Lake Geneva, WI · Member since 2022 · 76 posts · 27 votes
I am setting up our airbnb listing, and got to the page where we select an experienced guest or any guest. Any advice on which is preferable or if there is a difference? Also any lessons learned or things you would have loved to know for the very first time? Thank you so much in advance.
Investor · Tallahassee · Member since 2019 · 249 posts · 93 votes
3y
Hey Martin, there is no wrong answer but I'll tell you the pros and cons of each.
So an experienced guests is usually a guest that has stayed at one airbnb some time before and have at least one 5 star review. These guests are usually good, will not dirty your place, overall will be less headache etc.
Any guest means you could have someone who has never been on airbnb before, no reviews whatsoever. There's more risks with these types of guests, might be more likely to be unclean, break something, smoke in your unit, have a party etc. The pro to this is that you have a larger pool of people looking at your listing since you are catering to experiences and inexperienced airbnb guests.
For someone starting out, I recommend just having experienced guests for now and once you build your systems, opening it up to all.
This is what I do. I also have pre-message making sure they read all the rules (no pets, parties, smoking in unit) and require an ID with airbnb website. This has helped me vet most of my guests. Will warn you that the 2 incidents that were bad for me (guest smoked in unit) were from guests that had no reviews.
Real Estate Agent · Smoky Mountains, TN · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 984 votes
3y
We allow any guest but they need to have a government issued ID uploaded. We also require them to sign our rental agreement and provide a credit card for security deposit hold.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
3y
Hey @Martin Guerrero, we also allow any guest and there really hasn't be an issue. I do find that all AirBNB guests are more of a crapshoot vs VRBO. The dirtiest guests, damage etc have come from AirBNB people.
It's not that VRBO guests are perfect, but they have overall been better guests.