Review of a 3rd Party Booking

In the review, I’d review the group, and note in the review that although the group was a good group to host, the originally person booking the accommodations did not stay at the home. That’s all any future host really needs to know. And you’re being honest with the review. Review the group, but mention that it was 3rd party.

I know this is an old topic, but rather than recreate a new one, I thought I would revive an old post about an old issue that keeps reoccurring: Third-party bookings.

Last Friday, a similar situation happened to me:

  • 10am - Instant Booking was made.
  • 3 pm - I finally had a chance to read the details and assess: a local, 1 adult/1 child, check-in that night for 2 nights, check-in btwn 3-5 pm. But no message about the nature of the trip or why a local needs to stay at our house.
  • I immediately called to coordinate check-in time (I was at work 1.5 hours away, and we do not have self-check-in (don’t lecture me on that, that’s a settled matter for me))
  • Guest indicated it was for his client. He’s a local realtor and explained a home inspection failed and they needed to postpone the closing. I thought, OK I can help but I explained third-party bookings are not allowed and neither the guest nor the host are covered under Airbnb’s policies. I suggested he add the second guest (the “1 child”) to the reservation, which he did.
  • A check-in time was established, and all went well.
  • Next morning, the parent left for many hours, leaving who we thought was a minor in our home. She’s obviously 13+, so we didn’t think too much about it, kept a low profile, did chores, and went out for dinner.
  • Later, at dinner, the daughter calls looking for us. We then find out dad isn’t coming back for the second night. Now, as two strange men in a home with a potential minor with what appeared to be a mild ID/D, we’re starting to freak out a little.
  • I called the realtor, and it went to voicemail. A few minutes later I got a call back from the dad (whose number I would not have). Btwn the daughter and the dad, I verified her age (20). He sounded a little put out that I’d be calling. I explained his realtor booked for “1 adult & 1 child,” and I politely tip-toed around the obviousness of her apparent disability which he immediately called “special needs.” He then seemed to sense the weight of our concern and affirmed she was 20 and she was super excited to stay away from her parents for one night. Fine, I’m happy to be part of her journey towards independence.
  • Cut to review time: Who am I reviewing? Third-party booker who never set foot in my house, dad who stayed one night and listed as the “child” in the reservation, or that adult daughter who wasn’t even on the reservation all, and needed our assistance a few times?

My takeaway from some of these comments is to still leave a review and to be honest. I crafted a review, and it’s sitting in limbo until the realtor leaves his review or the 14 days run out. I’m annoyed the realtor basically ignored me, he seemed dismissive of Airbnb’s third-party booking policies, and he couldn’t even bother to send me his client’s contact information. Looking back, perhaps I should have asked him to send me his client’s contact information. He has two reviews on Airbnb, so this isn’t his first time using the platform. In my private feedback, I have strongly encouraged him to use Airbnb for Work for future client bookings.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I accept 3rd party bookings and when I know it’s a 3rd party booking, the first thing I do is get their contact information. I send check in information to the 3rd party via text as well as posting it in the message thread on Airbnb. So yes, put this at the top of your list going forward.

As for the review, review honestly and unemotionally.

As did you. If you’re going to accept them you have to take the responsibility that goes with it.

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Third-party bookings are rare, and most times I decline them. This was an IB. I allow same-day bookings when I can. Logistically, this was problematic from the start.

I know everyone is harping on me for not declining it, but it was booked the same day as check-in. In the heat of the moment (literally, I was walking up Beacon Hill lugging my heavy briefcase to go to work in the midday sun), I almost suggested he book his client at the DoubleTree or Great Wolf Lodge. I was trying to be hospitable. It’s easier for me to be nice than mean. That’s my weakness in responsibility.

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I am not as experienced as others here, so please defer to more experienced Hosts if they disagree.

It seems to me that since the primary purpose of a review is for future Hosts and because the name of the guest is ostensibly the realtor, I would review that realtor. I would also add comments about the guest who stayed. My review might look like this:

This was a third party booking, initially not disclosed as such, who going forward should use Airbnb at Work and if not should disclose the third party booking upfront. As to the people who stayed in the property [you fill in the blanks]. My star ratings would attach to the realtor. For Communication I would rate two stars.

