How to Effectively Screen Your Airbnb/VRBO Guests

[Andrew Street]

Hello Everyone,

You are all so helpful in the forums when someone posts leaving a question or comment so I figured I'd share some thoughts and provide some value back to the community. I'll try to do this a couple times a week to engage the community.

In the instant booking feature, there's options to require guests to have the following; Government-issued ID required, Host recommendation required and a pre-booking message requirement. Make sure you turn these requirements on as your first line of defense. People who don't have these categories filled out, will send you a "Request to Book" which will allow you more time to figure out if the guest will be a good fit for your property. Don't be afraid to ask the guest to verify their identity with Airbnb if they haven't already. Especially, if they do not have any reviews.

Beware guests that are high maintenance and have patience. There will be times where guests request a lot from you upfront (which isn't always a bad thing), but could be an indicator of what their stay could look like. They can also hurt your reviews leading to further problems. Most guests want somewhere to stay and don't want to be bothered, so have patience and wait for the right guest for your unit.

That's a few of my thoughts, but I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

Hopefully this provides some value to you!

Best,

Andrew

[John Underwood]

I get a driver's license from person making the reservation. I don't stalk them on Facebook or the like.

If they can afford to stay at my house they are approved. I have better things to worry about.