Airbnb etiquette
March 18, 2016 5:17 PM Subscribe
I'm a new host with Airbnb, and my first inquiry is a woman who started off asking for 2 nights for her and her boyfriend, then switched to one night for him only. He is not registered with ABB.
I (also a woman) am a little leery on principle, since no way to verify him etc, but frankly also a little peeved that she switched the scenario without asking. She has not paid (nor have I accepted) because she is still checking with him. She has one review, positive, on her profile. I kind of hinted at the issue twice without acknowledgement. Airbnb has no easily found 'contact us' for questions. Should I go with this? I don't care about the money.
I (also a woman) am a little leery on principle, since no way to verify him etc, but frankly also a little peeved that she switched the scenario without asking. She has not paid (nor have I accepted) because she is still checking with him. She has one review, positive, on her profile. I kind of hinted at the issue twice without acknowledgement. Airbnb has no easily found 'contact us' for questions. Should I go with this? I don't care about the money.
No. It's not the worst thing but when it comes to AirBnb even the yellow flags seem to sprout red ones when they're in your space. If you don't care about the money you have no good reason to accept this and I would immediately deny it.
posted by solarion at 5:23 PM on March 18, 2016 [21 favorites]
posted by solarion at 5:23 PM on March 18, 2016 [21 favorites]
I would turn it down and simply say you have a policy of only accepting people with an airbnb history. Wish them luck in finding a place.
posted by frumiousb at 5:32 PM on March 18, 2016 [24 favorites]
posted by frumiousb at 5:32 PM on March 18, 2016 [24 favorites]
Nope, I would totally 100% say no to this and use the AirBnB "I do not feel comfortable with this guest" option. I have a lot of random people asking for things that are totally outside of what I indicate that i have available (someone wanted to bring a dog and leave it in my place while they went skiing even though my listing clearly says "no pets") I'd say no and not think twice about it. You can even include in your listing that you will only rent to people who have filled out AirBnB profiles. Part of being a host who has a decent experience with AirBnB is learning to say no to sketchy bookers.
posted by jessamyn at 5:39 PM on March 18, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 5:39 PM on March 18, 2016 [16 favorites]
No. I am new to AirBnb - just signed up. It's stupidly easy. Why doesn't he have his own account? I can't think of a good answer for this. You can absolutely use someone else's card - I used my husbands for a recent booking. I would not accept.
posted by corb at 5:43 PM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by corb at 5:43 PM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I was just looking at an AirBnB property that specified
HOUSE RULES
• The person who books must be one of the guests staying in the apartment. No third party sponsorship on behalf of a friend, family member, colleague, etc.
You may want to add that wording to your listing.
posted by roger ackroyd at 5:43 PM on March 18, 2016 [52 favorites]
HOUSE RULES
• The person who books must be one of the guests staying in the apartment. No third party sponsorship on behalf of a friend, family member, colleague, etc.
You may want to add that wording to your listing.
posted by roger ackroyd at 5:43 PM on March 18, 2016 [52 favorites]
Nope, nope, nope.
If you get a bad feeling, trust it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:44 PM on March 18, 2016 [9 favorites]
If you get a bad feeling, trust it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:44 PM on March 18, 2016 [9 favorites]
Just sounds wrong, click no.
posted by sammyo at 5:50 PM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sammyo at 5:50 PM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
No, definitely don't accept this. Sounds super shady.
posted by ryanbryan at 6:00 PM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ryanbryan at 6:00 PM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Wow, love this unanimity! Thanks for all the positive reinforcement. Done, politely.
posted by mmiddle at 6:23 PM on March 18, 2016 [18 favorites]
posted by mmiddle at 6:23 PM on March 18, 2016 [18 favorites]
Please report this. Unless you spoke to her, I'd be surprised if there was an actual woman behind that profile. I had an ex who posted joint accounts of different types (not airbnb) using pictures taken with me and other girlfriends, for various purposes. There's no good reason a person can't make their own account, but there are bad ones.
posted by notquitemaryann at 7:48 PM on March 18, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by notquitemaryann at 7:48 PM on March 18, 2016 [16 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by koroshiya at 5:19 PM on March 18, 2016 [52 favorites]