Why did Airbnb host reject me? Hosts are looking up travelers online

When a woman in her early twenties requested to book Vicky Borman’s one-bedroom Heritage-listed cottage in the English village of St Neots last summer, something didn’t feel right.

The user had no reviews on her Airbnb profile, so Borman, who has ‘Superhost’ status on the platform, took to social media to investigate.

There it was — an advertisement on the woman’s Facebook profile for a party in St Neots. The intention was clear: the party was to take place in Borman’s cottage. She declined the request.

Half an hour later, Borman received another booking request through Airbnb, this time from an older woman inquiring on behalf of her son. Suspicions raised, Borman checked out her social media profiles too, and pieced together that the second requestor’s son was friends with the would-be party host Borman had previously declined. She declined this booking too.

The experience has made her more selective about who she allows to stay in the cottage, Borman said. She said she feels checking potential guests’ social media profiles is warranted if she thinks their stay could cause problems.

“I know there are some Airbnb hosts that literally stalk every guest. I did wonder if I was turning into some kind of super detective, but I’m definitely not that person,” said Borman.

“If someone has good reviews, I don’t feel I need to do anything other than make sure they have a pleasant stay. But unfortunately, over the last few years, there have been at least three situations where I felt the need to check people’s social media beforehand.”

A survey of 247 rental property managers from the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany and Canada by home safety company Minut shows that Borman’s instinct was right.

Some 43% of property managers had dealt with noise complaints at their rentals, while 25% have had the police called to a property because of the noise.

Borman, however, is part of the 8% who said they look at guests’ social media profiles prior to accepting a booking. It’s a key part of the vetting process for Sebastien Long, CEO of the Texas-based company Lodgeur, which offers short-term, fully furnished apartment rentals across Houston.

“We delve into social media as a more advanced check when we have suspicions about somebody,” he said. “We will look to see if their story matches up to the information that they’re giving us as to why they’re booking with us.”

Long said he also performs an online news search of potential guests to check for negative headlines and even arrests.