Red Flag. Alex seemed friendly upon arrival. Soon after however , Alex demanded that we give him cash for a deposit. I told him I did not feel comfortable giving him cash outside of airbnb. He informed me airbnb did not cover this ? and I had to give him cash " just in case". I refused. He was adamant and told me that I had do give him "something". At this point my girlfriend felt uncomfortbale. We left and found another place to stay. Airbnb's customer service was great and we ended up having a great stay in NYC despite this unfortunate experience with Alex.