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I caught a real doozie of a newbie. It’s a classic: it was a last minute reservation, no reviews, September 2018 member, and a selfie from knees to chest. I require reviews for Instant Booking, so I ask some questions and tell him I need a real selfie and I get his full name and that of his two guests. He popped up on Facebook, so I approved the booking.
So today he wants to add another guest and I charge $20 night for guest #3 and #4, so I sent him a reservation change request. He replies “can’t I just pay cash? I’m out of the country and can’t add the money to my account.” Huh? You are travelling international and you don’t have $60 in your account or credit card? (alarm bells ring). I called customer service asking advice and telling them I was uncomfortable with the whole exchange. He mentioned the cash offer via Airbnb messaging so its all there in black and white. He miraculously paid a few minutes later. Airbnb would do nothing, telling me I could cancel, of course with the tacit threat that I would pay and lose SuperHost status for a year. I’m sitting on pins and needles!
Evidently not.The Airbnb manager didn’t seem to care.
That and the preposterous statement that he couldn’t pay because he was in another country. He’s doing a lot traveling and can’t cough up $60? So very weird!
I agree with @KenH and @RiverRock. I wouldn’t have bothered calling Airbnb. Just tell the guest on the message platform that it’s not possible. (So you have ‘evidence’ if ever required’} The end.
This concerns me. “Because” you could locate a profile on FB, you approved him? What if he didn’t use FB? Or didn’t use his real name on FB or uses a variation thereof, a nickname etc?
And even then, what credibility does FB lend? That someone exists in that area with the same name? I don’t follow.
The Facebook profile gives another match to the face and name, lifestyle choices, education, occupation, etc. Would I take it as 100% reliable? No, but I’m not hiring a Supreme Court judge
When you travel all kinds of things happen.
I was also institutions when I has cash on my hands but nothing on a card. He paid you, I don’t see a problem at all.
He paid after I contacted Airbnb. It was a flakey story. He lives in NYC, was supposedly out of the country (could just be Canada?) and this is two days before arriving in Washington state and just signed up with AirBnb (alarm bells ringing).
I’ll have a nice talk about pot smoking (it’s legal here), parties, visitors, etc.
@RiverRock - “Lifestyle choices” may refer to quantities of alcohol consumed. Many hosts/owners are nervous when the potential guest shows numerous pictures of themself in a heavily drunken state.
You may be right, or it could mean gay people. Having heard that phrase many times over the years in regards to gay people I get defensive. I could be wrong, I think I was wrong once, but I may have been mistaken…
I think being Gay is like being Irish or other birthright: not a choice— and certainly not a big deal in my city. I should be more careful with a term that can be misinterpreted.
I did very much mean seeing photos of drunken parties or risky behaviors. A lot of visitors come for the legal pot or at least as an added attraction, so that factor sits on the back burner, especially with some young 20-something guests. Most are here for regular tourist things, visiting family, or events.
Facebook doesn’t guarantee a thing, but it may be illuminating. My last search told me that the guest was trained in fashion design and is close to their family.
I’ve confirmed a guest via LinkedIn too. One had a company name only and the selfie was a photo of his building. Once I get a name out of him I found he was part of a large charity and a very good candidate as a guest.
Reading reviews takes a little reading between the lines. Hindsight is 20-20 with this. After getting a real “odd duck” guest I went back to his reviews and there were hints to his behavior. I wish hosts would be more forward with their reviews and just spit it out.
Newbies can need a little “education” and it seems to go hand-in-hand with last minute reservations. I’ve been thinking of a little intro at check in: “This is home-sharing and mutual trust and respect is important. It’s not like a motel or hotel. Think of staying here like staying with your favorite aunt.”
Maybe if you use your exact name! You can be perfectly upstanding and not have your FB profile public for anyone to creep on though. Just a thought for future…
Yes, there are other threads of hosts talking about how they don’t review or think savvy hosts know how to read between the lines. But it’s like any group of poeple, some people are just selfish.
In some western countries there are still a lot people that do not have a credit card.
I live in a country that runs on cash, people have no trust in banks an will try to avoid any debts.
I always laugh when Guests turn up with loads of cards an no cash and complain that their Amex card isn’t accepted anywhere.
For me taking cash is no issue at all.
If a guest wants to pay their extra guests in cash it’s no problem for me. No reason to cancel a booking.
Most advanced countries are moving more towards a cashless economy, for example in Scandinavia cards/phones are routine, not cash. It does cut down on money laundering etc…
