Last minute check in guest .

Ingrid350
Level 1
Marietta, GA

Last minute check in guest .

Hi Fellow Host , 

I’m a host since January 2019, we haven’t had any issue with guest so far but we have noticed in two opportunities a last minute guest inquiry. We accept the first  two guest , who stayed the weekend  in the apartment the whole entire time. It gave us the impression that these  people were locals and hopping from place to place using Airbnb as a easy way to get a room. It seems the guest just join Airbnb this February, and looking at the rewiews they  already had stay  locally 3 differebt Airbnb in the same month. Today, again  we had a guest inquiring, who is also new to Airbnb this month and have three rewiews in this month . This time I didn’t accept the guest. Did anybody have this  experience before? Please share your thoughts 

8 Replies 8

Yep, you are new, and the shifty guests who think they will get you at a cheap price have arrived, @Ingrid350 .  Why do you think they've chosen you over hosts in your area that have been around for years?  It's because Airbnb is promoting your listing and they know you are desperate to get reviews and money.   Welcome to the world of Airbnb.  

Ben551
Level 10
Wellington, New Zealand

@Ingrid350I would take a look at your pricing to see whether there is something obvious you can do to deter these chancers.  The best way to do this is to use a Private Browsing window to search for available places in your area, for dates that you know you are also unbooked for.  Your place will appear, but so will all your competition.  If you see what they are charging (including looking closely at their extra guest fees and cleaning fees) you should be able to adjust where you need to.  You probably want to be a bit less to start with, but check that you're not miles below the average... else the opportunists will keep coming.

I am new to hosting and have revive a last minute inquiry to stay for 6 days. I feel a little nervous and don’t know if to accept it or not?? Any help with that 

Thomas1033
Level 10
North Tonawanda, NY

Hi, we have had exactly 2 inquiries from locals asking for a week stay and several months respectively.  Both had good previous and recent reviews however after questioning them both, the one who wanted “somewhere quiet” for a week was probably having an affair.  I judged this by a review that was written commenting on her guest.  She claimed to be booking for just herself.  Both asked for discounts.  I offered modest discounts and pre approved them.  I guess the discounts weren’t enough as they both decided to go elsewhere.  Thankfully!!!  What exactly do locals need to do at our place they can’t do at their own???  Hmmmm

I always pray the last minute local guest stay  will run smoothly,  and most of time they did 🙂

I will say only 1 in 10 you will get a wierdo, but foruntately we do not share a wall or can't hear them 🙂

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

@Thomas1033 discount seeking guests=trouble. They are never happy. When someone asks for a discount, I direct them to a price filter "to make their search easier, so only relevant properties come up"

@ Inna in Chicago, IL

 

Exactly! We never give discounts to first time guests who ask for one. We do offer discounts to select returning guests and their family or friends when we know who we’re re getting and we have reasonably solid expectations of a good host-guest match. We like your suggestion to refer discount requesters to the filter for pricing!

We do the same @Francesca-and-Dave0 - we tell the ones we really would like to return in their “private feedback” to get in touch for a special price the next time they are in town.