Why did Airbnb host reject me? Hosts are looking up travelers online [Video]

When a woman in her early twenties requested to book Vicky Borman’s one-bedroom Heritage-listed cottage in the English village of St Neots last summer, something didn’t feel right.

The user had no reviews on her Airbnb profile, so Borman, who has ‘Superhost’ status on the platform, took to social media to investigate.

There it was — an advertisement on the woman’s Facebook profile for a party in St Neots. The intention was clear: the party was to take place in Borman’s cottage. She declined the request.

Half an hour later, Borman received another booking request through Airbnb, this time from an older woman inquiring on behalf of her son. Suspicions raised, Borman checked out her social media profiles too, and pieced together that the second requestor’s son was friends with the would-be party host Borman had previously declined. She declined this booking too.

The experience has made her more selective about who she allows to stay in the cottage, Borman said. She said she …