That’s basically how my review goes. Even the objective parts crazy to me (paraphrased, “unaccompanied disable female minor left with two strange men”). I leave out what my star ratings are, but I mention that communication was not good. And the fact that one person booked, and 2 others stayed, one of whom was not even on the reservation. I’m just glad it all went well, but there were a lot of unknowns for the first 36 hours, or at least a few very important unknown facts.

What an odd comment. Who are you referring to here?

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I don’t think I would say ‘unaccompanied disabled female minor with two strange men.’

You want to keep to objective facts. Imagine you were in a court of law and an attorney were cross examining you. I assume you’ve seen enough shows to get a sense of what I mean.

Even though it might be apparent to you that this woman was ‘off’ in some way, I just wouldn’t say that. You don’t really ‘know’ she is disabled (which might not even be a PC term these days). Plus if she were to somehow see your review and mention of her, how would she feel?

I don’t know why two ‘strange’ men means. I just wouldn’t go into that level of detail.

Also because ‘strange’ is not an objective term, I think the guest might be successful in having your review taken down as a violation of the ToS.

Less is more.

The key is that the realtor did not disclose the third party booking upfront. If the guest left a mess or didn’t follow house rules, say that. As Sergeant Joe Friday used to say ‘Stick to the facts.’ This realtor might look for a way to go to Airbnb and take your review down. So really stick to unassailable facts.

I am being preemptive. Some hosts are black-and-white on this issue with third-party bookings on Airbnb. Not all STRs hosts operate the same way. Plus, same-day bookings can be a nuanced.

This is my review:

“Greg made a 2-night third-party Instant Book for his client for a same-day check-in. No specifics were provided until I called. I agreed not to cancel the reservation believing his clients were 2 adults and I didn’t want to leave them in a lurch. Once they checked in (after some back-and-forth communication because his client didn’t make the reservation), we realized the reservation was for 1 adult and 1 child. After it was clarified 36 hours later that the “child” is an adult, we were relieved after she was left alone in our home all day. Since Greg didn’t stay in our home, and Jonas was later added to the booking (the “1 child”) and only stayed 1 night, I am left to primarily review the unregistered third person, Jonas’ daughter. She was very nice and quiet. I provided her with my cellphone number so she could contact me. She called a few times wondering where we were. I think this was one of her first times staying some place on her own. While I appreciated being part of her journey, I find it challenging to provide a review of the person who made the reservation. A little more communication would have gone a long way to make us feel more at ease and provide a better experience for our young guest.”

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I am hoping that this is your draft review.

As someone who has been roundly critiqued for being wordy, your review is way too wordy.

What is the real takeaway for a future Host? To me it’s that this guest makes third party bookings and does not disclose this upfront.

If you want to go further you might add “It took some work on my part to get Greg to correct the reservation for an accurate count of guests.”

So my review might be:

This was a third party booking, initially not disclosed as such, who going forward should use Airbnb at Work and if not should disclose the third party booking upfront. It took some work on my part to get Greg to correct the reservation for an accurate count of guests. There were no issues with person who stayed in the property. Would not Host Greg again.

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Admittedly, it is word heavy. I’ll scale it back. I suspect Greg won’t review me. He strikes me as the “too busy to be bothered” kind of person. If it was in fact an Airbnb for Work booking, Jonas would be able to review me.

Well, since Greg is a realtor – he is in business – he needs to be concerned about his business reputation. So if he is concerned that your public review hurts him and if he can find a way that the review violates Airbnb TOS he would be wise to invest the time to get Airbnb to take it down.

There is another alternative here. You could review this way:

This was a third party booking that was not disclosed upfront. The actual guest who stayed was wonderful and I’d be delighted to host her again!

Private note to Greg:

Greg, This booking gave me some heartache and stress. May I make a friendly suggestion that going forward you use Airbnb at work for third party bookings (which are not permitted by Airbnb). Or if you continue with third party bookings, please disclose that upfront, get the count and adult/child thing right, let the Host know the name of the guest. Thank you for selecting my property. Jonas’s daughter was wonderful!


