Does Airbnb allow third-party bookings?

Whether you’re a guest or a host, you should understand that Airbnb does not allow third-party bookings. You can only book for yourself. The reason why Airbnb does not allow third-party bookings is because the whole system relies on transparency and trust around information for Airbnb profiles, reviews, and verifications that are needed when deciding whether to host someone. 

Why does Airbnb not allow third-party bookings?

Imagine you’ve just been booked by a middle-aged woman who has perfect reviews and so you decide to host her. Then fast forward to your booking and a teenager with her boyfriend turn up because they’ve used mum’s account to book. You’re going to feel cheated right? Because you didn’t consent to them turning up and who knows how they will behave? You can’t assess this on the spot. 

As well as an incorrect identity the issue is also that if they did happen to damage the property, Airbnb’s insurance wouldn’t cover them because they weren’t the ones who agreed to the terms of booking. So in short, accepting these bookings means a big risk on the host’s part. So what can you do on your part to prevent third-party bookings from happening?

Avoiding third-party bookings

So you’ve found out through a conversation that the person who has booked your Airbnb is not in fact, that person. What can you do? Firstly, you could ask them to cancel their booking and re-book under the person’s own profile, or you could contact Airbnb and ask them to cancel this booking due to it being a third-party booking. If you contact Airbnb rather than cancel the booking yourself, this will mean that it won’t affect your search-ranking or Superhost/potential Superhost status.

If you do decide to go through with this booking anyway, you could take a form of the ID such as their passport or birth certificate. As well as this you’ll need the guest to sign a waiver form or message the person who is booking and get them to accept all the risk in writing on the Airbnb app. However, this is not without its risks, so I would suggest calling Airbnb and cancelling the guest would be the best option.

So how can you get your friends involved?

Rather than attempting to create an Airbnb booking for a third party, how about referring your friend? To do this, click the ‘invite friends’ button on your dashboard and choose your vacation-loving friends. Once this friend or family member successfully books a reservation that qualifies, you’ll earn travel credits as a reward!

What about booking for your company?

However, Airbnb does allow designated bookers at companies to enroll in Airbnb for work and book business trips for colleagues. Click here to learn more about how to book travel for your company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Airbnb police would say you are not allowed to book on behalf of a third-party, although there isn’t always a way of policing this, so it will occasionally happen. If you do figure out that a guest has booked under a third party, the best idea is to call Airbnb up to cancel the booking (without risking the negative consequences that result from cancelling yourself.)

Written by Lauren Middleton