New Guest Inquiry, Not sure about booking them....thoughts?

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UPDATE: Booked them after a couple more messages. We’ll see how it goes. Made a joke about making off with my cat. #NotAmused

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Today I received an inquiry from a party of 2 for mid-October. But it feels off… To be clear, this is for a private bedroom and bathroom in my home, so it’s shared space and I’m careful of making sure it’s a fit for my guests and me.

Guest has verified ID info. Guest has been part of AirBnB since 2015.

BUT… all reviews start in January of this year and 2 of them from the same hostel and the timeframe seems off.

On the surface, they appear real, but to someone (me), who writes testimonials, social media, etc. for my clients, it’s all too… staged. There are 7 reviews, 3 in January/February from the same area and one a month since then.

I’m going to send him my template “thank you for your inquiry” message along with a couple of questions.

I know many of you have IB and the “recommended by other hosts” buttons checked. Since I work full time from my home, I can actually spend the time vetting my guests before booking them.

It just doesn’t feel right…

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Thoughts? About this booking? I don’t have nearly enough information.

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Neither do I, except that he has 7 reviews, all since January of this year, and they feel like “canned” reviews.

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That wouldn’t be nearly enough for me to turn someone away.

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Nothing you have said about the guest that sounds off to me @casailinglady why not ask them about plans for their stay and why they choose your place.

I had my airbnb account for years before I started using it.

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Unfortunately, a lot of hosts actually write canned reviews and I expect it’s more common with hosts that have more listings (e.g. hostels).

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OK, what’s a can review?

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Basically a cut and paste of a generic review you use for all guests.

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if a guest is good i don’t elaborate. i simply say. great guest. highly recommend him/her to all hosts.
does it sound like canned to you? i only elaborate when the guest is not good

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Tough one. One hand I would say trust your gut, on the other hand…I’ve had many many guests with concerning, odd, absent reviews and/or zero profile information who booked instantly and turned out to be lovely guests.

It’s probably difficult to make one staged review, let alone seven. Why would they bother with more? We’ve have a number of repeat guests who have multiple reviews from me. Nothing about what you mentioned would raise any flags, imo.

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Most of my guests have zero reviews and I’ve found that trusting my gut has never let me down.

I’m going to message him, but it just sounds fishy.

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It doesn’t sound fishy to me. Well, at least I’d give the guest the benefit of the doubt and ask the guest if there was anything that seems off. What is it that you’re suspecting?

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My gut thinks it is hungry, other than that it is not reliable.

I do not see the issue with this guest, 7 reviews. My reviews tend to look canned because unless there is a problem I keep it pretty basic.

RR

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On the surface that seems all fine but I always say that if you gut is telling something, listen.

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@casailinglady, it doesn’t sound fishy to me, either.

But then I am an introvert given to panic attacks, and I have misgivings about every guest until we meet him or her. My misgivings always turn out to be wrong. So I don’t trust my gut.

If yours is more reliable that mine, then your feeling is maybe worth listening to.

Best wishes.

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Have we met? :wink:

20202020

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As two introverts, I’d say it’s unlikely.

I tend to hide in the house.

You?

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#BlanketFort

2022020202

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I do.

When we have our huge annual mimosa-thon—80-125 guests—I end up hiding in our bathroom off and on.

I’m an unlikely host. Hosting is like a stretching exercise for me.

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You could always ‘contact host’ some of the people who reviewed them if you’re not sure. To leave a review for a guest they would have to be an Airbnb host, and the guest has to have made a booking with them. Faking reviews would be complicated though not impossible, it would be a fair amount of effort.