I had a Man apply yesterday for 2 nights in October, total of 6 people in his family. Initially he had NO Verifications or References and No Picture. I didn’t except, (he only got one verification) and asked him to cancel. He never did so the Request just expired.
Now his wife applied, one Verification, NO References or Picture. We have approved 7 different reservations, but all had pictures, good references and all verifications. We are basically fairly new Hosts.
She ONLY wrote 6 people visiting family - like I wouldn’t get this is the same folks because of the same 2 days in October. Actually he kept posting stuff and mentioned his last name and from the Bay area. So I have looked them up in Facebook, Zaba and a couple other sites and cannot find these folks. I am feeling a little creeped out at this point- do not understand why they don’t move on to another house?
Because they want to book yours. 
Well the new policy is that you do not get to see the photo before they book so you can rule that one out. If they are new to ABB there will be no reviews or they could have stayed 50 places and no one reviewed them. With the security of people’s privacy being able to locate individuals is becoming more difficult, I searched for my son and can’t find him anywhere even though he is on social media. Of course, you have the right to deny or approve the individuals that stay in your home, just beware that if you refuse enough individuals you can be removed from the web site or put on “probation” with certain expectations required along with you listing being less exposed causing fewer bookings. There are a lot of individuals that are first time users that will have no reviews but end up being great guests.
I keep seeing it written about not seeing photos but I ALWAYS do even for requests…
If the guest requesting your property makes you uncomfortable- just say no and then block those nights for a bit. Its far enough out that youd likely get a different booking in the future.
Air might not have activated the No Photos thing worldwide simultaneously, so not everyone would be affected at the same time.
It may also depend on your country. Airbnb in the US has had legal challenges over host discrimination.
You could maintain a policy of never accepting guests without previous reviews, but you could be missing out on great guests. As @jaquo has pointed out many times, none of this existed when she started out hosting in the B&B business. I try to think of it as an aide and not a crutch.
Sounds like they really want your place. Also sounds like a fairly $$ booking. Why not ask them to get verified?
I am not sure what the issue is?
You will not see a picture until after booking anyway. Is this for rooms in a shared house or whole house listing? If whole house save yourself the agony and go on instant book. All this vetting is meaningless anyway, air does not share the ID, you will not see the picture, and who cares if you do? It seems like some hosts just do not want to host.
I get ID from every guest and that is more meaningful than any verifications that I am not privy to or gut feelings.
RR
I’ve only been hosting for 2 months and almost all of the inquiries I’ve received (about 10 total) are exactly like yours. My listing requires the Airbnb minimum verifications (e-mail and phone) plus verified government ID, but I don’t require previous host recommendations. Every single inquiry is from a person with either just a phone number or just an e-mail and, not surprisingly, all but one were first-time users. I politely reply to their inquiry and I also inform them that they will need to complete the verifications in their profile before I will pre-approve the reservation. I also tell them that once they have the verifications, they can simply instant-book, which is easier for them.
The Airbnb system correctly refuses to let guests submit a reservation-request or instant-book until they have the required verifications, so they are never a problem. However, for the inquiries, it nags me to pre-approve or decline within 24 hours, but since there is no penalty for not doing so on an inquiry, I just let the time expire if they don’t contact me again. So far, about half of these guests completed their verifications and then instant-booked and the other half never responded again.
I would probably decline them because they come off as pushy and the types who won’t take no for an answer.
Sounds like the kind of people who would be a PITA.
I agree with @MissSwan and @Brian_R170 - block the dates for a week or so, let the inquiry expire, and request them to complete the verification process. I’ve done these things myself when I’ve had the “double team” approach and they’ve gone away. Or raise your rates for those dates by $10 or $20 a night. The one time I broke my own rules about verification, I had a big problem with that guest. Thankfully, Airbnb sided with me and he’s no longer on the platform.
I don’t understand why anyone would block dates that could preclude other guests from finding and/or booking you, especially since you already said no to these folks or just want them to do their verifications.
The booking isnt for a while so it isnt a big risk at this point to block it out and get rid of this couple.
Because they do not want to host. The verifications are meaningless because Air does not share them. So many people throwing up barriers, worrying about red flags and not hosting. I don’t get it.
RR
happened to me a few times - its rare - contact airbnb office in your city and tell them - flag them - airbnb will deal with it -
if you need to cancel booking do so if you can - again ask office