Hi,
I have been a Host coming up to 4 years and have always wanted to know more about a Guest before the reservation is confirmed. What do you think is critical to know about someone?
I usually ask their full name if they donât give it. This is rarely (never?) made available before the reservation is confirmed. And with a full name one can at least attempt a search. A surprising number of people have either Linkedin or Facebook pages. Some have both. Though most of the time, people donât have much else on the net.
Often I add something like - please tell me a little about yourself - if they donât offer information about themselves, or Iâm unable to find anything by searching the net.
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If they have no reviews, but a signup date more than a few months prior, it is good to know if they have completed stays for which the host simply declined to write a review.
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A clear reason for their visit is important to me. It helps me decide if my home is a good fit.
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Hi @felixcat
Do you ask them about the number of completed stays, then?
If theyâve been on for more than a month or so, I will ask them if they have stayed before. That usually prompts a number of stays.
What I would like to know and what I can politely ask are two different things. Ideally, I could ask whether or not they know the difference between a hotel and Airbnb, how loud they are, how picky they are, what their expectations are. If there is one thing I hate, itâs getting some jerk who barely responds to my friendly chat upon arrival, and makes me uncomfortable in my own house. I love people who are aware that this is your home, and actively put effort into being friendly and making me feel as comfortable as I try making them feel.
I am very warm and inviting, always laughing and being friendly with guests and most return the favor.
I recently had an old guy who clearly specified in his description how unpicky he is due to life experience.
âAh, coolâ I thought to myself, a man after my own heart. This guy not only left a petty review about directions, he left a laundry list of recommendations and complaints about everything. He was also the only guy in over a year who cooked some elaborate meal (I charge low prices, most people only use the room for sleeping) and stunk up my house by cooking disgusting greasy food in my kitchen. Why this was annoying is that I politely asked in advance if he could open the windows to keep the smells down, as someone in the house was in the first trimester of pregnancy and extremely sensitive to smells. He didnât. We both gagged upon entering.
I would also love, love, love to ask how conscious they are of their smell. I recently had a guest who hung out in the living room a lot. This wouldnât be a problem, but he smelled so strongly of sweat and BO, you would have thought you were next to a homeless guy who hadnât showered in 3 weeks.
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Iâve had that too! Just why do they think they are so easygoing??? "Adventurous, outdoorsy, easygoing, quiet professionals who turned out to be anything BUT!
And even if they did find things wrong, how do easygoing people leave bad public reviews??
Hi,
Yes I have a litany of things I would like to know psychically but what Iâm trying to get at with this post is the top two or three things that we can do as host to gather information or if thereâs an extra piece of information that would be highly valuable for Airbnb to provide to us in determining whether a guest is a good fit with our property.
Wish it were that easy to vet guests! Even when you think you have done all your research they can completely turn around and surprise you.
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This is why I donât ask questions and donât vet guests. They say what they think you want to hear. So I donât waste my time 
Oh, these types of people, the ones who feel the need to proclaim exactly what they are and are notâŚare usually just exact opposite!
My guest that just left described him self this way:
-my name is âguestâ, in just about to turn 22. Iâve been living in America for almost a half year. Iâm a very calm and relaxed guy, with a excellent common sense and âa head placed above the shouldersâ
-my two best friends from Denmark are on vacation to visit me, and they will be joining me.
Made me the most nervous of any guests, lol! Thankfully, this time, the guest was right. Phew!!
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I once had a guest whose only communication when booking was âbirthday getawayâ. They were lovely
I once had guests who gave no information about themselves, photo, their visit or anything else, and turned out to be the sweetest introverts ever⌠worked as software engineers for Amazon and were not very wordy online. Should have left a review just so other hosts would know.
My most eclectic was:
âThe Information+ Conference that Emily Carr University is organizingâ
âwe are neat freaksâ -Yeah right. The sand in the corner behind the recliner, and the mucked up stains in the stove, and the grill that was not cleanedâŚjust explains how you are such neat freaks!!