Hi all - have learned a lot here and am a new host. Thanks for all the good information you share. Yesterday I was hiking with my dog and I got turned around and was gone much longer than I thought. So my phone died. I had my pocket charger but it died too. Was gone about 3 hours. I get in the car and plug in my phone and I have a message asking me how to get into my Airbnb space at 1:50 pm. Going down the messages I had an instant book for 3 nights at 1:06 pm. Guest was a woman with no name only the letter “M”. She is local which always is a red flag because it is always people wanting to have a party. She says that she needs a place to stay bc her apartment is “not ready”. Because of the circumstances of them getting to my house about the time I did and not having the lockbox out I opened the door for them and introduced and spoke to all of them. I introduced myself and they gave no names. They have an enormous amount of luggage for 3 nights. It is a very young woman with 2 little girls and some other woman who was dropping them off. The “M” person who made the reservation left and didn’t spend the night. She has left them all here with no car in the driveway and they didn’t take the school age girl to school today. So it is obvious that they are hiding from someone. My check out time is 11 am but they asked if they could stay until 3 pm on Friday. I told them I had a reservation for Friday night but I would see what I could do. I called Airbnb and they were really nice, however they do allow people to identify themselves with only one initial. I think this is wrong. Several red flags have presented themselves here and I am in a bad position. I had a request once and looked up the person and she had assault charges and was for sure planning a party as she lived a few miles from me. So now I will probably never get to be “superhost” bc my decline rate will be high because local people (live less than 15 min from me) constantly try to book to have parties. The people before these unnamed people brought a dog and didn’t tell me. They were gone in the day and it was crying and barking excessively. I messaged them and they came and stayed with the dog. I have been only been hosting 2 months and has been mostly a fun experience. I had a perfect rating until a woman gave me a 3 star review because I didn’t have a dining room table. There was not one in the photos - I guess she thought I could bring one for her. She also complained about where the coffee service was and the fact that she could hear my husband and I upstairs. We have posted quiet hours and were not even home for the majority of the evening. I guess she thought a lower level of someone’s house meant 100% quiet. Anyway I am thinking about getting out of the Airbnb business even though it has been a nice income for us and all the rest of the reviews have been 5/5. I know not everything is perfect. I have turned off the Instant Book which in my case has been problematic. Thoughts?
It sounds like someone had to escape a bad situation and an agency is working on a placement, so they just need a place to stay until it comes through. Aside from the third party booking concern, has the guest done anything against your guidelines? Have you tried talking to her, or contacting M via the platform to express your concerns?
I agree with California Poppy. To me, it sounds like a woman escaping from a domestic violence situation. If it is, she will not want to go out for fear of encountering her abuser, and she won’t allow the school age child to go to school for fear of the abuser snatching the child or harming the child.
I used to work in a domestic violence shelter and her behavior sounds very typical of a woman in that situation to me.
Seems like you should change your advance notice setting to prevent same-day bookings. Many host say that alone prevents most of the party groups, and it would allow you to turn instant-book back on.
Don’t worry about getting to be a superhost. Concern yourself with whether you hitting your goals for income (nighly rate and occupancy rate). Worry about ratings only if they affect your income goals.
Take the review criticism to heart and try to change thing that you think would improve the stay of most of your guests while staying within your budget. E.g., if you can move the coffee service where it’s more convenient for guests or add a dining room table that guests would appreciate, then seriously consider it.
Thanks that is what we think also. No she seems fine except for not wanting to give her name. I know that shelters for abused women are full most of the time. I did contact M to tell her that they cannot stay past noon, so I gave them an extra hour to get checked out. If I didn’t have a guest coming in that night I would let her stay because she does seem OK.
Thanks for your reply
Thanks and I will change that advance notice thing. I did make the changes because I was going to anyway. The income is nice but the uncomfortable aspect of this is making me hesitant to continue. Thanks for your thoughts.
Thanks we thought so too and am glad to give her a safe place. I have been lied to a lot from people trying to book parties and breaking my rules so I am getting really distrustful.
