Recognize serious Airbnb rental companies - 5 tricks
Not every Airbnb rental company is serious. So that you do not fall into a trap, we will show you 5 tricks with which you can identify cheaters in advance.
1. Book with a verified Airbnb rental company
Airbnb not only attracts travelers, but also many fraudsters. In summer 2015, only 300 of around 17 million bookings were noticed as possible fraud, but the number of unreported cases could be much higher. Tip 1 against fraud:
- It is best to only book accommodation if the landlord has verified it.
- This can be done via Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn, for example. In addition, the landlords must upload an official ID or driver's license. In a separate article you will find all the details for verification.
- But that alone is not enough, because there are countless fake profiles in the networks. ID documents can also be easily forged because they only have to be uploaded as an image. Therefore, please also note our other tips:
2. Check Facebook and Google+ for Airbnb fake
- Next, you should check that the Airbnb rental company's Facebook profile is really real.
- We'll show you all the important criteria.
- You should also take a close look at a linked LinkedIn account.
3. Aribnb photos: Too good to be true?
- Some photos on Airbnb are just too good: scammers often use photos from the Internet to rent their alleged apartments.
- You can easily check this by having the pictures checked by Google. No comparable photos should be found here. If so, they should be in other websites or offers of the landlord.
- Verified photos promise even more security: Airbnb offers free of charge that a photographer of the platform takes photos in the apartment. These are marked with a watermark as "verified photo". You are on the safe side here.
4. Check Airbnb ratings
Found a dream apartment at a ridiculously low price? Then you should become suspicious and also check the reviews:
- If there are fewer than ten reviews, you should not book without further exams. Reviews are only possible after a successful booking, but fraudsters often book with themselves to give a sensational rating.
- Many reviews will tell you more about the apartment: where exactly is it? Are there noisy streets nearby? How far is it to the subway? You can check a lot of information with a glance at Google Maps and Google Earth.
5. Only book and pay via Airbnb
- If you pay through Airbnb, you must pay an agency fee to Airbnb at the same time. The landlord also pays a fee. Therefore, some landlords try to process payment outside the platform.
- But if you pay through Aibnb, the money is safe: Airbnb only forwards the money to the landlord 24 hours after the check-in.
- If the apartment is a fake, Airbnb stops the transfer and you get your money back.
- Therefore, we advise you to always book directly via Airbnb and never to pay in advance.
On the next page, we will help you to set up an Airbnb account.