Are you thinking about booking AirBnB for your next trip but worried that you wouldn’t be safe? The answer is yes, as long as you take several necessary steps to ensure your safety.
Airbnb is “safe” so long as you use common sense and follow our tips to protect yourself when renting a vacation rental. Airbnb doesn’t provide guarantees, but many of their policies are designed to help protect you, including their verification process that increases the likelihood that they know who they do business with.
Airbnb’s guest and host protection policies are designed to reduce the risk of fraud or theft – on both sides of the transaction. If you take common-sense measures in addition to following Airbnb’s guidelines, your stay should be safe and secure.
Common customer safety concerns include:
- Payment Safety (Card Details)
- Safety Of Personal Information
- Guest Safety At The Property
- Booking Scams And Fraud
Payment Safety (Card Details)
You can only pay for a booking on Airbnb with a card (credit or debit). When you book a listing, Airbnb is responsible for processing payment and passing on the funds to the host. And that’s not all – we make sure all of your personal information is kept safe and private through the use of encryption technology.
Safety Of Personal Information
You have complete control over what to share on your Airbnb profile. Any user can see your profile, but you choose what you’d like your bio to say. Guest and host contact information is hidden until a booking is confirmed. Some hosts choose to ask for ID at check-in when renting out a whole house or apartment, but that doesn’t always happen.
Guest Safety At The Property
For many, the most intimidating aspect of using Airbnb is the idea that you’ll be staying in a stranger’s home. This isn’t the case because hosts must be outside of the home during the guest’s stay (hence, “home-sharing”), but I would argue that this remains a sticking point for many potential users.
If you’re not sure about staying in a “stranger’s house,” one way to ease into it is to look for properties (generally found under “Places to Stay”) that offer options like instant book, ‘Superhost’ status (more on this in a minute), or listing descriptions that indicate the host lives nearby–this way they will be close if you should need them during your stay.
Booking Scams And Fraud
Unfortunately, many scammers and fraudsters on Airbnb and other online travel agencies try to take advantage of new or inexperienced users. These safety measures may help prevent fraud, but the only way to truly protect yourself is to educate yourself about common booking scams, be on the lookout for red flags, and learn what to do if you believe you’ve been scammed.
