This presentation was originally given at the NYC Airbnb Hosts Meetup. It covers: -10 risk factors to consider before accepting a reservation -How to cancel instant book reservations without penalty -Using house rules to deter bad guests and give you leverage -Payment fraud prevention on channels where hosts take payment, such as booking.com and Homeaway

1. NYC AIRBNB HOSTS
MEETUP
Visit our Meetup page for upcoming events
Sponsored by:

2. S
Guest Screening
How to Stop Problem Guests and Fraud
By Michael McKay

3. Speaker Background
S 13 properties in Jersey City
S 4 properties in Washington DC
S Listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, Homeaway, and many
smaller channels
S Over 3,000 guests hosted

4. The Challenge
S Stop problem guests and parties
S Eliminate fraud on channels where the host is responsible
for collecting credit card payments
S Develop a screening process that works across all these
channels

5. The Solution
S Created a system that generates a risk score for each
guest
S Created an internal ID verification system
S Extensive house rules

6. Highest Risk Factors
S Voice over IP phone numbers for non Airbnb reservations
S Use phonevalidator.com to see if the number is a cell phone
or VOIP number. Only works for US phone numbers.
S Local reservations
S Negative reviews
S Asking to pay by check

7. Other Risk Factors
S Risky when 2 or more are true:
S Last minute reservations
S Single night reservations
S Weekend reservations
S No initial message with their booking or a message that
provides no context for their trip (Airbnb only)
S Groups of 6 or more
S Guest making the reservation is not the one staying

8. S
Would you accept or
decline these
reservations?

10. Reservation details
S 7 night stay booked 3 weeks in advance for a property in
Jersey City, NJ
S 2 adults and 2 children
S “Hi Michael. We are a family from China. We will travel
from Philadelphia to New York on Aug. 18. Not sure the
time, it should be in the afternoon. Thank you.”

11. Reservation Accepted
S This is a low risk reservation
S Guest booked far in advance for a long stay
S Did not live nearby
S Had 4 positive reviews
S Initial message included the reason for their trip

13. Reservation details
S 1 night Sunday stay booked at 3 pm same day for a
property in Jersey City, NJ
S Requested for 1 guest
S “Thanks for having this place available.”
S When the purpose of their trip, the guest said “We want to
have easy access to Manhattan.”

14. Reservation Declined
S This is a high risk reservation
S The guest is local
S They are from Jersey City, but want to book a property in
Jersey city to have “Easy access to Manhattan”, which
makes no sense
S Last minute (same day) reservation for a short stay of 1
night
S No positive reviews
S No context for the purpose of their trip in the initial
message

15. Canceling risky Airbnb
reservations
S Airbnb let’s you cancel instant book reservations penalty
free!
S When canceling select that you are uncomfortable with
the guest
S You can cancel up to 3 times online per calendar year.
After that you must call, but the cancelation will still be
penalty free as long as your provide a good reason.

16. House rules
S Use an exhaustive list of house rules
S This will give you leverage when canceling reservations or
for any later disputes
S Make the group agree to important house rules again in
the message
S E.g. I wanted to confirm that you read our house rules,
including building quiet hours after 8 pm, which are strictly
enforced, and that any violation of these rules can lead to
the loss of your $300 security deposit

17. Ask for ID
S Require guests to submit a photo of their ID within 24 hours of
booking
S For channels where the host takes payment, require the guest to
send a photo of their credit card
S Most people using stolen credit cards don’t have the physical card
S Add this requirement to the fine print or rental agreement of the channel
S Card number must match the one used to pay for the reservation
S Name on credit card must match the name on the ID
S If guests are concerned about sending a credit card photo, they can
cover some of the digits

18. Other steps to prevent fraud
S These apply to channels where the host takes payment
S Do not accept same day reservations
S Only accept payment by credit cards. Do NOT accept checks.
S Only send check-in instructions once ALL of the following are true:
S Payment is received in full
S You have charged or authorized the card for the security deposit
S Guest has verified their ID
S You have confirmed the phone number is not a VOIP number

19. Canceling reservations
S Homeaway allows you to cancel up to 10% of
reservations without effecting your rank in the search
S Booking.com
S Mark the card invalid
S After 24 hours, you can go in and cancel