Medium Term Rental , Los Angeles- scam inquiries on Bnb or legit?

[Richard E.]

Listmates,

I have been doing STRs for a few years now , here and there in LA, Joshua Tree, and some of the mountain communities.

I own an MTR in Los Angeles. Its not in the greatest area, it is north east los angeles, but more east than north (Northern end of Lincoln Heights for those familiar). I have done well for a year or so, then last three months, have been basically dead, except for a few leads that didn't pan out for reasons not relevant here.

QUESTION- Over the past few months I have had alot of "suspicious" seeming leads- people with no reviews, who just joined, clearly not english speakers- many of whom have the same "pitch", making me think they might be bots of some sort. I followed up on a few of the earlier ones and they made me kind of uncomfortable, as they would not subject themselves to any sort of screening processes, wanted to do business outside the platforms, etc.

However, I am continuing to get more of these- and i am thinking that maybe just because these people are not native speakers (chinese i believe they mostly are) that maybe I am just misunderstanding them and/or miscomunicating andd it is possible they are legit?

Even though they "feel" kind of "scammy", it could just be a communication thing, and I can't really figure out what the "scam" would even be really, as I have never played the scenario out with one of these people.

I am curious if anyone else in the LA Area- or any MTR area I guess- has similar experiences with these sorts of inquiries, which have been popping up lately- and if anyone knows about them/can shed some light on their legitimacy/nonlegitimacy.

Any info appreciated- my vacancy right now is killing me on this property--and it was solid for a year, now vacant like 3 months.

[Patrick O'Shea]

When I first listed on Airbnb I received numerous suspicious inquiries wanting to do business off the platform. From that experience I've learned I want to start on the platform to vet them. After the first month we can do business off Airbnb since I believe that satisfied it obligation to the platform and I feel I have a better feel for the guest. Those who push hard I pass on. It's not worth the potential headache IMO. 

[Mitch Davidson]

@Richard E. I've had quite a few of those lately myself, for a new STR listing on ABB. Perhaps they target newer listings. They've all wanted to stay for a month or so, even though I don't allow that. I just get them talking. Ask them open-ended questions until they say something crazy, like needing me to help them find "reliable transportation" or security for their kids.

[Tiffany Cohen]

Quote from @Mitch Davidson:

@Richard E. I've had quite a few of those lately myself, for a new STR listing on ABB. Perhaps they target newer listings. They've all wanted to stay for a month or so, even though I don't allow that. I just get them talking. Ask them open-ended questions until they say something crazy, like needing me to help them find "reliable transportation" or security for their kids.

I’ve also had a couple from China recently in my new STR in Lake Arrowhead. Wanting to stay 1-3 months. Gave fake names of someone from SF and ended up tracking down the real people and they’ve heard their name being used before. Won’t do screening process and wanting to see the house first in person. But like I said I had then proved them to be fraudulent. They kind of harassed me a bit for another week but Airbnb I believe eventually cancelled their account.

[Ron Brady]

We’ve had nearly a dozen similar inquiries on a similar property—lingering vacant property during this seasonal lull. Oddly, we’re glad to hear others are experiencing this.

We reached out to Air who advised us to immediately flag and decline these inquiries.

[Robin Simon]

In my experience, if your "gut" tells you its fake/scam, you will likely be right 99%+ of the time...

[Richard E.]

Thanks for the responses.

I just wanted to make sure its not language/culture barrier that is causing me to dismiss some of these- that would not be cool for lots of reasons- but here in LA in the LA rent control/tenant friendly environment- MTR hosts are pretty paranoid (that is because as alot of you probably already know- 30 days creates a legal tenancy)

Invariably though these people act weird, wont be vetted, never have reviews, etc., so I'm glad others feel as I do. I would be interested to hear anyone that actually went through with one of these, and what the actual "scam" is - that's where I can't really put my finger on it.

The $ is in Airbnb's, and therefore our, pockets, before anyone takes posession of the property, so I am not sure what the actual angle would be on one of these- but I also don't really want to play it out to find out.