Post by High Priestess on Sept 22, 2015 16:08:42 GMT
Red Flags for Hosts
Are there red flags waving in the breeze?
Red Flags and screening guests:
Background: A big motivation for me in helping other hosts understand "red flags" in guests that should lead them to be cautious, is because over many years in a variety of situations, including a few of my own, I have seen tremendous abuse by renters of property owners. While the progressive media tend to replay the stereotype of the poor, helpless renter who is victimized by an unscrupulous landlord, in reality, I would like to suggest that the vast majority of the victimization in renter-property owner situations, is victimization of property owners by renters. And some of this victimization is extreme, including property owners who have lost their home because of the actions of malicious and unscrupulous renters.
While the problems faced by Airbnb hosts are likely to be less serious, nevertheless problems with a guest in the very home where you also live can become quite stressful, as many hosts have discovered to their dismay. So I strongly advise that you be careful about whom you accept as a guest -- something which, by the way, you cannot do if you use "Instant Book", because Instant Book completely removes your ability to screen guests. Also, as has been discussed in numerous threads on the forums, please be aware that checking that you want to only accept "guests with positive reviews" is not a safety mechanism in using Instant Book, because the term "positive" is not being used in this context the way you imagine, and only means "real" reviews (as opposed to what, fake ones?) so that a guest with only 4 negative, thumbs-down reviews is considered by the Airbnb system as a guest with 4 "positive reviews."
Thinking about whom you want as a guest:It helps to begin with ideas of what kinds of guests work for YOU. Some hosts will be fine with the types of guests that would be stressful for you -- eg do you need a lot of interaction, and would you have a hard time with a guest who was withdrawn and non-communicative, or are you the reverse, you are very introverted and would feel drained by a guest who needed a lot of interaction?
Once you know the kinds of guests who would fit best into your home, you can better set up your screening criteria.
RED FLAGS
Some things that hosts and others who rent out property MIGHT consider red flags are as follows -- keep in mind that not all of these are red flags in
every situation, or for every host, and everything depends upon the context! One always needs to take context into consideration!
(1)Guest asking for a discount to your already discounted rates. Note that this has been found by many hosts to be the first indication of a guest who is undervaluing what you are providing, and who will be demanding and pushy in many ways. If the guest doesn't value what you are providing, they may well demand that you provide them more and more stuff and more of your time, all for free.
(2) Guest asking for exceptions to be made for them in your house rules. You have those rules for a reason! Stick to them. Sometimes, those expecting exceptions to be made for them are entitled, arrogant people who are convinced they are special, or who are quite self-centered and primarily focused on their own needs, while oblivious to yours.
(3) Guest has been a user of Airbnb for a while, and says they have stayed at other places, but has no reviews. THis could indicate that the hosts they previously stayed with, were not impressed with them.
(4) Guest has reviews which have any negative or concerning remarks from previous hosts
(5) Guest communicates very minimally, conveying only the most necessary information. I have found, in a few cases, that this is a sign that guest simply doesn't want to spend the time it takes to book a place thoughtfully and understand what you expect of them. THey may not have read your house rules, or even your listing, and not assimilated your expectations of them, and they may end up springing "surprises" on you, which they neglected to say earlier just because they aren't thoughtful people.
(6) Guest doesn't seem to have adequate ability to speak your language, and you think that this could create problems in communicating with guest at your house.
(7) Guest is pushy and demanding, showing any indications that they expect more than you can or want to provide.
(8) Guest communicates that they have experienced negative things staying at other Airbnb places, and when asked to explain, doesn't give an explanation
that satisfies you.
(9) Guest expresses concern that your place might have mold or pet dander, vermin, insects, etc. Be wary of the type of guest who comes to a place EXPECTING problems, or whose worldview on life is a negative one, perhaps one that sees germs, mold, vermin or other parasitic forces/creatures just lurking about everywhere ready to pounce and make them ill.
(10) Guest is highly allergic.
