Name Change on a new reservation

[Julie1455]

I have accepted a booking request from someone on Airbnb. I prepared my rental agreement with the name used to book. The Guest emailed me to ask me to change her name, the name used to book is her "Facebook name." Now I am not comfortable booking her and her party. How do I reach Airbnb to ask about that? Thank you for your time.

JL in SD

[Martina326]

Hi Julie.

It could all be really innocent, why don’t you chat to her for a bit, ask her why is she visiting your locality, I presume you know how many are her group, etc,  has she just joined air bnb or does she have any reviews, these are always helpful I find, at the end of the day it’s your home and if you are not really comfortable, you can cancel it, there should be a link for the air bnb  help centre on the website, best of luck, 

[Julie1455]

Thank you Martina! Good advice.

[Susan151]

@Julie1455 . A Facebook name, which is not one's real name, is actually very common. I have many friends who have elected to use a nickname that only friends would know instead of their legal name. So, yes, a bit of a red flag and well-worth investigating, but I wouldn't call it a show-stopper.

[Julie1455]

Thank you Susan, I took Martina's advice and contacted the Guest. It seemed okay and she was very responsive.

[Daphne70]

@Julie1455 

Maybe it's all part of the informality of today's social media interaction but your guest would not try and book a flight using her Facebook nickname and nor is it appropriate to use it to book accommodation whether in a hotel or through Airbnb. I assume your guest has not verified her ID with Airbnb?