@Jen7522
Just because you use IB, it doesn't mean that you are happy to take any and every guest that comes along. Some hosts use IB because it helps placement in the search results. In highly saturated areas, it can be necessary to have it turned on so you don't get pushed too far down.
There are a few things you can do:
- Turn on the filter that only lets guests with positive reviews IB. The rest then have to send you a request to book.
- Turn on the filter that requires them to have verified ID.
- Turn on the filter (and this you can do with all bookings, not just IB) requiring a profile photo. You will not be able to see the photo until after the booking is confirmed, but the guest will need to upload one before booking.
- Include a 'pre-booking' message with some questions for the guest. It's not actually a 'pre-booking' message as much as a 'booking message', but at least they can see those questions during the booking process.
None of this is fail safe, but it's better than nothing and, even if the guest has already IBed, you can correspond with them and get to know more about them.
As for your question about cancelling IBs, you can cancel three times a year penalty free if you feel uncomfortable with the guest or think they are going to break your house rules. After that, you need to contact Airbnb and ask them if they will cancel penalty free for you. I don't use IB anymore but, when I did, I had no issues doing this with third party bookings, for example. I've also been able to cancel non-responsive guests penalty free.
Or, better still, ask the guests to cancel. It depends on the cancellation policy on the listing but, even if it's strict, if they are still within the 48 hour grace period and the booking is less than two weeks away, they should be able to cancel with a full refund.