few similar stories, and am curious to learn how anyone finds out that someone has been less than honest when writing about themselves.  How do you learn they are using an alias?  Or claiming activity or history that isn't true?  Can someone explain how one learns this information?  Thanks!