I would not allow her without a first and last name. I would probably also ask for identification since it was a last minute booking. Hopefully they will leave without police involvement.
Now at 2:50 pm today 2 vehicles, both with men, pulled up and 3-4 men went down there. I have a stated NO VISITORS policy. I have messaged the “M” who booked and she has not answered me. They are talking quietly, no shouting or anything. My husband is going to come home from work so at least I am not alone but this is weird.
Like others, I thought this might be a domestic violence escape, up until the 2 cars with 3-4 men showing up on your doorstep. I don’t care how quiet the voices are, call the Police non emergency line for a wellness check. Explain everything to the police calmly.
Message M again, stating that there are 3-4 men in the downstairs apartment and this violates the rules of No Visitors. Then call Air Customer Service and escalate until you get a name and contact information.
It’s a 3rd party booking with no names. I’d be more than concerned in your shoes.
I’m an old school in-home host, so I’m careful about guests.
I don’t allow IB or same day and my first message is a series of questions: Why are they booking, actual names and number of guests (re-do reservation if for a couple and only put down 1), and photo ID with their names and info. I say this is for insurance and guest safety. I had a couple with a fake last name, Air said this was OK (oh hell no), and they were really difficult.
YOu can set up a similar booking message.
Good luck.
Wow. Witness extraction to go into protection?
IT’S THE WHISTLEBLOWER!
(alert fox news)
The bottom line is that you don’t know who is in your home or what is going on. Welcome to hosting.
There are no long walks if you have IB unless your phone is fully charged. I have had situations involving virtually no notice. That’s where self check in is handy. Or a trusted neighbour.
Soon enough you will have your property back. Honestly? It’s rarely as scruffy as I think.
So many lessons in this story! It does sound as though this could be an abused person but there are a few points to go over for new hosts.
Local people don’t always mean parties. There are plenty of us here (long-time hosts) who have hosted plenty of local people with no trouble at all. Another thing is that much as it’s human nature, we shouldn’t really speculate about our guests. As long as their money’s good, they’re good. 
Be aware too that lots of us have used Instant Book for years, again with no problems.
It’s maybe a sad fact of life but when we open our homes as businesses we are going to get all sorts of people in weird situations. And oddballs (like your guest who complained that you have no dining room table - most of us have similar stories. Reading the many posts here is essential for new hosts). Hosts who are new to the business soon learn something else that’s valuable - unless you have a real emergency, there’s not a lot of point calling Airbnb. That’s because there are so many of us all over the world so we can’t expect them to work miracles by remote control.
You already know the good news though - that hosting can be a lot of fun (okay, and a lot of hard work) and the money is a real bonus.
There’s one other positive thing you can take from this. If the woman and her little girls were being abused (and there are several more possible scenarios) then you are doing a great thing by being able to offer them shelter until they get sorted out.
That’s a great thing and you should be proud of it. 
Thanks for all of your thoughts and I was able to get her evicted without the police by telling her I would see to it that she gets a full refund. Airbnb told me I didn’t have to give her anything because of the rule violation but since she is local and now her and all of her non-rule abiding thug friends know where I live I gave her all of it back. I have had some local people hosting friends, that is common also. But they give their names and the reason why they are booking an Airbnb when they live close by. Those have been 100% good guests. This was NOT the case. Airbnb was quick to respond and very great.
THIS.
202022020202020
Under the circumstances - I think a full refund is fine just to get rid of them ASAP. In the future, maybe do not provide access without a full profile and name even if they instant book, and maybe have them provide ID.
I hope you don’t regret giving the refund if the guest still gives you a bad review just because you kicked her out for rule violations. Keep us updated on the status of the reviews. Hope you wait 'til the last minute to leave yours.
I have to admit that I’m so often surprised by hosts here who say that they give refunds. I don’t remember ever doing so.
Oh. Yes I do. One guy had to stay in the apartment overnight with no AC. He was staying for a few days, five or six probably, and I refunded him for that night. I think that’s all though.
I use Instant Booking but I don’t allow same day booking, so I rarely get requests from locals. It’s owner occupied and room bookings only, so I don’t get partiers.