Do you ever get a bad feeling about a guest?

I sometimes google my guests names and usually don’t see anything alarming but I have this time and am feeling very uneasy about hosting this guest. I thought they could not have a criminal record? Isn’t that a requirement? Do you google a guests name to see what you find and have you ever found anything alarming?

I look some of my guests up… mainly the new to Air guests. I have yet to see anything alarming. Did you find a criminal record for a guest!!! Perhaps call Air and tell them?

If this were a requirement, how could AirBnB know if someone has a criminal record?
If you’re really uncomfortable with it, I guess it depends on the charges, maybe call AirBnB to express your concerns.
On the other hand, people who have done their time should get a second chance.

I sometimes get a bad feeling with guests who’s profile says they’re from country A, their profile phone number is from country B, they say they are from country C, one of their reviews mentions country D and when I google them I find them living in our city (country E)… But even then, in the end there was always a logical explanation and they were good guests.

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I have had that feeling in the past and the majority of the time all is well but it does happen that your gut feeling is right. In my case it was a guest who had an outstand warrant for assault and battery and a host of other charges. I called ABB and had them cancel because “I didn’t feel comfortable” and explained why. They cancelled w/o penalty.

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I believe they do random criminal background checks. I’ve been told by a host that they experienced this firsthand. Assuming they were truthful then I’d say yes. Airbnb does claim that they do random background checks. What they do if they find something in every case is unknown. Not all crimes are the same. I’m not so worried about someone who was stopped for DUI and then assaulted a cop because I know cops will charge some people with assault if they so much as touch them. OTOH if they are charged with burglary of a habitation or sexual assault I don’t want them at my place.

I rarely have time. I usually do it if I have reason to think I will find something interesting. For example when I have artists stay I google to see their art.

Not yet but I’ve only hosted about 600 people. :wink:

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I have before, but mostly if they are local, and that is because of this forum and people that claim to have had problems with local guests, etc. I have found things before (pm me if you want to talk) but mostly nothing. Knock on wood, we’ve had nice people.

More disconcerting to me was the one group I thought would be good was my nightmare group. And people that I was nervous about were fine. Goes to show, my “intuition” sucks, haha.

As for finding actual proof of a criminal record… Wow. Hum… Depends what it is for. But I do think I’d be nervous, because that is just my nature as a worrier.

Last year, I googled a guests traveling companion and found that she had recently been charged with possession and manufacturing of meth, as well as committing an armed robbery. I contacted Air to have the guest register her companion with Air, thinking that they would deny her due to her criminal background. Turns out she already had an active account, so I cancelled the reservation.

And defining a criminal record is ambiguous. How do you define it. Are you worried about arrests or only convictions? What about all those sealed juvenile records? When you see a stat quote like “40% of white males have been arrested by the age of 23” does it make your eyes pop out?

For me I would only be concerned about convicted felons, certain crimes, I need a time frame. It’s just too much to worry about.

Hell, I know half the crap my friends did when they were teens. None of which they got in trouble for. Truth is, you never know.

It’s situational and a personal call for each host and their comfort level. We each have our own very different situations and judgment to make. That’s the scary beauty of this world.

I know what would be a problem for me, and I’m sure some of those things would resonate with some hosts and completely bounce off others.

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Your friends? :wink:

We have had people report really creepy and bad behavior here on the forum that for me would disqualify a guest. There have been two recent stories of guests who returned to a rental and let themselves in where they had previously booked. In one case it was reported and Airbnb did nothing. In he other case the host doesn’t know who the person is so can’t report them. Now that’s two that we know of from the forum. How often is that happening nationwide. How many hosts aren’t even monitoring their own property and don’t even really know? {Shudders}

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Oh yes, I was an angel. :joy::rofl::joy::rofl:

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Those stories terrify me, and make me thank my caretaker (often!) for being my eagle eye lookout.

The past year has been a trip outside my comfort zone, often. But it’s been worth it … I think. My taxes are done yet :wink:

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In Ontario you cannot access a person’s criminal history as Jane Q Public without their permission, and it’s not free.

On the other hand you can evict someone sharing your home immediately.

All I did was google a name and a very bad thing came up about the guest. Something they did that was in the news.

I am uneasy with people who are brand new guests and don’t have a picture (after booking). They put a dog or a landscape or things like these. I also don’t like when they they dont say hello and tell me why they are coming, although explicitly I asked for this in the abb profile. then I asked them and usually they respond, but some don’t and then it becomes very unpleasant. And yes, a couple of times, these guests I had bad feelings about turned out to be nightmare people.

Also one time I had a guest who did time for being a pedofile (I googled him). But, since he was gay and I a single woman, he was no threat to me. On the other hand I had a guest broke into my bedroom at night. I screamed and he said he stumbled on the hallway and fell on my door, which opened and that it was an accident. I had a bad feeling about the fellow from the very beginning. He had a very unclear photo, with just half of his face in the picture and even that was shadowed by a baseball cap. Needless to say I called ABB and asked them to remove him immediately.