I know this comment is a little old now, but I didn’t see anyone else mention this: you don’t need to decline/pre-approve “Inquiries”. Inquiries differ from booking requests in that they’re seen as more of ‘questions’ vs someone actually wanting to stay at your home. If you just leave an inquiry as is, nothing will happen. You should respond though (unless it’s spam like this one, in which case report it), because not responding quickly can hurt your response rate.
Hi everyone
Here’s what looks like phishing I received (and reported) this morning:
Hello, how are things going? Due to the situation in the region, I was sent from my firm as a medical doctor to your region. I really liked your apartment, it seems very cozy. It will be very appropriate for me. I’m already waiting for the trip. But I have several questions. Please contact me in VVh * aaats a-p, number plusš F0-ur, tvvo and 0, then 7 and again 7, then goes tth_ree, 0nnè, fIv ve and 1~ thre;e, ends with 9’8”. Hope to hear from you soon!
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Did it start like this?
“Hey, how’s it going? Due to the situation in the region, I was sent from my firm as a nurse to your country. I really liked your apartment, it seems very cozy. It will be very convenient for me. I’m already waiting for this trip. But I have several questions. Please contact me in VVh * aaats a-p number plusš (f - our), 0 and ТW0, then sееve’ntys even, then goes tth_ree, 0n=e, oo n e and f I’ve ТН.Rее, ends with niiñe eigght’t. See you soon!”
(number changed to protect the … somebody)
I thought this was strange. 0 reviews as they’d just joined. No photo or even dog or cartoon.
“Situation in the region” seemed oddly vague. It is a campsite, not a small apartment. It has no shower, so not appropriate for a nurse. Also, why only stay for 2 nights? Why immediately ask to chat via WhatsApp? I asked questions. No answers. Got this: “Hi there! My colleague sent requests to several people, including you, and we just noticed that some messages were not delivered correctly. So, here’s the number, in case you didn’t receive it: (same way of getting across the number, which is a Czech number), ends with 98. Thank you!” Needless to say, I declined.
If these come as Inquiries, don’t lower your acceptance rate by declining- just report them as a scam.
Ooh, didn’t know it was a bad thing, just trying to keep response rate up.
I send a MASSIVE special offer…responded in a positive way and they never accept 
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Well, if you do too many declines, Airbnb starts sending you warning messages. You never have to either pre-approve or decline an Inquiry anyway- just messaging back is all you need to do to keep up your stats. So if you get a scammer inquiry, you could just message back “No” or " Do you think I was born yesterday, you slimey scammer?", report it, and forget it.
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I got an offer like this. It seemed really dodgy. It stated: Hi! Myy name is Jan. I’m ccoming to your ciity from Warsaw, Pooland for a short round off business meetings. From all available Airbnb apartments, yours really stood out. But there is one thing I’d like to talk about before I make my reservation. My plan is to stay aat my friend’s place, bbut my boss is covering tthe acccommodation fee. How about I still book your place, NOT move into it, so we ccan share the reental fee that my employer covers as a part of business trip expenses. If you arre interested, find me…
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That was exactly it, Janice. Obviously a thing. I did respond (with a bit of a “how dare you” mail) and reported whoever it was to AirBnB - but I guess they use the spray-and-pray approach and sooner or later get a bite…
While probably not scammers, still some odd things. Last evening there was more activity with people sending inquires than I’ve seen in awhile, one for this upcoming weekend and two for May.
But another one starting the next day, with travel from NY.
7PM (Monday): Request for 7 day booking starting Tuesday
- no reviews, no profile information, “new” to AirBNB
- I respond with my standard request for information and for identification to be on file with AirBNB
- she responds that she normally uses another account; This raised more red flags (for me).
- I suggest she use that one, especially if it has the appropriate information and reviews
8:12PM (Monday): Instant Book from (I assume) the husband
- has one 5star review
- I provide my typical booking and logistical information and ask if he has any questions and about what time they planned to arrive.
- He advises about 5:30pm the next day.
- I ask if he has any questions, needs, etc. No reply
I thought it was odd that someone would be booking a place to stay at for a week, only 12 hours prior to boarding a plane. I still have my strict cancellation policy, but still had bad feeling about this booking, and then this morning it took an even a stranger turn:
4:36AM (Tuesday): A messages from the guest "Hi I just got the bad news that my grandfather passed away so I won’t be able to come I have to cancel all my reservations I’m so sorry I really wanted to come stay by your place. "
7:06AM (Tuesday) My response: “I am sorry for your loss; please go through Airbnb to cancel your reservation“
- He then submited a COVID19 cancellation request that requires host approval.
- I decline and advise again that he needs to contact AirBNB and submit documentation regarding the death of his family member.
11:30AM (Tuesday) still no cancellation
- I contact CS to see if they have any idea if he is going to show up or not
- They call him and get back to me that they were “able to get in contact with your guest, and they informed me they would not be making the reservation. They stated they would not be able to provide any documentation for the extenuating circumstance, so I have advised them that your cancellation policy will apply if they choose to cancel. “
Since he hasn’t cancelled and will not be showing up, my calendar is still blocked. I should get paid but should they later provide EC documentation, they will be refunded. -> I would thought that if they wanted such a refund, that they would need to cancel and not hold my calendar hostage. CS advised that I could contact the guest and work out something where if they cancel I’d refund them any days that get rebooked.
I chose not to have any further conversations with the guests, and just let it ride:
- If it were a typical April, I’d be more concerned about the calendar being blocked.
- since they said that they were not able to provide EC documentation. I get the feeling there were other reasons for wanting to cancel and the dead grandfather was the proverbial “dog ate my homework”.
I would hold my ground on the cancellation policy.
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Definitely! I’ve learned that from this forum, if not from you.
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This kind of nonsense just makes me glad I’m shut down for now. It makes one wonder what they heck is going on. Are they just making reservations for fun? Do they hate Airbnb and they are trying to screw over random hosts?
Do keep us updated.
I have joined this forum just 15 minutes ago but cannot see how to ask a question, help!
You can’t start a new topic immediately as a new member, but ask away, I’m sure someone will direct you to a more suitable topic.
JF
OK. I just wanted to know if Airbnb send out partial refunds to hosts who have seen guests cancel due to Covid19 automatically or does the host have to contact Airbnb?
You’ll find more information here.
JF
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We’ve received this same request on both the Airbnb and HomeAway platforms. Definitely a scam.
Hello, can someone please give answer about this message… Scammers booked my place obviously and I receive this message on my mail:
"Hi Marko,
After a full review of your account activity, we have decided to remove you from the Airbnb community. This means you can no longer access your account and cannot create a new one.
You were removed because we determined that the payments for reservations HMH2…, HM3H… may be fraudulent.
We previously warned you about fraudulent payments on 2020-12-24.
This is a violation of the Security section of the Airbnb Community Standards, which you agreed to in the Terms of Service.
Any upcoming reservations have been canceled and guests have been notified and fully refunded.
We consider this decision final.
You can read more about removal from the Airbnb community at: "
So guests have been in my place… I receive payment and I didn’t receive any mail on 2020-12-24…I am not using any credit cards, paypall nothing only bank account… So can anybody give me answer what is happening here? Can I return back my account 100+ reviews was there… Also what about money need to give money back? I will give it, it is not small amount but to get my account back… Also, could they take money from my bank account? They took payment not me from scam credit card… What to do now? Please give me answer…