Questions to Ask Airbnb Guests

The questions

Open any question to see why it works.

1. 1

   What brings you to town for these dates?

   The most useful opener because almost everyone answers it in one line: a wedding, a conference, a hospital stay, visiting family. The answers that should slow you down are the non-answers, and a local address booking a local stay with no reason given is the pattern most hosts learn the hard way.

2. 2

   How many people will be staying, including children and infants?

   Headcount is the single most understated item on a booking, usually because guests believe babies and toddlers do not count. Asking with the words children and infants in the question closes that gap before anyone arrives and finds two fewer beds than they need.

3. 3

   Who is coming with you, and how do you know each other?

   One family, two couples, and six coworkers use a house in completely different ways even at the same headcount. A guest who answers easily is telling you the truth; a guest who deflects to just some friends is usually managing a group they know you would not approve.

4. 4

   What time do you expect to arrive, and will you be coming straight from the airport?

   This surfaces a two in the morning arrival, a request to drop bags at nine, and whether they will be exhausted and unlikely to read instructions. If you use self check-in, it also tells you when to expect the message that the lockbox code is not working.

5. 5

   Is anyone driving, and how many cars will there be?

   Parking is the complaint most likely to appear in a review even when the listing states there is none, because guests read the amenity list and not the sentence underneath it. Two cars in a one-space driveway is also how hosts end up in a dispute with a neighbor.

6. 6

   Are you bringing a pet?

   Ask directly rather than relying on the listing filter, because guests who consider a small dog to be not really a pet are common and genuinely surprised to be told otherwise. If you do allow pets, the follow-up worth asking is whether the animal is left alone in the unit.

7. 7

   Have you had a chance to read the house rules, particularly the ones about quiet hours and visitors?

   Naming two specific rules forces an actual reading instead of a reflexive yes. It also creates a written record that they were told, which matters if you later need to raise something with Airbnb about noise or an unregistered group.

8. 8

   Is this a special occasion?

   Most guests answer this honestly and cheerfully, which is exactly why it works. Birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette weekends, and reunions are not automatically a problem, but they are a different stay from a quiet couples trip and you would rather learn it now than at eleven at night.

9. 9

   Have you stayed in an Airbnb before?

   A first-time guest is not a risk, but they are an information gap: no reviews, no habits, and often no idea that check-out involves anything. The answer tells you how much of your process needs to be spelled out rather than assumed.

10. 10

    Will anyone be visiting during the stay who is not sleeping here?

    Day visitors are the loophole in every occupancy limit, and the reason a house rented for four ends up with fourteen people around the pool. Asking it plainly makes the limit feel like a stated rule rather than a suspicion you sprang on them later.

11. 11

    Will you need to work while you are here, and what do you need for that?

    Guests working remotely care about upload speed, a real desk, and a door that closes, and none of that is obvious from photos. Five minutes of honesty here prevents the review that says the wifi was unusable for calls, which is the review future business travelers read most closely.

12. 12

    Is anything about the space likely to be a problem: the stairs, the walk from parking, a shower with no bath?

    Accessibility mismatches cause more cancellations and refund requests than dirt does, and guests rarely volunteer a mobility issue unprompted. A guest bringing an elderly parent will tell you immediately if you open the door, and you can decide before their money is committed.

13. 13

    Is anyone in the group sensitive to pets, smoke or strong scents?

    Worth asking if an animal has ever lived in the unit, if you use scented cleaners, or if the building has any smoking history. Allergy complaints usually arrive as a demand for a same-day refund, and there is no fixing it once the guest is standing in the room.

14. 14

    What made you pick this place over the others you looked at?

    The answer tells you which photo or line of the listing is doing the work, and occasionally reveals an expectation you cannot meet, such as thinking the lake is walkable. It is also the cheapest listing research you will ever do.

15. 15

    Is there anything I can have ready before you arrive?

    Small, specific requests come out here: a crib, an extra blanket, a late check-out, a parking pass. Handling one of them costs almost nothing and is the most reliable way to be described as a good host in the review, which is written mostly from memory of how you responded.

16. 16

    Did you get in alright, and is everything working the way you expected?

    Send this a couple of hours after check-in, not the next morning. Almost every bad review describes a problem the host could have fixed on day one, and guests will tell a message what they will not tell a doorbell camera.

17. 17

    Is the heating or cooling comfortable for you?

    Temperature is the most common in-stay complaint and the one guests are shyest about raising, particularly where the thermostat is locked or the system is slow. Asking directly gives you the chance to explain the quirk before they decide the place is badly maintained.

18. 18

    Is there anything you found yourself looking for that was not here?

    This is how you learn that your kitchen has no can opener or that the shampoo ran out on night two. Guests will answer it as a favor rather than a complaint, and a running list from a dozen stays is worth more than any restocking checklist.

19. 19

    Before you head off, is there anything that needs my attention: a spill, a breakage, a light that stopped working?

    Asked as a normal question, this gets you an honest answer surprisingly often, because most damage is accidental and guests feel worse about it than you do. Finding out at check-out rather than at cleaning is the difference between a small conversation and a claim.

20. 20

    Would you stay again, and is there one thing you would change?

    Asking after they leave, in one short message, tends to prompt the review rather than replace it. The one thing framing keeps the answer usable, and a guest who has already told you the fix privately is far less likely to make it the headline of a public review.