(11) Guest is physically disabled in a way that might cause problems for you being able to accomodate them or in their being able to carry out their responsibilities (eg -- I once hosted someone who had more visual impairment than I realized. He could not wash his dishes adequately, and he dropped food on the carpet in his room without realizing it,
creating a mess)
(12) Guest is a lawyer or paralegal or involved in the legal profession with an office/firm working for "tenant's rights" (eg their business is suing property owners) or in "personal injury" work where they often sue property owners. This red flag is by no means an effort to cast aspersions on all attorneys, only to highlight the possibility for situations as occurred here, where a guest threatened to sue a host over a trivial matter:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/682/guest-wants-more-higher-temperature
(13) Guest is fuzzy about exactly how many people will be coming to your house. You should be told exactly -- no surprises here.
(14) Guest is planning to move to your area, and has no job and no place to live lined up, and has no clear plans. OR, the guest is planning to move to your area, seeking a "landing pad" to stay for a little while, but asks if they can pay half of the reservation to start and the second half later. NO! First that is not how Airbnb does business -- they have to pay the whole amount in advance -- but also, if a person who seeking permanent housing does not have enough money to pay for even one month of a stay someplace, they don't have enough money to pay the move-in costs for an apartment. Some people in that situation end up squatting in an Airbnb and refusing to leave..
(15) GUest is fleeing a domestic problem, eg domestic violence or a very difficult and stressful situation,
(16) Guest is coming to your area principally to visit boyfriend/girlfriend, but you dont' allow guests to bring visitors to your home (they may be very tempted to violate this rule)
(17) You feel in some vague way uncomfortable when you look at guests' photo or read their communication, but perhaps you can't quite articulate what it is that makes you uncomfortable (trusting your gut is very important as a host!)
(18) Guest asks a great many questions before booking, to the point where you are starting to feel wearied by the amount of time spent answering questions,
(19) Guest's purpose for visiting your area does not seem to make that much sense or seems too vague (guest might not be telling the truth)
(20) Guest hasn't provided you enough information about themselves or their trip, and/or seems reticent to do so.
(21) You do a superior court search for the county where guest comes from and find that they have been sued with an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit at
some point in the past, or that they have sued a landlord or housemate in the past.
(22) Guest has written negative reviews of hosts in the past, and in reading them and the host response you either cannot determine who is telling the truth, or you tend to believe the host more than the guest.
(23) Guest is a local person in your area, and his/her story about why they want to stay at your home seems a bit "iffy" or not quite clear enough to you. Beware of squatters, and as another host pointed out quite wisely on another forum, often people who have "issues" that would create obstacles to them finding long term housing with a landlord who does a thorough background/credit check, gravitate to Airbnb, where this type of thorough check is not done, or is made more difficult due to the inherent limitations of the platform. Also be wary of the guest who has a permanent residence in your area but wants to book your place for a few days. Why? Did they have a fight with their roommate? (Are they the type of person who gets into fights and might get into a fight with you too?). I just recently had a local person contact me who wanted to stay in my house for 4 days-- her explanation? because she had found bedbugs in her apartment! She promised to heat-treat all her clothing before coming over. No, no and NO!!
(24)Beware of the type of guest/situation that Andrew has so appropriately termed the “Trojan Horse Guest.” This is the guest who gains entry to your place by initially presenting in such a way as to comply with your maximum number of guests/no pets/no smoking/no children requirements, but who, when they arrive or gain entry, suddenly morphs into a larger party, or has children in tow, or is bringing pets, none of which was disclosed at the time of booking. For instance, a guest contacts you and books for a party of 2 adults, and you have a 2-guest maximum, and no pets or children allowed. When the guest shows up they are 2 adults, 2 children, and one dog, and they insist that “no where else I stayed counted children as guests” and insists that “the dog is
really sweet and won’t cause trouble/will stay in the car the whole time”. Be prepared at the doorway of your abode with your trusty “Trojan Horse Detector/Repeller” in hand, and be prepared to give the boot to guests whose names/ages have not been given in advance or paid for in advance, as well as to pets you don’t allow.
