Airbnb reservation bots

[Eric Landes]

We have been hosting strs over the past year with great success. This past week we have had over 5 inquiries on one property that were fake inquiries. Has anyone else had a problem with this? Looking for strategies to avoid wasting time on these.

[Jon Martin]

Quote from @Eric Landes:

@Ian Tyndall maybe not a bot but a fake inquiry. Usually they use strange wording that doesn't make sense. Usually they ask if we can talk over WhatsApp. That is the dead giveaway it's not legit.

 LOL I just got one of these this morning that had a pre-approval/decline option of the dates. No reservation history and the airbnb platform noted that it was translated. First he asked how the weather was in August, so I replied with the average high/low for that month. Asked if he (assuming it's a "he") could bring a cat (no pet noted in the reservation itself), I replied no, and he replied no problem. Then insisted that we talk on whatsapp and I replied that I do not communicate off platform until the booking starts. After several tries he gave up and I haven't heard back since. 

Most if not all of the random scam texts come from forced labor troll farms in SE Asia. I wonder if this is their new strategy for finding leads?