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Ok this is wierd.
Elderly grandpa booked months ago for a stay with daughter (my age) and granddaughter (teen).
He actually booked thru wife’s account (I know red flag but it’s his wife he’s in the profile photo with her they have tons of reviews).
Had perfectly fine friendly correspondence about checking In next week.
Then out of the blue sends me a text saying my profile photo looks really cute and I must have a problem with other guests flirting with me.
How to react?
Email the text message to your home computer and save the file.
I have no idea what your rental is or whether you live on site? If you live onsite and having him there would make you uncomfortable, CALL Air CS to ask THEM to give you a no-fault cancellation.
He texted rather than messaged on Air. The content is inappropriate. If the text was from HIS phone and not Grandma’s number that Air gives you can block calls from his number.
Then you can send an Air message to Grandma’s account:
A friendly reminder to all our guests: All of our messaging with guests must occur on the AirBnB platform.
I think that would stop it! Of course, a cancellation would probably lead to Grandma trying to find out why her AirBnB account is disabled…
She’s probably used to it: “oh that’s just Joe, he doesn’t mean anything by it.”
So it’s a separate apartment so after check in I won’t see him anymore.
I don’t want to overreact I mean maybe he’s just a grandpa trying awkwardly to be nice?
‘I wouldn’t keep that photo here on xxx if I were you: you’ll get old guys, my age, flirting with you telling you how cute you are! ‘
Does that seem wierd to anyone?
Yes I guess this would help
Unfortunately I don’t find it practical to use the Airbnb platform for arrival communication you can’t send photos, numbers, urls, localisation they can click into google maps etc.
They also often don’t have the app installed and don’t answer Airbnb messages.
So for practical reasons I am
Communicating outside the platform and opening myself up to this risk.
I would respond with “I didn’t realise that a dinosaur was coming to stay. Thank you for letting me know.”
@lililou1 this guy is being completely out of order and creepy. I agree message back on the platform and say that all communications should be kept on the platform. I would flag this guy with Airbnb.
As has been mentioned to you before, there is no reason for you to be communicating with your guests outside of the platform.
You can use the tools on the platform to help people check in and find you.
I have photo’s in my guest book and a screen shot of a map with the location and I have photos of my check in process uploaded for guests who self check in.
i give guests directions to reach me via the airport, via the motorway, by train, by bus and by coach.
Yes some guests don’t regularly check in on the platform but will simply take the postcode and address and use google maps to locate where you live.
I have had literally hundreds of guests in three and a half years and have not had one guest who wasn’t able to use my check in process using the platform. That includes guests from 18 to my recent guest who was 81 and guests from countries including India, China, Hungary, US, Australia, Turkey, Spain, Brazil, Singapore and Malaysia.
yes humour is probably best!
Still I’m a bit weirded out.
He also wants to extend his stay for a few days but outside of airbnb and come back for a few days later also outside the platform. Now I’m hesitant about this we’ll see when we meet him.
I’m remote and my property manager does not use Airbnb so yes in fact there is a need to communicate outside the platform to set up the check in meeting.
Wow, youre really fabulous.
The guests being able to check in without me having to communicate with them outside the platform has nothing to do with me 
so I can’t take any credit.
It’s to do with guests being able to use the platform or google maps. On the odd occasion a guest has been delayed or couldn’t find me, they have called me or text me @lililou1
By the way I wouldn’t want a married guest who thinks its appropriate to flirt with me trying to book by himself off platform.
You can send them via the unique Airbnb email address that Airbnb generates for each reservation. Then you can just attached the info but it’s still party of Airbnb’s record.
I’m really wondering what the point of the post is. You want to know if it’s inappropriate? No, you know it’s inappropriate. You want to know what to do about it? No, you’ve made up your mind that you are going to host and meet.
I look forward to your post inviting us all to the wedding.
How elderly old is he? If he’s in his 70’s or 80’s he came along at a different time and may be clueless flirting isn’t appreciated. Also it seems as men start developing memory problems they lose the “inappropriate comment” filter. They seem to feel the need to prove “they’ve still got it”.
After the crap many women my age had to deal with in the workplace in the late 70’s & 80’s I’m glad to see women empowered to speak up and declare things inappropriate thus not take it any more
However NOT every foolish comment by every foolish man needs to be a call to take action. Key phase here —FOOLish man
Just keep the conversation professional and insist he use only the platform to communicate.
When I get in my 90s, I want to be the character who zooms her scooter behind a young man, does a butt grab, hollers “whoo hoo” then putters off giggling. I doubt he will feel threatened.
Call Airbnb and cancel, let him explain it to his wife.
Clearly you are uncomfortable with this guy.
RR
We are kindred spirits:)
RR
If you are using the app, and if it’s a booked guest, you should be able to send photos, urls, google maps, phone #s. I provide all of that prior to a guest arriving as well as during their stay (I.e. Yelp restaurant advice, departure instructions)
It’s when it is still an inquiry that you are limited. And it is odd that, unlike the app, the website still does not allow pictures to be sent, even after booking.
Can I join in too please? 
My late dad, born in the twenties, always flirted with every woman he came across. Waitresses in restaurants, cabin crew on aeroplanes, receptionists in hotels, any female at all.
It was normal in those days.
Did that make it right? No. But it did make us tough enough to know how to deal wih it. And that was usually to laugh it off as it was no big deal at all.
As an elderly grandma married to an elderly grandpa, I have to agree with @Annet3176 and I like her compassionate take on this. We all tend to lose our inhibitions a bit as we age and what was allowed in the 60’s isn’t looked on as appropriate now. I think he is trying to be “gallant” and it’s highly unlikely he will take it any further. You could either respond with humour “Well, they may be put off by my Black Belt in Karate” or just carry on being cool and professional as you seem to be doing already.
And I absolutely flirt with nice young men … but in a very proper way, of course!
OK, message received, my posts are inappropriate.
My 30 years of VRBO holiday renting experience is not of interest. Yes “I get a huge amount of free advice from this site”.
But apparently my offers of help and my attempts to share my experience are inadequate and uninteresting.
The reason for my post was, to get a feeling if I was over-reacting or not.
And thanks to many kind users, I did get a feel that this was possibly just a clumsy old grandpa who grew up in another era.
I’m taking myself off this forum, so I won’t burden you with any more of my dumb posts.