(25) When you ask the guest to read your house rules in advance (which you should do with all guests), the guest responds with a comment such as, “well, your rules are a bit picky, but…” or “your rules seem a bit excessive, but…” or has any other type of response which suggests that they feel uneasy or ambivalent about the behavior you expect from guests to YOUR home. You want to be very sure that guests are not going to resent how you are expecting them to behave in your home, or are going to either overtly or passive-aggressively try to subvert your authority while staying with you. People should be comfortable with what you ask of them, or look elsewhere for a different place that matches their needs better.
(26) You have a no pets policy, and guest starts off by stating that they have a service animal and tells you (THREATENS you, actually) that a service animal is not a pet and that you MUST accept a service animal in your home even if you don't accept pets! Perhaps you are concerned because you have severe allergies to animals, or perhaps you have a guest coming very soon who simply cannot stay in the same room where any animal has been present in the last year. Or perhaps you are simply disturbed at the audacity of someone with the nerve to think they can threaten their way into your home! Be very careful how you respond to a guest with a service animal demanding to be housed in your listing. IF you use the wrong language, it could cost you, as you could be sued in accordance with ADA and FHA laws. If you do not know of or understand these laws, please inform yourselves BEFORE you respond to such a guest, and keep in mind as well that any sign that a guest is happy to bully and threaten you into accepting them, is perhaps indicative of a not so good experience to come. I strongly suggest you read these "service animal" threads for advice on how to respond to such guests:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/201/service-animal-thread
In general, it is good to keep in mind that while a host may decline any guest for any reason, it is best to not tell the guest the specific reason you are declining them, as that could be a "discriminatory statement." Simply tell them that you don't think it is a good match, or your room isn't available for the time they want, and don't communicate with them any more or let yourself be dragged into an argument with anyone.
Again, these are not red flags for all hosts or in all circumstances, but they
are just things to think about.
We would all welcome your contributions, if you have other ideas of "red flags" to share, which I can add to this and so over time add to this list each time I post it!
Also -- food for thought -- the following four posts about serious problems with guests were all posted on the SAME DAY (Feb 24 2015) on another forum:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/202/guest-lot-damage
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/204/messy-guests-left-food-ruined
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/203/guests-all-over-help-difficult
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/205/violating-privacy
If you want a tutorial on counting red flags, see my post here where I give you a real inquiry I got from a potential guest, and ask you to count the # of red flags you find in it. I post below in the comments about the # of red flags I found:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/358/example-decline
Example of a "decline"
Okay this is a quiz. See if you can count the number of red flags in this inquiry.
Now for the quiz -- Recently I got an inquiry. It is from a local person. She says she is having to move because she "lost a huge battle with my landlord." She says she may move out of the area, but goes on to give a huge amount of info about herself, as one does when seeking long term housing with other housemates.
She further states that she has a variety of part time jobs and invites clients to her home, but indicates she wouldn't do that if it created problems. She indicates concerns about hygiene standards. She offers to do work around my home. She states that she has a medical marijuana prescription. SHe indicates in her conclusion that her situation is desperate and she needs to find a place soon.
She then goes on to say that like many others in the area, she is being priced out of the housing market. Note: in my area, many of those who are concerned about "being priced out of the rental market" take exception to Airbnb, which they believe is responsible for "driving up the cost of housing" and/or "removing rental units from the market" -- hence some have a certain level of animosity to Airbnb, whom they view as an evil Cruella De'Vil in the housing realm, simply on principle -- perhaps even viewing her as intent on swallowing up all the housing in the area with a bottomless hunger -- and view Airbnb hosts as people exploiting those who need housing.
Noticing at least one red flag in the above (you may find more -- I hope you do) I do a Google search on her name (something I generally dont' do if I have no concerns about a person) and find an article dated a few years ago, stating that she was kicked out of a local organization for inappropriate behavior, and in the article, she is quoted as saying that she was kicked out for her "dozens of complaints" to that organization. ANother Google find is an article she wrote complaining about gentrification and increasing rents in her area. Then I find an article which indicates that two years ago she was living in a hotel in this area. More is found -- over a dozen letters she wrote demanding that a local person's business be closed because that person insulted her, and other allegations, letters which include many personal and trivial details. Finally, there are articles found by this guest which indicate strong political opinions that verge on extreme.
