Yep I know the difference!
I’ve had over one hundred guests and lots of inquiry’s as well. This was the first that was a question that sounded like a survey, not a guest wanting to possibly book.
I use IB so don’t get many pre-booking inquiries but I see nothing wrong with the potential guest’s message. I know that some hosts like to know the reason for visiting and so on but I’ve never fully understood why.
There’s a vast range of host types. Most of us here are conscientious and dedicated hosts but there are many out there who aren’t, so I’d probably ask the question. Both of us are in at-risk categories and I’d want to know that I was staying with a proper host rather than a landlord-type.
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Ok. My point is that is a fair survey. If I had to travel and stay at an Airbnb right now during a pandemic, I would also send a similar message to multiple hosts. Until you tell me you’re cleaning and disinfecting properly, there’s no reason to think that I might possibly book. There are a lot of anti-masker nuts right now and I wouldn’t waste any time telling any of them anything about myself because I wouldn’t book with them. I believe this guest was vetting you. And that’s fair. Different times…
I can’t help but think that there may be something missing from your listing to make people feel not immediately secure about the cleaning. Possibly not, but it’s worth considering.
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For me, the fun part of this 24/7 job is customizing a guest’s stay. Better hotels ask the same questions and is who I adopted the idea from. It’s no more complicated than - that’s what I enjoy about the hospitality business.
Nope. Have rave reviews from July and August during pandemic. Lots of bookings- 97 percent occupancy for July and August. Definately not my place throwing off weird vibes to where people are not booking.
First message I’ve ever had like this. With no title or greeting. It was like she was copying and pasting this message to a lot of hosts. And a simple etiquette of starting with a greeting would have made her seem like a real inquiry.
@Altitudeadjustment My response was intended for Suntory, sorry if that wasn’t clear. He said he’d just let an Inquiry expire or decline it.
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That’s never been an issue for me, and I’ve never asked a guest that because people come here for basically one reason- to have a beach vacation in the warmth.
And all my guests have said as much in their initial message. One said she was coming to take sailing lessons. I did have one guest who came for business reasons. Which doesn’t mean he didn’t avail himself of beach time- he did that also.
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None of that tells me that you are doing:
Your pure and unbridled resistance to this question makes me feel so fortunate that this guest didn’t tell you shit “about themselves or their reason for coming to the area”. I am not this potential guest and I am frustrated and you still haven’t answered the question.
Did you commit to the cleaning protocol? Did you mention in your listing that you are leaving time between guests? Taking extra care to disinfect? Requiring masks in common spaces? Anything?
“Rave reviews”. Hah. It’s airbnb, rave reviews are the name of game. It still doesn’t answer the question. I think you doth protest to much and have to ask you @Altitudeadjustment:
What extra cleaning steps are you taking to ensure the safety of your guests duing this Covid-19 tme?
“Inquiring” minds would like to know…
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@muddy Yes, you are quite right. You would need to reply to the enquiry and then let it expire due to no follow up taken.
Nevertheless, I do agree with @Altitudeadjustment’s point that if an enquiry comes in that is abrupt or lacks a certain amount of appreciation, then that does not really encourage me to act as a host for that guest.
I give you an example, we had an enquiry from a first time AirBnB user. We responded to their first question about where we are located (even though these details are clearly visible on the listing and on the map provided by AirBnB). We cut them some slack and wrote a lengthy response.
They replied and without thanking us or showing some appreciation requested further details about how they can travel from where the listing is to another location in town. Again, we provided a detailed and through explanation.
Again, no thank you and no appreciation followed up by the following question:
Beginning of message:
“What will be the quarantine measures there?”
- End of message.
This question was posed by an International traveler asking about potential quarantine measures two months before their planned trip. How should I know what the quarantine measures will be? Of course I could have provided them with yet another lengthy response (this would have been our third) to explain that it is difficult to judge this two months’ in advance and they should be following their own governments’ and our governments’ travel advice. But what is the point of doing this if this potential guest at no stage showed any appreciation for all our efforts trying to explain all these details from them? Bearing in mind that this guest had no reviews at all, at that point I realised that I don’t want this booking to materialise and I let the enquiry expire.
So, in sum, I agree with @Altitudeadjustment that if enquiries come in that lack appreciation or a general sense of openness, then it might just be best to take a rain check.
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Yes, I like to do that too, time permitting. I’ll only do that if the guests volunteer the information about their reasons for coming. Many don’t and it’s never bothered me.
Thinking about it, I don’t remember ever being asked by a host either. Maybe it’s me who is weird because I think that just because someone is renting me a bed, they don’t have the right to know why I’m there. Sometimes guests will volunteer the information but I don’t ask. I think it’s intrusive but that’s just me.
Again, this is probably weird, but I don’t want respect, or companionship or excessive politeness - the 
is the important thing.
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Yes I agree. I don’t need to know. I do get a lot of “ looking forward to our stay.” I consider that polite enough.
You never asked! 
