We had an AirBnB inquiry… it is a long, lucrative booking a few months away… the booker has a positive review and is providing more detail (rent to house hunt for relocation, have dogs)… now they want to chat further (phone? AirBnB restricted us sending #)… because of how slow things have been, we are a little nervous about the scam potential and not sure how to have an effective chat… any concerns we should look out for?
There’s no reason you can’t have an effective chat over Airbnb messaging.
It’s not necessarily a scammer, per se, but lots of guests just want to avoid having to pay Airbnb fees and try to get around it by asking to speak on the phone or use whatsapp.
You should never try to send your personal information, phone number, etc. to a guest before a booking is confirmed. Not only will it be blocked, there’s probably some algorithm that flags it, and you don’t want Airbnb to think you are trying to circumvent their platform.
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How long is the stay that they’re inquiring about? Explain to the guest that all communication needs to be on the platform, & ask as many questions as you can. I agree w/ @Muddy, a lot of folks are simply trying to avoid Air’s fees & taxes.
You’ll have access to their phone # once they book… I always give guests my # when I get a new reservation, as we’re in a rural area & signals are often nonexistent
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Airbnb automatically gives the host phone number to the guest as part of the reservation.
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I try to remember to ask guests to check to make sure the phone # on their account is correct, because a couple of times it hasn’t been. Nothing nefarious, they just forgot to change it when they changed #s. More likely to happen with guests who’ve had long-standing accounts and never bothered to update their profile info over the years
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Our best long term guests wanted to chat. They were booking for over a month. They wanted a call which was ok with me. On the call they wanted a lot of information about details: could they bike into town easily, the air conditioner, and lots of other little things (yes they were in our description). They just wanted to make sure they would be happy for the month. They’ve been back every year since we started out.
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How were you able to exchange phone numbers before the booking was confirmed?
And what about wanting to know about biking around, air conditioning, and other details couldn’t be discussed in a message?
Yep, aware of that. Guess I’m always just a bit anal about covering my bases, not trusting Air to be consistent w/ their procedures!
Yes it could ask have been answered in texts. My guess is that they mostly wanted to find out about me. My only point is that wanting to talk on the phone isn’t necessarily a scam.
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I can definitely understand that actually talking to someone on the phone might instill more confidence than online messaging. Everyone is so aware these days of online scams, that I really don’t blame people for being somewhat wary.
It’s not as if every Airbnb listing is legit, either. There’s some sleazy “hosts” out there who do bait and switch, use photos from years ago when the place was new or freshly renoed and furnished, but haven’t maintained it, replaced worn out stuff, or have it properly cleaned.
A positive review - just the one? If they find a suitable house in the area while they are staying with you, would they still need your accommodation?
Just my suspicious mind talking.
Although it’s very possible that long-term guests might be great, as were @ameyer 's I’d ask myself why they are using Airbnb.
It isn’t really the best platform to use for long-term rentals unless the guest wants to avoid background and credit checks…
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No, it isn’t, but guests may not realize that?
Also, as far as I’m aware, most rentals one would find going through a rental agency, or offered in online ads, tend to be one year leases, rather than a few months. It could be difficult to find a landlord who is willing to rent for only 2-6 months.
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I would ONLY rent long term through airbnb with personal contact, chatting, contracts and a security deposit. Airbnb is not set up properly for long term bookings. I have had successful long term from time to time, but not through Airbnb. Too risky. Maybe you can have them make a short stay booking in order to gain information.
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As a friendly host who is interested in them, you can also get useful information with further communication, on platform. If they’re arranging this on their own with an Airbnb, it’s probably not a corporate relocation with associated support from the employer.
Does a new job bring them to the area? How exciting! Do they need to sell their current house? Hope that works out! Are they looking for storage for household items associated with their move? So stressful! Are they house-hunting for x number of days for a future move, then leaving, or are they hoping to close on a new house during their stay? Gosh, do you have an agent already? It’s a really tight sellers’ market here. What if it doesn’t happen? Would you be looking for an LTR here?
Ask yourself, what is your plan if they ask to extend?
How long are they staying? Check your local rules regarding tenancy rights; you may need an LTR contract.
Is their positive review from a recent stay somewhere local? (Clue that they may not be able to pass a credit check for an LTR).
Personally, I would also check them out on social media, particularly LinkedIn.
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The opposite also happens- guests may book for a couple of months, then find a LTR or house to buy quickly, then want to be refunded for the rest of the booking and get nasty when the host refuses.
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The way I look at is, my maximum protection if things go awry is to keep all communication on the website. At some point, if the guests are clearly wonderful folks , we may have some back and forth with any questions or logistical info via texts but I wouldn’t do that out of the gate and I have always eschewed any and all offers go outside the platform to spare the extra fees to airbnb. The platform is what allows us to do this with the lowest risk possible.
I would say that is an excellent suggestion - just ask them to book a weekend with you during which they can get answers to all their questions and more, plus it gives you the opportunity to meet.
If they’re a bit financially squeaky or out to scam they may well decline but if they do come then it’s a great opportunity to check each other out. If they turn out to be a good fit and it works for you then you could negotiate a direct booking with them there and then, however, if you’re concerned about them in any way they can book through abb or be declined.
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If I were a guest looking to stay somewhere for more than a couple of weeks, I would want to just book a night or two first.
Just as from the host’s end, reviews, photos, messaging, phone calls can give you lots of information, and some sense of the other person, but it’s not like actually being there, or having a face-to-face chat with someone over coffee.
Also the phone number isn’t that easy to find/see on the reservation. So I always include it in my check in message and have it on a card in the Airbnb room.
If I wanted to use Airbnb for a longer term reservation I’d probably book a shorter reservation and then enquire about a longer direct booking after I had the host’s info. Depending on what was available I’d possibly even stay in several Airbnbs before deciding which one I wanted to spend more on.
So maybe that could be suggested to the guest.
Do you think Airbnb does that on purpose, to discourage anything but platform messaging? I don’t know how it looks on the guest end, but I find it hard to see from the host end. The numbers are so tiny and light grey.
It didn’t used to be like that- the phone numbers used to be bigger and darker.
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