TO read a thread about "Six Types of Guests You Don't want", go here:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/956/kinds-guests
Are there red flags waving in the breeze?Red Flags and screening guests:
Background: A big motivation for me in helping other hosts understand "red flags" in guests that should lead them to be cautious, is because over many years in a variety of situations, including a few of my own, I have seen tremendous abuse by renters of property owners. While the progressive media tend to replay the stereotype of the poor, helpless renter who is victimized by an unscrupulous landlord, in reality, I would like to suggest that the vast majority of the victimization in renter-property owner situations, is victimization of property owners by renters. And some of this victimization is extreme, including property owners who have lost their home because of the actions of malicious and unscrupulous renters.
While the problems faced by Airbnb hosts are likely to be less serious, nevertheless problems with a guest in the very home where you also live can become quite stressful, as many hosts have discovered to their dismay. So I strongly advise that you be careful about whom you accept as a guest -- something which, by the way, you cannot do if you use "Instant Book", because Instant Book completely removes your ability to screen guests. Also, as has been discussed in numerous threads on the forums, please be aware that checking that you want to only accept "guests with positive reviews" is not a safety mechanism in using Instant Book, because the term "positive" is not being used in this context the way you imagine, and only means "real" reviews (as opposed to what, fake ones?) so that a guest with only 4 negative, thumbs-down reviews is considered by the Airbnb system as a guest with 4 "positive reviews."
Thinking about whom you want as a guest:It helps to begin with ideas of what kinds of guests work for YOU. Some hosts will be fine with the types of guests that would be stressful for you -- eg do you need a lot of interaction, and would you have a hard time with a guest who was withdrawn and non-communicative, or are you the reverse, you are very introverted and would feel drained by a guest who needed a lot of interaction?
Once you know the kinds of guests who would fit best into your home, you can better set up your screening criteria.
RED FLAGS
Some things that hosts and others who rent out property MIGHT consider red flags are as follows -- keep in mind that not all of these are red flags in
every situation, or for every host, and everything depends upon the context! One always needs to take context into consideration!
(1)Guest asking for a discount to your already discounted rates. Note that this has been found by many hosts to be the first indication of a guest who is undervaluing what you are providing, and who will be demanding and pushy in many ways. If the guest doesn't value what you are providing, they may well demand that you provide them more and more stuff and more of your time, all for free.
(2) Guest asking for exceptions to be made for them in your house rules. You have those rules for a reason! Stick to them. Sometimes, those expecting exceptions to be made for them are entitled, arrogant people who are convinced they are special, or who are quite self-centered and primarily focused on their own needs, while oblivious to yours.
(3) Guest has been a user of Airbnb for a while, and says they have stayed at other places, but has no reviews. THis could indicate that the hosts they previously stayed with, were not impressed with them.
(4) Guest has reviews which have any negative or concerning remarks from previous hosts
(5) Guest communicates very minimally, conveying only the most necessary information. I have found, in a few cases, that this is a sign that guest simply doesn't want to spend the time it takes to book a place thoughtfully and understand what you expect of them. THey may not have read your house rules, or even your listing, and not assimilated your expectations of them, and they may end up springing "surprises" on you, which they neglected to say earlier just because they aren't thoughtful people.
(6) Guest doesn't seem to have adequate ability to speak your language, and you think that this could create problems in communicating with guest at your house.
(7) Guest is pushy and demanding, showing any indications that they expect more than you can or want to provide.
(8) Guest communicates that they have experienced negative things staying at other Airbnb places, and when asked to explain, doesn't give an explanation
that satisfies you.
(9) Guest expresses concern that your place might have mold or pet dander, vermin, insects, etc. Be wary of the type of guest who comes to a place EXPECTING problems, or whose worldview on life is a negative one, perhaps one that sees germs, mold, vermin or other parasitic forces/creatures just lurking about everywhere ready to pounce and make them ill.
(10) Guest is highly allergic.
