Accepting bookings from Guests who don't have any reviews

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Accepting bookings from Guests who don't have any reviews

Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 524 posts · 148 votes

Hi All,

Would love your advice. Would you accept booking requests from guests who don't have any reviews?

(background info: their identity has been verified on Airbnb, they don't have any bad reviews, but they don't have any positive reviews either, and they do have a photo of themselves)

What are your thoughts on this?

Thank you in advance!

Gulliver

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Luke CarlPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes

Most guest will not have any reviews. There’s no reason to look. They bad guests will show themselves by asking bad questions like “can I have a discount?” No.

Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills

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Luke CarlPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
4y
Most guest will not have any reviews. There’s no reason to look. They bad guests will show themselves by asking bad questions like “can I have a discount?” No.
Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
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Michael BaumPro Member
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
4y
Hey @Gulliver R., @Luke Carl hit the nail on the head. Most do not have any reviews. There are a couple of things I look for in my vetting. I don't accept instant booking so I communicate with each and every guest.
One is their general demeanor. I always thank them for contacting us, have they been to the area before, will they be bringing a dog and are the celebrating anything special. These questions will give you an idea of who they are. Their reasons for coming tell a story and people are usually pretty open about their plans.
If they put only 2 people for our home which sleeps 10-12, I am suspicious and I ask.
Bottom line, you will have to take the risk. So far I haven't had any terrible guests. Yes there is damage sometimes, a missing item but nothing major. Plus I get to give them a 5 star review if they earn it. It is always nice to be the first review!
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y
There are approximately 91,000 hotels in America and none of them require reviews on a website before letting a guest book a room. In my opinion, the AirBnB review model is full of fraud anyway. Hosts give 5-star reviews in hopes the guest will give a 5-star review in return. I see rentals with hundreds of 5-star reviews but they don't have a single piece of artwork or any amenity that goes above and beyond four walls, a roof, and a $1 can opener they bought at Goodwill.
The DIY Landlord Book4.7247 Reviews
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John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
4y
So as everyone has covered very well you don't need to lose any sleep over this. Pre Covid I had instant booking turned on and still didn't worry about it.
During Covid and now (what ever this is now) I have learned that Vrbo is still keeping my calendar slam full by taking a booking inquiry and having time to approve it. I haven't turned down a booking request yet though. I also do not try and look up the person to find out about them. I have better things to do with my time.
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John Carbone
Realtor · Gatlinburg · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 957 votes
4y
On Airbnb I enable the setting requiring the guest to have a profile photo to book. If it’s too much effort for them to do this then I don’t want them staying anyway. I’m not a fan of asking questions about their visit as if they are at border patrol, I think that is off putting and I have other things to do with my time. Seems to be working for me.
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Steven Foster Wilson
Rental Property Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Gulliver R.:

Hi All,
Would love your advice. Would you accept booking requests from guests who don't have any reviews?

(background info: their identity has been verified on Airbnb, they don't have any bad reviews, but they don't have any positive reviews either, and they do have a photo of themselves)
What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you in advance!
Gulliver

I think you have to give people the benefit of the doubt. My parents are not tech savvy thus they do not have a picture on their account and when they were starting to travel did not have reviews but they would be great guests. Everyone has to start somewhere and if you do not let people stay just because of the reviews then you are going to have a lot of vacancies.
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Bruce WoodruffPro Member
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
4y
I allow Instant Bookings - with a Govt ID and previous positive bookings. If they do not have previous bookings, they have to contact me. Just like above, I ask the right questions and get a feel for the person.
At some point you have to take a chance, you just need to minimize the risk.
Most (90%) of my guests have previous reviews so this is rarely an issue.....
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Leslie Anne Morris
Real Estate Agent · Smoky Mountains, TN · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 984 votes
4y
We require them to upload their government issued ID and sign a rental agreement. We also take a security deposit.
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Jonathan Hoflander
Investor · Overland Park, KS · Member since 2022 · 5 posts · 1 vote
4y
We have had no issues with it. We all start with no reviews. I see this as a great sign for the future of Airbnb if they are continuing to attract new guests to the platform. Future demand should continue to grow as long as we give the guest a great experience. The biggest thing is to pay attention to the questions and the communication you have with the guest prior to booking.
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Gulliver R.
OP
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 524 posts · 148 votes
4y
Awesome! These are super valuable feedback. Thanks so much every one!

@Bruce Woodruff - I'm going to really consider doing Instant Booking with those parameters.

@Leslie Anne Morris - Do you require that stuff on AirBnB or VRBO, or both? And you only require that stuff if they don't have any reviews, right?
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Bruce WoodruffPro Member
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Gulliver R.:

Awesome! These are super valuable feedback. Thanks so much every one!

@Bruce Woodruff - I'm going to really consider doing Instant Booking with those parameters.

I also do not rent to last minute requests, they must book at least 3 days in advance. Plus every stay must be a minimum of 2 nights. This discourages the 'party types' from wanting to stay.....

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Leslie Anne Morris
Real Estate Agent · Smoky Mountains, TN · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 984 votes
4y
Quote from @Gulliver R.:

Awesome! These are super valuable feedback. Thanks so much every one!

@Bruce Woodruff - I'm going to really consider doing Instant Booking with those parameters.

@Leslie Anne Morris - Do you require that stuff on AirBnB or VRBO, or both? And you only require that stuff if they don't have any reviews, right?

I require that all on any OTA. But it also gives reassurance in the event of zero reviews.
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Gulliver R.
OP
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 524 posts · 148 votes
4y
Awesome! Thanks again for all the great feedback and tips, everyone. Will be implementing a lot of these!
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Gulliver R.
OP
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 524 posts · 148 votes
4y
Does VRBO give you more control over Instant Bookings like Airbnb does?
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Mike Shemp
Rental Property Investor · Stewartsville, NJ · Member since 2016 · 419 posts · 280 votes
4y
We allow Instant Booking on Airbnb if they have verified ID/photo.
We do not allow Instant Booking on VRBO since that platform doesn't seem to have any way of adding conditions like Airbnb doe to an Instant Booking.
On both platforms, we have a secret phrase in our House Rules that says "to provide this phrase when booking to confirm you read our house rules". In a few cases, when we ask guests to provide the phrase, they write back that they don't want to book...which works out for everyone.
Mike
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Patricia Taveras
New Bern, NC · Member since 2017 · 246 posts · 173 votes
4y
@Gulliver R.
I do all the time. Many people are new to Airbnb. I have been hosting since 2019 and have had very few problems.
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Kerry BairdPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Melbourne, FL · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
I have had problems from people who did have past reviews and no problems from folks who had none. Occasionally have a random "Super Host" who parks 10 cars on my grass. Hard to predict what people are going to do.
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Gulliver R.
OP
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 524 posts · 148 votes
4y
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback again guys/gal!

@Patricia Taveras - do you mean you use Airbnb's and VRBO's instant book feature all the time?
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