Hello everybody,
Hope you are all fine.
I am a little bit confused…I got a hostquestion from People from Bolivia. They asked me for a document/invitation/Anmeldung in Germany. If they can get it in my Appartement. I have no experience with guests from other countries. Do you have any experience with that? Thank you indeed for your help!
MOST of the hosts on AirBnb deal with people from other countries almost on a daily basis!
Guests from other countries are just like you – except they may not speak German very well.
If they sent you an Inquiry, asking questions about your place, answer them the same way you would anyone else.
If they sent a Request To Book, you must respond to that just as you would any other Request to Book. There should be NO reason to deny their Request to stay at your apartment.
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I read OP’s post to mean that people from Bolivia sent an inquiry asking if they could have a document of some type delivered to the OP’s rental apartment. And I’m also not sure why you feel it’s necessary to talk down to the OP.
OP, if I were you, I’d enter into a dialog with these people. It might be a scam of some type, but it might not. Usually, after a few messages back and forth, it becomes clear. The tip off is often that they will not answer your direct questions, and instead keep asking theirs.
I would be very careful before allowing foreigners to have mail sent to you, unless they have a very good and fairly well articulated reason. You have no way of knowing what they would send to your property, and it could be something illegal, and/or a way for them to smuggle something illegal into your country.
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Thank you, KenH. I think, I described it a wrong way. Of cource are ALL people welcome in my house. I just want to know, what I have to do, that they get their Visa. They told me, they need a invitation/a document from me to get in. Do you have experience with that case? Thank you very much…
Thank you, Chloe. I tried to ask them, but they can‘t speak english very well. All I can do, is to send a booking confirmation, right?
Cloe – Anmeldung, in German, means “booking”. Many countries require an invitation to allow people from other places to come into the country, or conversely allow their citizens to leave the country. BTW – I never ‘talk down’; I do try to match linguistic levels.
MahRo – I am familiar with the concept, but not the actual practice. I am not sure if you responding with a message saying “please come stay here” and clicking ACCEPT to their Inquiry or Request is enough of an invitation – it may require a more formal email or letter. Note being either German or Bolivian, I’m not sure which country is requesting the invitation letter. Is there a Ministry of Tourism office that you can contact in your city??
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It is possible that they require a special letter of invitation, stating that you will be their host and for wich period. Russian guests often required that in the past, but now they can use Airbnb booking as a confirmation of their stay and their visa application will be accepted based on that. Try to figure out whether this would be enough for your guests. Maybe you could check at the website of Bolivian embassy? Also, if I’m not mistaken, these days they are actually applying for Schengen visa, not for a German visa, so these are the required documents: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/how-to-apply-schengen-visa/. I assume Germany is simply the first country they are planning to enter? Then they don’t need the proof of accommodation for the entire stay.
It states here that they only need to provide a proof of accommodation booking.
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Quite common for people to misunderstand what is required for a tourist visa, I would not want a booking from someone who does not have a visa, wonder if it is grounds for cancellation.
@MahRo, Usually, a paid acceptance of an Airbnb booking is acceptable as proof of accomodation for a Schengen Visa, as it contains the host’s contact details. It’s possible, though unlikely, that the German embassy/consulate in Bolivia or the airport authorities at point of entry could contact you to check that it’s a genuine booking. Your prospective guests should take a printout of their reservation when they apply for their visa and it might help for them to take a copy of their credit card payment as well. You might just check with them that they know they need a Schengen Visa.
To other posters: It’s quite usual, when people from certain other countries are visiting the Schengen region (most of Europe) for which they need a visa, to have to provide an invitation letter if they are staying in a private house (we have had to do this for South African family members). Otherwise they have to provide a confirmed hotel reservation. Fortunately, most embassies and consulates now accept an Airbnb booking as equivalent to a hotel. I don’t see any reason for thinking this might be a scam, it’s simply a misunderstanding of what documents are needed for the visa.
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Wow, I never knew it could be that complicated. We are fortunate in America that the 50 states are united 
At least in some respects 
- not commenting on politics or the regionalisms of food descriptions!
Anyway, my question is - how much should the host do in researching this? I guess it is good to know overall but my inclination would be to point the guest to their government agency to determine what exactly is needed and the correct wording on the documents for two reasons - 1. They may need to know different information for different countries if your stay isn’t their only one and 2. If there is a misunderstanding or problem you don’t want to be responsible for their travel difficulties or adverse consequences.
Travellers are always asked where they are staying, some countries insist that you prove that you have reservations. Sometimes you have to show theat you have x amount of money. Some countries insist you convert all of their currency before leaving.
It always surprises me when people who have never travelled outside of the USA, answer these type of questions.
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People who travel know to get visas before booking.
I agree that in general it’s not up to the host to do the guest’s research for them, and I think that most prospective visitors from countries that don’t have agreements in place with Schengen do know that they will have to get a visa. There is an official Schengen website https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/how-to-apply-schengen-visa/ available in several languages, that hosts could perhaps point their guests to perhaps.
And it’s not quite as bad as it sounds, @Terryathome! Like the U.S., all citizens of the Schengen states can visit (as a tourist) each other’s countries without visas, as can British, Irish and several other countries in Europe that are not part of Schengen, as can citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
There are, of course, many flaws in the process, and one hears often of injustices (real or perceived). One disadvantage for Air Hosts is that applicants must have a guaranteed reservation to get a visa, and if, by any chance the visa is denied, then the booking would have to be cancelled. I’ve never experienced this, but it could happen.
Whenever I enter the EU I have to fill out a form where I list where I will be staying during my trip. Visitors from the USA now must fill out these kinds of forms online before they can get even a tourist visa. I have had any number of visitors who have used my address, usually without my knowledge, in order to get their tourist visa. This really doesn’t concern me. It certainly doesn’t make me responsible for their travel plan, etc. It is a neutral question– Where will you be staying your first night in the US, and my address is the correct answer.
Susan, I knew that the Schengen countries were proposing to require visitors from the US to get tourist visas (to do with reciprocity and the US requiring visas from some East European countries) but I didn’t realise it was already in force! Or did you mean visitors to the US?
I don’t see the US on this list! Whew. Does this have to do with Brexit?
In some countries you are asked at the customs window for the address of where you are staying. I always have my stuff printed out so I can write it quickly on the immigration forms.
Lots of answers!!! Thank everybody so much!!! But there are also a lot of meanings… I will a little bit think of it.
The point is, that it is my first hosting ever, I used airbnb till this time just as a travellor.
Thank you indeed for your help…a good night for everybody,