(11) Guest is physically disabled in a way that might cause problems for you being able to accomodate them or in their being able to carry out their responsibilities (eg -- I once hosted someone who had more visual impairment than I realized. He could not wash his dishes adequately, and he dropped food on the carpet in his room without realizing it,
creating a mess)
(12) Guest is a lawyer or paralegal or involved in the legal profession with an office/firm working for "tenant's rights" (eg their business is suing property owners) or in "personal injury" work where they often sue property owners. This red flag is by no means an effort to cast aspersions on all attorneys, only to highlight the possibility for situations as occurred here, where a guest threatened to sue a host over a trivial matter:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/682/guest-wants-more-higher-temperature
(13) Guest is fuzzy about exactly how many people will be coming to your house. You should be told exactly -- no surprises here.
(14) Guest is planning to move to your area, and has no job and no place to live lined up, and has no clear plans. OR, the guest is planning to move to your area, seeking a "landing pad" to stay for a little while, but asks if they can pay half of the reservation to start and the second half later. NO! First that is not how Airbnb does business -- they have to pay the whole amount in advance -- but also, if a person who seeking permanent housing does not have enough money to pay for even one month of a stay someplace, they don't have enough money to pay the move-in costs for an apartment. Some people in that situation end up squatting in an Airbnb and refusing to leave..
(15) GUest is fleeing a domestic problem, eg domestic violence or a very difficult and stressful situation,
(16) Guest is coming to your area principally to visit boyfriend/girlfriend, but you dont' allow guests to bring visitors to your home (they may be very tempted to violate this rule)
(17) You feel in some vague way uncomfortable when you look at guests' photo or read their communication, but perhaps you can't quite articulate what it is that makes you uncomfortable (trusting your gut is very important as a host!)
(18) Guest asks a great many questions before booking, to the point where you are starting to feel wearied by the amount of time spent answering questions,
(19) Guest's purpose for visiting your area does not seem to make that much sense or seems too vague (guest might not be telling the truth)
(20) Guest hasn't provided you enough information about themselves or their trip, and/or seems reticent to do so.
(21) You do a superior court search for the county where guest comes from and find that they have been sued with an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit at
some point in the past, or that they have sued a landlord or housemate in the past.
(22) Guest has written negative reviews of hosts in the past, and in reading them and the host response you either cannot determine who is telling the truth, or you tend to believe the host more than the guest.
(23) Guest is a local person in your area, and his/her story about why they want to stay at your home seems a bit "iffy" or not quite clear enough to you. Beware of squatters, and as another host pointed out quite wisely on another forum, often people who have "issues" that would create obstacles to them finding long term housing with a landlord who does a thorough background/credit check, gravitate to Airbnb, where this type of thorough check is not done, or is made more difficult due to the inherent limitations of the platform. Also be wary of the guest who has a permanent residence in your area but wants to book your place for a few days. Why? Did they have a fight with their roommate? (Are they the type of person who gets into fights and might get into a fight with you too?). I just recently had a local person contact me who wanted to stay in my house for 4 days-- her explanation? because she had found bedbugs in her apartment! She promised to heat-treat all her clothing before coming over. No, no and NO!!
(24)Beware of the type of guest/situation that Andrew has so appropriately termed the “Trojan Horse Guest.” This is the guest who gains entry to your place by initially presenting in such a way as to comply with your maximum number of guests/no pets/no smoking/no children requirements, but who, when they arrive or gain entry, suddenly morphs into a larger party, or has children in tow, or is bringing pets, none of which was disclosed at the time of booking. For instance, a guest contacts you and books for a party of 2 adults, and you have a 2-guest maximum, and no pets or children allowed. When the guest shows up they are 2 adults, 2 children, and one dog, and they insist that “no where else I stayed counted children as guests” and insists that “the dog is
really sweet and won’t cause trouble/will stay in the car the whole time”. Be prepared at the doorway of your abode with your trusty “Trojan Horse Detector/Repeller” in hand, and be prepared to give the boot to guests whose names/ages have not been given in advance or paid for in advance, as well as to pets you don’t allow.
(25) When you ask the guest to read your house rules in advance (which you should do with all guests), the guest responds with a comment such as, “well, your rules are a bit picky, but…” or “your rules seem a bit excessive, but…” or has any other type of response which suggests that they feel uneasy or ambivalent about the behavior you expect from guests to YOUR home. You want to be very sure that guests are not going to resent how you are expecting them to behave in your home, or are going to either overtly or passive-aggressively try to subvert your authority while staying with you. People should be comfortable with what you ask of them, or look elsewhere for a different place that matches their needs better.
