How Risky Is It To Stay At An Airbnb With No Reviews?

The beauty of modern travel lies in its flexibility, offering travelers more options when it comes to lodging. With options ranging from quaint bed and breakfasts to luxurious all-inclusive resorts, cozy motels, and trendy rental apartments, there's something to cater to every taste and budget. The rise of peer-to-peer rental platforms, like Airbnb, has further expanded these choices, enabling property owners to offer their homes to others for both short- and long-term stays. But while many listings on these sites provide rates more wallet-friendly than hotels, caution is advised, particularly with listings that lack reviews. Then again, just because the listing you're eyeing has zero reviews doesn't necessarily mean that it's a potential scam.

Reviews have become an indispensable tool for anyone looking to book a property on Airbnb, helping potential guests determine if it delivers on its promises. It's normal to feel alarmed when a listing that ticks all your boxes has zero reviews, but sometimes, it's just an indication that the host is new to the site. The platform itself is not without its defenses, after all, with Airbnb employing a number of screening measures, including performing background checks and utilizing a proprietary machine-learning-powered system that identifies potentially fraudulent listings.

Still, even with Airbnb's efforts, deceptive listings may slip through the cracks. This is where your discernment skills can come in handy — educating yourself on the signs of a legitimate listing versus a scam can spell the difference between a hassle-free vacation and a sketchy situation.

When it comes to vetting listings on Airbnb, it's crucial to do your homework. Discrepancies between the photographs and the pricing, or overblown descriptions, are red flags signaling it might be wise to move on to a different listing. "Compare the photos you see with the price of the listing and where the listing is located," travel expert Shane Mahoney told The Street. "If the photos show a glamorous property in a centralized location and the price is dirt cheap, the listing is probably fake."

In your sleuthing, don't shy away from searching other platforms. It's not uncommon for hosts to list their properties on other marketplaces or even their own websites. A reverse Google Image search can easily lead you to the property's presence across the internet. Should you discover it elsewhere, check if it has the same owner. And if you decide to move forward, it would be best if you book with an established site for your safety. "When booking from a large platform like Airbnb or Vrbo, there are many protections," property management company owner Jessica Hinton told The Washington Post. Pro tip: Avoid hosts who ask you to pay and/or communicate outside the platform.

And those listings with zero reviews? Don't dismiss them completely. Instead, do some digging. The host's profile might reveal that they have other properties with glowing reviews or perhaps the coveted Superhost badge. If they do, they're likely golden.

Because Airbnb is a peer-to-peer platform and many of its hosts aren't real estate experts or property managers, guests are sometimes wary about docking stars in their reviews. The testimonials you're reading may sometimes not be an accurate representation of the overall guest experience at the property.

"You're probably not going to feel bad leaving a bad review for Comcast, but your Airbnb host or Uber driver — there's a greater sense of the potentially negative impact on the person," Michael Luca, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, explained to The Wall Street Journal. This trend can skew the perception of potential guests, as it sometimes makes a property appear more favorable than it is in reality. On the flip side, there can also be negative reviews that magnify a minor inconvenience, inadvertently painting a negative picture of an otherwise pleasant stay.

Ultimately, when booking Airbnb stays, or any rental property on any site for that matter, do your due diligence — but trust your gut, too. If a certain listing appears great on paper but sets off alarm bells in your mind, it may be best to find other options. And as the old adage goes, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.