Using AirBnB as a guest for the first time - no response from owner

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We’re taking a last summer vacation before my son goes off to college in the fall. We’ve never used AirBnB as a guest (we have used VRBO). I found a perfect place for us In Germany, and it was available and instant book. So I introduced myself, gave the purpose of our trip, told him we appreciated his consideration of having us as guests, and booked. We received confirmation from AirBnB about the booking, but since it was midnight in Germany, I didn’t expect to hear anything back right way from the host.

That was three days ago. Still nothing from the host. Is this usual for hosts that get instant bookings? Our trip is not for three months, so there is plenty of time to get things sorted. But this is a new listing with no reviews, so I’m getting a little nervous.

Shall I give him a kindly piece of advice that he should contact the guest as soon as practicable, even with Instant Book? Or just say “hey, are we on?” (in a little more polite way). If he’s not going to go through with this, I want to know now.

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If you instant booked you’re on and the host isn’t obligated to respond to your message or indeed get in touch until much closer to the time. Best practice no, but it doesn’t mean you should start messaging your host with what you think they should be doing.

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you could send a message to the host with a specific request, just to make sure it is a reliable listing

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I always reply to my guests as soon as they book. Maybe as a new host he hasn’t become familiar with how things work.

Perhaps contact him again regarding check in time and if he doesn’t reply to that ask Airbnb to get in touch with him for you.

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I only reply to specific inquiries, and send messages closer to the time to see when they’re arriving.

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I think this is the best idea. Ask a friendly question about the accommodations or about restaurants nearby. That’ll prompt the host to respond and acknowledge your stay. :slight_smile:

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I always respond to all bookings and inquiries right away, 24 hours max. But I have noticed when traveling as a guest that not all hosts operate this way. Since your booking was confirmed perhaps this host is of the mind that you already know you are all set.

I have also noticed that a lot of guests don’t require much extra communication. They will book and then never respond to my confirmation message, my message with check-in instructions, or my message asking if they found the place ok. I begin to wonder if they are a real person and then they leave me a lovely review about how they enjoyed the place.

So every host and every guest has a different communication style. Responding with some specific questions will show this host that you would like a bit more communication and give you a chance to see how responsive they will likely be to your requests and messages.

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Almost all of my bookings are instant book and I also respond ASAP or if it comes in the middle of the night, the next morning. I think that’s the professional and kind thing to do. I also think it helps my search results.

I would also be nervous about a new host with no reviews. Hopefully some will come in before your stay. I like the suggestion of asking some question(s) that will hopefully prompt them to answer without worrying that you are going to be a nervous nellie guests. LOL.

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This is why communication is one of the ratings metrics. I always respond personally. Especially to an international guest. I hope he responds soon. Does he have all the check in and direction information listed?

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@konacoconutz -
No, no check-in details. The exact address is not there, either - but that’s OK, we still have over three months before arrival.
I’m going to contact him to ask if he has flexibility in the check-in time. His check-in is between noon and 2 pm, but I’m hoping we can be there later afternoon/early evening. YES - I know that many people hate this. I will ask in a very polite fashion if he would mind if we checked in later, and that we will certainly meet his requirements, so please don’t criticize me. I am working out the schedule, and want to know the “must be’s” compared to the “would prefers”.

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I don’t think there’s anything wrong with clarifying check-in time and flexibility in a polite fashion.

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I’m really interested to see how this unfolds. I don’t like his lack of response, no address on the reservation and a two hour check in window.

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After reading hosts’ comments on this blog for a long time, I can understand why you would take pains to not anger a host, lol. As in, you want to ask him what is preferred versus what is required as to check in time, and I am reading you want to add to your message to him “please don’t criticize me.” I always answered quickly to instant book reservations even though it was a done deal, even if the guest wrote no questions. Yes, after 3 days I would definitely send him a follow up and there SHOULD BE nothing wrong with that. In the age of electronic communication, when there is no response, you don’t know if your message went down a black hole, into spam (if he is a new host), or he just didn’t see your nice intro message to him.
While I’m not doing instant book at the moment, I just took a reservation yesterday that the guest had one sentence in all lower caps what their status was and why they were booking. I wrote back a very nice intro message to the guest and all I got was crickets. That’s fine, I know I’m here and I trust he will come on the day he booked, but for a guest, in the Airbnb world, I would frankly be concerned about booking with a host who is new and didn’t respond to my initial intro message.

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I hope you have contacted him already. Does he have other dates blocked off of the calendar for sooner reservations?

How big is this place? A noon check in is quite early for a whole house unless you have a cleaning crew knocking out the work and starting at 10 a.m. (and it’s not that big)

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He has a week blocked in May. I just sent him a message asking about the check-in time flexibility, but it is 1 AM there, so I do hope he gets back to me over the weekend.

Yes, his listing is a little mixed up. Check-in between noon and 2, and check-out at 2 pm. It’s a three bedroom apartment, but he does not have a lot of bookings yet (it is a brand new listing, and is on the expensive side for the area. But he has king-sized beds, and we needed a queen or king-sized bed for our son - he is 6 feet 4" tall and does not fit in the little twin beds that everyone else seems to have)

I think I will start looking for a back-up plan before everything else is booked. If he does not get back to me by Monday, and I find something else that works, I just might cancel. I hate to do that, being a fellow host. I expect “crickets” from guests, but not from hosts if I ask a specific question.

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It might be me being English but does ‘crickets’ have any sort of meaning???

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In that context, “crickets” means it is so quiet, all you hear are the crickets chirping outside.

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Thank you for the laugh I just needed.

I never really thought about it since I have white noise machines to drown out the frogs and (I suppose) crickets at the rental. But yeah…like Piton said - pretty much when someone just goes silent. - lol

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Oh…is that where the term comes from? - no wonder I never got it.

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He probably has a day between bookings for cleaning. OR, maybe he expects his guests to clean up before they leave!!!