Last month I declined a guest because he was a local, stated he lived in Seattle and chose my place for a little staycation. I’m not next to any tourist sites. Turns out since I had declined him last, he gained five more reviews all over Seattle and all positive. Even rented a house with his friends. Is this worth accepting him? Or what penalty will I get from Airbnb if I decline again?
We have never had a problem with local guests. Of course we house-share. Maybe I’d feel differently if I were renting out a whole house or whole apartment.
Why do you decline local guests?
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I’ve accepted one local guest because he was in the middle of a divorce. I declined this one because he wanted to staycation at my place. It feels odd about having a local staycation when I have no tourist sites or spectacular views or special amenities of any sort.
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Well, it’s up to you. We’ve had a number of local staycationers. It’s been just fine. One stayed here for four or five days, mainly reading her books. One couple stayed here to swim in our pool every evening and sleep as long as they wanted in the morning. Another woman stayed here because her husband’s family was at her house, and she didn’t want to be around their visiting kids.
We’ve had others, too. All good.
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Take him direct then - no worries about reviews. You have his contact info …
If the guest previously submitted a reservation request and was declined, the contact info would never be shared, right?
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Good point. Yeah. Anyway, considering his reviews, I don’t see an issue with hosting him.
Sometimes a staycation is just that - “getting away from home”. We have had a spectacular guest with us every 1-2 weeks for “daytime stays” of 9 am - about 3 pm for a day or two. An occasional overnight. For her it was just so she could take a breather from her life. A fabulous guest and super nice person. She regularly left us cards and/or little gifts every time.
Why don’t you have a friendly conversation with him. Simply ask him why he wants to books your place for a staycation, what he is hoping for and point out that you are not sure if you meet his needs for such a break.
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I think that is the best advice. I don’t know what kind of listing you have, but assuming it’s an entire place, the real risk is that he’s looking for a place to party with friends. Hopefully, you can mitigate that in your conversation.
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If he has all positive reviews, I would accept his booking. Just because he’s a local doesn’t mean he’ll be trouble. Is your place a whole houde rental? He might live in an apt and wishes to rent a house so he can BBQ and sit out in the deck.
I just want to add my comments to the hosts who have said that they’ve had no problems with local guests - neither have I. 
There are dozens of reasons why a guest might stay with hosts in their own local area and I’ve done it myself several times. (And I think I’m a splendid guest).
Most of us have had guests who have been less-than-perfect but haven’t found that that’s a reason to not accept guests from the same place or same age or whatever. I’m not sure about being penalised because I use IB but I wouldn’t base acceptances/declines on that criteria.
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LOL! That was exactly what we had expected as her initial motive and there was some friendly Q&A that went back and forth before we agreed. The truth was entirely innocent and she is just the sweetest person. She literally needed some “mommy alone time”. We can’t wait to have her back.
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I understand being a little hesitant on accepting a local guest. I feel the same way when someone has a brand new account with no reviews requesting to book from local area. I politely ask them a few questions to gauge what type of guests they could be.
Thanks for your interest in staying at our vacation home. I would like to have you as our guest, but I noticed you don’t have any reviews in your profile. My wife and I devoted a lot of time and resources to this home and we are taking measures to rent it to responsible guests.
Do you mind answering few questions?
How many people are in your group?
What are your plans when you are staying here?
Have you used Airbnb before?
Sincerely,
Jimmy
How they respond sometimes helps my decision to accept or not.
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I have no problems at all with local guests. In fact, they have often been our best guests. However, I probably wouldn’t book someone who I had previously declined. People get out of sorts about being declined and so I wouldn’t want to chance a bad vibe or even possible retribution.
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Have them register, register, register and request to see govt photo ID for verification. As part of your house rules let them know that they MUST fill out a registration form and show govt photo ID at checkin or within 24hr of checkin. Hotels do it, why cant hosts and we pay hotel tax now. This way you’ll be able to find out and verify his name and address. Have him sign the registration form this way he is held to the form he completed. Don’t rely on Airbnb to get this info bc they will not give it to you. All of this seems a lot at 1st but it only takes a minute and will give you a whole lot piece of mind… hope this helps 