(26) You have a no pets policy, and guest starts off by stating that they have a service animal and tells you (THREATENS you, actually) that a service animal is not a pet and that you MUST accept a service animal in your home even if you don't accept pets! Perhaps you are concerned because you have severe allergies to animals, or perhaps you have a guest coming very soon who simply cannot stay in the same room where any animal has been present in the last year. Or perhaps you are simply disturbed at the audacity of someone with the nerve to think they can threaten their way into your home! Be very careful how you respond to a guest with a service animal demanding to be housed in your listing. IF you use the wrong language, it could cost you, as you could be sued in accordance with ADA and FHA laws. If you do not know of or understand these laws, please inform yourselves BEFORE you respond to such a guest, and keep in mind as well that any sign that a guest is happy to bully and threaten you into accepting them, is perhaps indicative of a not so good experience to come. I strongly suggest you read these "service animal" threads for advice on how to respond to such guests:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/201/service-animal-thread
In general, it is good to keep in mind that while a host may decline any guest for any reason, it is best to not tell the guest the specific reason you are declining them, as that could be a "discriminatory statement." Simply tell them that you don't think it is a good match, or your room isn't available for the time they want, and don't communicate with them any more or let yourself be dragged into an argument with anyone.
Again, these are not red flags for all hosts or in all circumstances, but they
are just things to think about.
We would all welcome your contributions, if you have other ideas of "red flags" to share, which I can add to this and so over time add to this list each time I post it!
Also -- food for thought -- the following four posts about serious problems with guests were all posted on the SAME DAY (Feb 24 2015) on another forum:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/202/guest-lot-damage
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/204/messy-guests-left-food-ruined
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/203/guests-all-over-help-difficult
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/205/violating-privacy
If you want a tutorial on counting red flags, see my post here where I give you a real inquiry I got from a potential guest, and ask you to count the # of red flags you find in it. I post below in the comments about the # of red flags I found:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/358/example-decline
Example of a "decline"
Okay this is a quiz. See if you can count the number of red flags in this inquiry.
Now for the quiz -- Recently I got an inquiry. It is from a local person. She says she is having to move because she "lost a huge battle with my landlord." She says she may move out of the area, but goes on to give a huge amount of info about herself, as one does when seeking long term housing with other housemates.
She further states that she has a variety of part time jobs and invites clients to her home, but indicates she wouldn't do that if it created problems. She indicates concerns about hygiene standards. She offers to do work around my home. She states that she has a medical marijuana prescription. SHe indicates in her conclusion that her situation is desperate and she needs to find a place soon.
She then goes on to say that like many others in the area, she is being priced out of the housing market. Note: in my area, many of those who are concerned about "being priced out of the rental market" take exception to Airbnb, which they believe is responsible for "driving up the cost of housing" and/or "removing rental units from the market" -- hence some have a certain level of animosity to Airbnb, whom they view as an evil Cruella De'Vil in the housing realm, simply on principle -- perhaps even viewing her as intent on swallowing up all the housing in the area with a bottomless hunger -- and view Airbnb hosts as people exploiting those who need housing.
Noticing at least one red flag in the above (you may find more -- I hope you do) I do a Google search on her name (something I generally dont' do if I have no concerns about a person) and find an article dated a few years ago, stating that she was kicked out of a local organization for inappropriate behavior, and in the article, she is quoted as saying that she was kicked out for her "dozens of complaints" to that organization. ANother Google find is an article she wrote complaining about gentrification and increasing rents in her area. Then I find an article which indicates that two years ago she was living in a hotel in this area. More is found -- over a dozen letters she wrote demanding that a local person's business be closed because that person insulted her, and other allegations, letters which include many personal and trivial details. Finally, there are articles found by this guest which indicate strong political opinions that verge on extreme.
TO read a thread about "Six Types of Guests You Don't want", go here:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/956/kinds-guests
