Airbnb Guest Screening Checklist – Pre-Booking Vetting, Risk Flags, Party-Risk Scorecard & Decline Wording, Word, No Canva

Guest Screening and Booking Vetting Checklist is an editable Word template that gives you one written, repeatable process for every booking request: check the request, ask the same questions, mark risk flags, score the request and, when needed, decline politely with a clear reason on record. It is the host's vetting process before accepting a booking, which makes it different from a guest registration form that collects guest details at check-in.

No Canva needed. Open the .docx in Microsoft Word, Google Docs (free) or Pages, replace the [bracketed] details such as the minimum age, maximum guests and quiet hours, and print or save it. US Letter and A4 files are both included.

Important: this is a template only, not legal advice. Screening rules, fair-housing and anti-discrimination laws differ by country, state and city, and booking platforms have their own policies. Have a local professional review your process. The document includes a fair housing reminder: apply the same questions and criteria to every request, screen the booking and not the person, and keep a written record of every decline reason.

What is inside

• Cover, contents with page numbers, a process-at-a-glance table and a how-to-use page with the fair housing reminder
• 1. Pre-Booking Checklist: 18 checks with a column for what good looks like and a note column (profile, platform ID, reviews, guest count, purpose of stay, dates, rules accepted, payment, phone, age minimum, event words and more)
• 2. Inquiry Questions and Messages: 8 polite questions and 3 ready-to-send messages (first reply, pre-approval, request for more information)
• 3. ID and Verification Policy: a policy page you can publish, covering platform verification, the registered guest list, minimum age, security deposit and data handling
• 4. Risk Flags Sheet: 16 flags, why each one matters and what to do, with the rule that no flag alone is a decline
• 5. Party-Risk Scorecard: 11 weighted factors, clear thresholds (accept, ask more, decline or call) and a worked sample
• 6. Decline Wording and Records: 4 polite decline messages and a decline log with sample rows

Files you receive

• Guest-Screening-Vetting-Checklist-Letter.docx and Guest-Screening-Vetting-Checklist-A4.docx - editable Word files
• Guest-Screening-Vetting-Checklist-Letter.pdf and Guest-Screening-Vetting-Checklist-A4.pdf - print-ready versions
• START-HERE-How-to-Edit.pdf - editing guide for Word, Google Docs and Pages

How it works

1. Download the ZIP right after checkout.
2. Open the Letter or A4 .docx in Word, or upload it to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs.
3. Replace the [bracketed] details so the rules match your listing and house rules.
4. Run the checklist for every request, send the matching message and log every decline.

FAQ

Do I need Canva? No. It is a normal Word file that works offline.

Is this legal advice? No. It is a template. Local laws and platform policies differ, so have a local professional review your process before use.

Is the scorecard a verdict about a guest? No. It is a consistency tool you apply to every request, and a decline always names a house rule or policy fact.

How is this different from a guest registration form? A registration form collects guest data at check-in. This checklist is your vetting process before you accept a booking.

Will it print on A4? Yes. US Letter and A4 versions are both included.

License: personal and single-business use for your own rentals. Please do not resell or redistribute the files. Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com are trademarks of their respective owners; this product is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.