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This is why our airbnb gets repeat customers - I do not wait until the guest has to threaten to cancel before calling or walking over.
Not gonna happen - this is a forum and discussion involves both sides of the situation. Your “I’m 100% right so don’t side with the guest” is sad.
Oh and you’re just full of joy aren’t you!
blocking messages is not the same as not allowing them to check-in. I allow them to check-in, but I dont’ allow them to send me unnecessary messages.
@Goingmad Your original post here was about being upset that the guest cancelled, got refunded, and left a crap review that Airbnb is refusing to remove.
Yet you keep pushing back against the suggestions that you need someone available 24/7, which would have made all this avoidable.
Not sure why I’m now feeling I have to defend myself to the 2 of you but as I have repeated twice now - I was on hand to respond 24/7. I replied to this guest within 5 minutes. I just didn’t send someone running over right away, because the guest was provided with clear instructions. It’s not the same as going to the front door to let someone in to your one home share AirBnb.
I also wasn’t saying I would only have sent someone if I knew that she was going to cancel. I meant that if I had known she still didn’t manage to get in. She didn’t tell me this until she had cancelled.
People on the internet really like to jump to a hell of a lot of conclusions.
The guest didn’t get refunded. I didn’t say that
There is no Airbnb rule that states we have to be on hand in person 24 hours a day.
I could equally say It’s homeshare hosts that make life difficult for private hosts.
Neither of us are wrong we’re just operating different ‘businesses’ via the same problem.
It’s a shame there can’t be more understanding or marketing via AirBnb about that.
How? Because we are available to attend to guests’ issues? There are plenty of hosts who have entire place listings with self-check-in who make themselves or someone available to attend to guest issues in person if necessary.
And what would that look like?
“Please be aware that if you book an entire place listing with self-check-in, that there may not be anyone available to assist you in person should you have an urgent issue.”
Airbnb expects hosts to provide on-site assistance if necessary.
Yes, but if I’ve read correctly, you were in Mexico and the guest was over 8000 km away in London. That’s hardly going to be helpful.
Remote hosts who don’t have a co-host, permanently or otherwise, will have trouble, just as you did.
As @muddy suggests there should be someone nearby on-call 24/7. And that’s for the host’s benefit if they are responsible and serious about growing and maintaining their business. However, you may not be interested in repeat and referral business.
In most awkward situations, it can be very helpful to ask yourself what you can do to alleviate the situation before simply blaming the other party.
Hmmmmm, that IS what you said - that your level of service would have gone up if the guest wanted to cancel. I think that is bad service - we need to be better than that. A guest should not have to say something like that to get your attention or service.
I think we are at stage 6…
But I think this new member is on to something:
Quite unreasonable! Hmmmpf.
How about:
Members react only with accolades and good feelings on posts from moi.
The new member is right in direction. Let’s get more specific. 
Thank you,I did come here hoping for positivity and good feeling.
Sadly came to the very wrong place where it’s clear there are some people with far too much time on their hands who love to jump to conclusions about other people and the way they manage their business and basically troll them on the internet.
I didn’t storm off. I went to reply to my Airbnb guests! Isn’t that what you told me I should be doing to better run my business? Be available 24/7. Perhaps if you had more than one listing you wouldn’t be on here 365 days a year being nasty to people.
Again, I never said I didn’t have anyone on hand in London to help. Of course I did. This isn’t my first rodeo.
I just didn’t send them over within 5 minutes of the guest stating issues, because 9/10
Guests manage to work out their issue 2 mins after sending their first message!
I’ve been doing this for 12 years and this is the first time a guest has cancelled within 10 minutes of arrival. This isn’t normal behaviour and that’s why I was asking for advice on it.
@Goingmad Suggesting better ways of running a business so as to avoid future issues isn’t called trolling.
I’m not available 24/7. You can have different hosting style.
I welcome your posts. Keep posting.
I DO make myself available. I’m just not on hand in person 24/7. God forbid an Airbnb host have a life of their own!!
Now you’re just being combative. You are well aware that no one said you couldn’t have a life and needed to be on hand 24/7 in person. We said you needed to have someone who was available in person in your absence.
There are ways in which you can do that more positively though, don’t you think?
You started off kindly and helpfully and I thanked you for that.
As soon as I explained that I am managing several properties and not a homeshare host a few of you changed your tune very rapidly and quite aggressively.