question about booking

[Deborah-And-Barry0]

Hello all - 

We're relatively new to airbnb and just received a request that has no 'member since' year, no reviews, and 2 verifications.  We have our listing set to allow direct booking unless they don't meet certain criteria.  Wouldn't they have to be airbnb members in order to make this reservation in the first place?  Thanks for any help with this one.

Deborah

[Deborah-And-Barry0]

Is it possible for someone to request to book as a guest?

[Marzena4]

Hello @Deborah-And-Barry0. So who is the guest that sent you the request? They must have an airbnb profile to send requests. You don't have to accept the request, you can ask the guest to provide more info about themselves and their trip. And even if you have Instant Book on, those who don't meet your criteria may send you requests.

[Deborah-And-Barry0]

Hello Marzena, and thank you for your response.  I did just what you suggested, and it turns out that the prospective guest had literally just joined airbnb.  They weren't familiar with the normal booking routine, so they didn't realize that some of their information was missing.  I guess the instant book didn't work because they had no reviews. (?) We accepted the reservation, but will have our downstairs tenants keep a close eye on the place.  Thanks for getting back to us!

Dzhinkuye!

Deborah