Analysing Airbnb guests before you approve!
Communication outside of Airbnb. Very bad sign. I would not recommend communication or any transactions off the platform for one simple reason: protections that Airbnb provides. As soon as you go off the platform, you lose all of those protections. If a guest wants you to lose those protections, it may be for a bad reason.
Bad communication. If the guest doesn’t respond, or responds in a way that doesn’t answer your questions or shows that they didn’t read your listing description or messages can be either a sign of general carelessness, or something potentially worse (for example, multiple people communicating through the account). The general quality of the communication is very important. Trust your instincts on this one.
Dodgy questions. If your guest keeps asking for details on the location, surveillance, other neighbors, the property, etc., while not giving you the information you want, or, worse yet, if they are inconsistent, that is a major red flag. Trust your instincts on this one too.
Guests from in-town. This is not necessarily a major red flag, but it does warrant a bit of an investigation. There are legitimate reasons for a guest staying at an Airbnb within the city, but to avoid any possible parties, robberies, and other dodginess, ask all of the questions that you need to, and then some.
I have seem many messages just saying "in town for a wedding" being declined, as new guests with no reviews tend to raise a bit of suspicion. "In town for a wedding" could mean "I don't want to sleep on the couch at my mom's house, and I'd rather not stay in a crowded noisy hotel" or, it could mean "I need a place where I can stay, and your place looks like a great place to entertain all my old friends.
The appearance of the quest does anything look odd?
Best to go for couples or females in general. A good review for a male should ease your worries.
Generally older guests may be needy and not use to the way Airbnb works.