If you go this way, think for every detail, does a future host need to know it? That you didn’t want to leave them in a lurch (this review is for future Hosts who want information on whether they should host Greg), what you realized . . . , that the daughter was very nice and quiet, that you provided with your cell phone (are you reviewing yourself here?), that she called a few times (how will this help a future Host?), that you appreciated being part of her journey (this is supposed to be about Greg!), that you find it challenging. On and on. Every ‘you’ statement should be gone, at the least.

Josiah, please don’t just scale it back. Start over. Take one of my suggested drafts and edit THAT. That’s my suggestion.

As I think about this, I think would take my second draft, the one with the private note.

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“This was a third party booking, initially not disclosed as such. Would not host ‘Greg’ again.”

FTFY

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I get it, but he booked for one adult and one child, which for a few hours and a second night, we thought an underaged girl was staying with us, alone. I get that as hosts we come across strange circumstances, but I didn’t sign up to host minors. If he wants to protect his business, perhaps being accurate when making STR bookings for his clients would be a good start. Although, Airbnb labels guests 13 years of age and older as “adults,” so she could still have been under 18 for all we knew. I almost called Airbnb that second evening, so it’s a good thing Greg told his client to call me when he did. If I couldn’t get ahold of anyone, my next call was going to be to the police. The facts I had in the moment were that a disabled minor was in my home. I have a business reputation to protect, too.

I understand your very legitimate – and thoughtful – concerns.

Greg could have done better. Address that in your private note to him.

Understanding your heartache and stress here you made it all work in the end, and Greg, while not perfect, cooperated. You each learned in the experience. None of us is perfect.

You created a really good outcome here. Jonas’s daughter had a great stay. You accommodated Greg’s business need for his client (your private note will educate him on what he should do next time but do it in a way without rancor and with good will AND gratitude – he did give you business), and you did get business and maybe made a few good friends/referral sources in Jonas, his daughter and Greg.

You and Greg each have an opportunity to make this a learning experience. I strongly urge you to focus on the positive, to make lemonade from lemons here. Your business reputation is not at risk and as an aside, behaved very thoughtfully – and with heart – here. I sense you have a little anger because your stress could have been avoided if Greg had dealt with this better, but let that go and focus on the good outcomes for each of the parties here.

Well done, Josiah!

Interaction with dad was minimal as well, and when we connected over the phone about his daughter’s continued stay, I was met with some mild irritation. I really tried to be light and cherry as I verified she was an adult. I suppose once I explained the reservation was for 1 adult & 1 child, he began to understand the weight of my concern of him not returning that night. Frankly, even dad was not an ideal guest.

Your draft review is far too long and all that detail about what happened is of no use to anyone who would be reading the review. There is no reason to even mention the actual guests who stayed, as it isn’t their account you are reviewing on, unless you just want to say they were unproblematic, which it essentially sounds like they were.

All others need to know is that Greg made a 3rd party booking without being informative about that, and confusing the issue by saying, when questioned, that it was a child, when in fact it was an adult. (I would assume that when he indicated “child”, he wasn’t referring to age, but to the girl being the child of the parent he booked for)

It’s always enlightening for me as a host to be an Airbnb guest. Apparently I’ve gone rogue as I just left an Airbnb I booked that ended up having a rotating cast of occupants (but never more than the person limit).

It was a visit to family, originally for me and one adult child, with uncertain start and end times so I booked an entire week (yay discount). The other adult child was able to come for a long weekend at the last minute. I notified the host and heard back crickets.

The kids left. My cousin and their adult child were in the area for a fishing trip and took a notion to visit. I gave them the key to the Airbnb for the last booked night so they didn’t have to rent a hotel room, and left them with some beach towels and the check out instructions.

This was a pretty loose operation in an area of old rental vacation apartments – keys to a couple units were in the same lockbox! – and I’d characterize the host as remote and laid back. I got a nice auto-generated generic review.

As a host I wasn’t concerned about 3rd party bookings pre-COVID as I have sufficient non-Airbnb damage and liability insurance.

As a host, this is my greatest nightmare. A guest gives access to the property who I don’t know, is not on the itinerary for Airbnb, and I have no way of communicating with.

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