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Post by rorobrooklyn on Oct 31, 2015 14:39:27 GMT
Hi All,
I know this has been addressed on the Airbnb site, but I couldn't find a reference here and I don't remember what the response was. I have a request from 9 hours ago from a Dad wanting to book for his son and daughter-in-law. I read the #rd party booking site, but it reads like a host is booking, not a guest. The Dad has verification's and has been hosted with positive reviews. What should I do?
Thanks, Rosanne
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Post by High Priestess on Oct 31, 2015 15:24:05 GMT
Airbnb policy is that third party bookings are not allowed:
www.airbnb.com/help/article/427/can-i-book-on-behalf-of-a-friend-or-family-member
If you read that help article, it states that people cannot book for a family member -- only a person who will actually be one of the people staying on the reservation, is allowed to book the reservation. So you should tell this to the Dad, and ask him to tell his son to sign up on Airbnb and create their own account. THe help article also indicates that when you refer someone to sign up on Airbnb through "invite a friend" you can get a travel credit for doing so.
Some hosts do allow a family member to book for another, but I advise against it. Not only because Airbnb policy doesn't allow it, but for these reasons too:
(1) You want to be communicating with those who will actually be staying at your place. You can't screen people who aren't even in communication with you, ask them questions, ask if they understand your house rules (or have even read them). It's important for hosts to screen guests and you don't get to do this when people book for someone else.
(2) IF something goes wrong, and the guests damage your place, since they didn't book with you, you will have trouble billing them for the damage. Father doesn't want to pay because he didn't do thte damage. Likewise, insurance may not cover guests in your home who did not do the booking and/or are not named on the reservation.
(3) At the time of the review, you can't review the Father, since he didn't stay with you, but you cant' review the son and daughter in law,since they don't have an account and/or if they do have an account, it's not the account that booked with you. YOu are in the awkward situation of being asked to do a review for a person who didn't stay at your house. Conversely, the Father shouldn't be able to review you since he didn't stay at your house. I have heard of bad reviews getting generated this way -- Father hasn't met you and could be quite content to write a third party bad review, the same way he was content to do a third party booking.
In general, people/family wanting to do third party bookings are not showing enough responsibility to do the work to do things correctly, and this is a sign of problems to come. What else can't they be bothered to do correctly?
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Post by rorobrooklyn on Oct 31, 2015 16:36:58 GMT
Hi Deborah,
Thanks again or your prompt response. You're always so helpful. I sent a message via Airbnb so there's a record of it and asked him to cancel. Should I also contact Airbnb? It was done through IB.
Be Well...Happy Halloween!
Rosanne
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Post by rorobrooklyn on Oct 31, 2015 16:37:17 GMT
*for
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Post by High Priestess on Oct 31, 2015 16:49:58 GMT
THat's an example of another reason not to use Instant Book.
If the guest cancels, you don't need to contact Airbnb as it is all taken care of, but if he doesn't cancel, you should contact Airbnb, and they will require him to cancel or will cancel for him.
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Post by fionad on Nov 3, 2015 23:56:05 GMT
I recently accepted a booking from a German guy who was booking on behalf of his visiting grandparents. I did attempt to persuade him to get them to sign up, but I could see that it wasn't going to happen. I explained the issues and then took the booking as I didn't want to lose a 5 day money! I did meet the guy making the booking, although he didn't actually stay here. I think younger family members booking on behalf of elderly relatives is more understandable than a father booking for his offspring though.
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Post by High Priestess on Nov 4, 2015 2:53:35 GMT
I agree, Fiona, it's understandable that older folks have a harder time using the computer. But it doesn't make sense for someone to book for someone who can easily do computer work and set up their own account.
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