If someone would have messaged and said any other question in the same manner I would have felt the same. If they had started with Hi altitude adjustment, what can you tell me about… that would have made me think they were a true inquiry and not a troll or data collector.
My listing addresses Airbnb’s new enhanced protocol. This is why I thought the question was a survey and not a guest. Maybe someone is doing a study and this is how they are getting their data?
My cleaning fees now don’t even begin to cover the cost for the pool, hot tub, and home turnover. The market won’t go any higher for this. I have a professional for the pool and hot tub, although my house cleaner has experience. I feel better knowing the pool technician is taking care of it, that the pool is scrubbed down, etc. and the chemical balance is perfect. The pool is easier, but the hot tub is a bear. I know everyone can’t do everything perfectly, so I separate the jobs based on specialty. I realized that doing this for every stay, even a 3 night stay, has made me decide whether the net income is worth the wear and tear on the home. I’ve increased my minimum stay multiple times, now I am at 6 nights. Anything less than that is not worth it to me. I would make about 100 dollars on a weekend stay after costs lol.
Ideally we could do the turnovers as many on this forum do, but we both work full time. And I can’t block 6 hours on my work calendar for an Airbnb turnover.
The shortest pre-arrival message I had from a guest, and it was the only message he sent, was ‘weekend break’. 
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I’m with you.
The entire time I’ve been on this forum there have always been hosts who need a certain protocol. The good thing about Airbnb is there are so many rentals to choose from. Hopefully the host lets me know what they need and if I don’t want to provide it I can skip to the next listing. Like I’m one of those who click off the long listing with lots of rules that demonstrate an extremely picky, needy host.
I love the picky hosts who are choosy about their guests, that leaves more for me.
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It’s not about having a right to know. Asking a question is just that, there’s no obligation to tell me. Does the mere act of having questions available offend?
I have just a few questions that are voluntary and presented as such. It’s no different than the Mercer contacting you before a stay to inquire about preferences - still or sparkling water, down pillows or down alternative pillows, traveling for business or pleasure, etc. I don’t feel it’s intrusive or that I have to respond if I don’t want to. But I don’t like sparkling water or down alternative pillows so am glad they ask. Also, I find, at hotels, I often get a better, quieter room if I say I’m traveling for business 
For reference, I’d say that 99% of my guests tell me why they are coming. And 95% tell me if they have any dietary restrictions. It doesn’t bother me if they don’t, it’s for their benefit. Less work for me if there’s nothing specific to cater too 
I have a guy that is actually a repeat guest now that is like that. I think it’s so funny. The first time he booked the message was “parents and adult son” and that was it. The next time he booked it was “Returning”.
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I have learned over time which guests will require more than I’m willing to put up with. The ones who ask for a discount is a hard decline. They are never happy and if you do it they will keep pushing the envelope. Same who ask for check in 8 hours plus early. We live in our camper a lot of the year and stay at Airbnb’s for travel. We work until 3, and pay for an extra day as we can’t meet a noon check out time. It would never occur to me to ask for a late check out.
Every time I have ignored my gut, I’ve had a problem. So I’ll be considered a picky host lol.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m willing to make tons of recommendations, I allow pets, and provide tons of local up to date tips.
It’s the already unhappy guests I have zero interest in.
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I think you have probably read me say this here but for any new readers I’ll say it again, my rental isn’t like that of most hosts. It’s not a whole house, it’s a guest suite attached to my house but separate from me. My stock in trade has been the one night road trippers. Now that doesn’t work so well so I’ve changed my strategy somewhat. But I still am not going to get someone who needs to stay for a week for a getaway. I don’t have a whole house filled with my personal items that I have to worry about. Frankly, I’m not sure I know what “already unhappy guests” are. I feel certain that if I had those, I wouldn’t like it either.
I have instant book and few other requirements. So yes, the more picky hosts are, the better for me. That doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is wrong for you, only you know if what you are doing is wrong for you.
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Yes agreed! I can handle anything for one night!
We used to have a shared home space and rented our upstairs. This was before we got a rescue dog who is too high energy to share a space. We enjoyed it. We would cook dinner and take guests on hikes if they wanted to.
I think being on property results in guests taking better care of a place. You have the ability to make a personal connection- although now it is harder with a pandemic.
We allow self check in and the guests are at the home for longer. When comparing the two, the whole home guests are more likely to be tougher on the house if I’m not careful.
We have instant book and I’ve cancelled a few based on bad vibe. The inquiries I can weed out a little better, but the inquiries tend to be the ones more likely to be high maintenance with demands in their message. I haven’t had more than a few bad quests, and I had a gut feeling about them, so I am definitely getting pickier.
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I’m totally with you on this one. And if anyone wants to call me a picky host, then so shall be it. In truth, I probably am a picky host. I want the guest/host experience to be a positive one. In fact, I want to enjoy hosting people and make guests feel good about staying with us. If I sense from the very beginning that the guest is already probing us and not willing to put in the effort of saying “hello” or something simple like that, I will take a pass and allow someone else to host this person.
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