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hi…
im newbie w IB turned off so no decent requirements to book…
my first guests (unreviewed) are for aug 1st… they seemed older… but no info about them from airbnb… i confirmed…
my second request just came in from a seemingly young woman who will have 3 friends with her…
an 18yo male, 20yo & 30yo females, they say visiting couple friends here…
i don’t know what to do… i’ve rented to young people (long term) before and its always a problem… i need to accept or deny today…
any suggestions…
thx
I don’t think there’s any rule of thumb for who will be a good guest and who will not. At some point you just need to recognize that you’re opening your house to strangers, and there is some risk in that.
I think the most important consideration is how you will prevent issues once they arrive, and how you will deal with things promptly if things start to go sideways.
I am in a different situation as a home host, but I always respond with something like the following:
As you are new to AirBnb and have no reviews from previous hosts, please
That sort of thing. I have had 2 equally positive responses when being clear up front: guest profides info & assurance or guest withdraws request
Bottom line is my comfort level.
I personally would decline. All the headaches I have had with my whole house rental has been with the 25 yrs or less age group. I think the key phrase is “visiting couple friends.” To me it sounds like a party. I had a 20 yr old tell me he was just visiting family in the area. I was dumb enough to believe him. It was one of my first few reservations so I was a newbie.
Turned out to be a party of 16 20 year olds that trashed my house. Took three times as long to clean and they broke two of my dining room chairs, which I had just purchased. The floors were so sticky that we had to mop them several times.
In addition, several of my neighbors were upset because of all the noise. I thought I would have to shut down.
A few considerations:
Just because they are young doesn’t mean they are trouble, make sure your rules are clear, there’s no limit to the rules you can have. For example extra guests, smoking, food, etc etc. There’s also no limit to the deposit I dont think. I have had many young people stay and often they are in bed by 10pm and I’m thinking have young people forgotten how to party ?!
It depends how popular your location and listing are, if you decline are you likely to fill those dates ?
I greet all my guests in person, with young people I point out the coasters, I ask them not to put their luggage on the expensive leather sofa and I point out I dont want to charge them on the deposit.
I say book them in but be clear with them what limitations are on rules.
Is this a stand alone property, are there security cams and are you closeby if things do go sideways? If you accept I’d definitely go over house rules before they book and let them know you’ll meet them at check in and will need to see IDs as part of your liability insurance. Are the travel companions also new to AirBnB?
*Side bar- what women in their 30s are friends with 18 year olds 
There is NO deposit, and the AirBnB “host guarantee” ain’t worth diddly.
I’d follow your gut. However if you do allow the young people, make it very clear that guests are not allowed at the rental or you many become a party location
If you’re in doubt, don’t book them. Don’t regret booking them later
haha yuck…
thanks for the advice…
i don’t get or cannot require govt ids or clear face photo w IB off…
i requested full names of the other guests to book, but haven’t heard back…
yeah pff 18yos…!! we’re all just living in their world… no filters no off switch don’t know how to drink yet…
its a triplex w two long term rentals…
most popular month here in port angeles, wa but i just listed starting august less than a wk ago… so maybe get booked again…
thx hudson good advice…
ill check ids and install couple cams…
Yes, you can. Just tell them you do. And Airbnb’s verified ID means nothing. I have ever used IB. You vet guests by communicating with them and reading their past reviews before deciding whether to accept or not. That’s much more reliable than any so-called vetting Airbnb has in place.
yeah but break em in gently NordlingHouse!
Almost everyone of my 4 star reviews has been from middle aged women. About five 4 stars out of 175 total, the rest are 5’s
The other common denominator is without exception they were told no about something. No extra guests, no early check ins or whatever.
I still host middle aged women, and anyone else with a valid credit card.
RR
Did they ask to speak to the manager, RR?
I’ve hosted several teenage guests and they’ve been lovely.
Just showing the other point of view…
Oh good I got worried for a minute. Who knows where I may get to travel some day!
So, basically, anyone with a valid credit card. Yeah, that was my approach, too.
My current guest is a middle aged woman actually named Karen. So far so good.
RR