Hello, this information is in the listing which the guest didn’t read.
Faheem, decline him. There will be another to take his place. 
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You dawg, you! A gal can’t even take a shower break without coming back to comments from He-Who-Hides-Behind-His-Shades (bearing a grin)!
In my experience terrible communicators have made wonderful guests.
Fabulous communicators have been huge thorns in my side.
I’ve given up trying to figure it out. Weird photos, good reviews, excessive questions - none have been reliable indicators to what the person is like when they are in my home.
And as some have said, he may be shy about his English, he’s just trying to figure out your check-in times,
And I miss questions in emails and text messages ALL THE TIME. I’ve got three kids, a business, etc. etc., I don’t always get details like I should.
And if I read correctly, you didn’t answer his question about check-in and check-out times . So he may be feeling the same way “Look, I need to know about check-in times and you can’t answer that simple question?” He may not have actually ignored your question as he was focused on trying to get the information he needed. Shopping airbnb listings is EXHAUSTING, a huge pain in the rear - I’ve come to hate it. Poor quality photos, creepy looking places, poorly written descriptions, weird idiosyncrasies, and hosts that don’t reply or reply a say or so later makes it a huge headache. I’m often having to do my ‘shopping’ after a long exhausting day and I can’t keep my eyes open, and I’m sure that’s very common. People really do not have hours to spend finding a place to stay.
Just to give you a perspective from the guest side. So answer his questions first, let him know he’s welcome, then ask a question or two.
Recently I was trying to book places in a few locations in while I was successful in one town, in the next, I gave up and booked a hotel.
Of course, it’s your home, your call, and we all know you’re a loveable guy - so you should continue to do it your way.
Now I’ve got a dyer full of white towels to fold…
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Oh I’m not casual about it, believe me! But I do give people a few chances to “redeem” themselves after an unsatisfactory enquiry or booking request. The vast majority of the time they comply with some information or a more friendly tone. If they don’t, well it’s bye bye from me. It’s very competitive in my area so I have to work hard sometimes to get guests and that includes answering annoying questions…
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I completely agree with this! It still amazes me that people are so often the complete opposite of how they come across in communication. I’ve also learned that the statement “I’m a very clean and tidy person” usually translates in reality to “I’m a complete slob and will leave mess all over the bathroom and stain your towels”. Oh and “We’re very easgoing!” means “We are needy and will plague you with questions”.
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Sandy, If anything, I will always keep you on your toes, no punt intended.
(see my pm)
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I have to agree with Faheem, that communication is essential when sharing one’s home. I do prefer, however, to answer whatever question they have posed, and then ask them why they are visiting my area. Or something so I can start to get a feel for what kind of person they might be.
Today’s check in began with the shortest inquiry on record:
Dropping our daughter off at college.
Jun 29, 2016 via the Airbnb Android App
That was it. I responded trying to figure out something, and asked which college. Over the next few weeks I came to find out, she has four children, they are running a small summer rental business, turning over homes weekly, one child is challenged and going to a community college, another is playing football, and their second daughter, the one to be “dropped” is actually going to be a freshman at Harvard! Communication with her has not been easy, but it turns out she is simply overwhelmed with managing all of these kids, her husband’s construction business, and the summer rental houses.
They couldn’t be nicer people! But, they are ‘of the moment’, not solving problems that can wait for answers. Yesterday, they started to focus on today.
If the ‘gut’ says no though, I think you have to go with it. My tendency, since humans are a very complicated group, is to try to find some common ground before I decline. In this case, I am glad that I pursued a conversation that resulted in a multi-night stay.
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“We are neat freaks” is another one. One of my messiest families ever claimed to be neat freaks.
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Exactly! It must be some sort of reverse psychology thing. It never works the other way, though, does it? I await the day that a guest declares ‘I’m untidy, messy and will get on your nerves’. lol
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Oftentimes when I hear: “I am a neat freak”, it turns out to be with their stuff and personal space, but a pig with everywhere beyond it.
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Me too. I’m pretty much a sucker for any member of the House of El. Probably goes back to when I was eight years old and reading comics in bed. I watched the recent Supergirl TV series too. (Hides face.)
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Hi @dcmooney,
Interesting. I’ve not been doing this as long as you guys, so perhaps I shouldn’t talk. But I’ve found the degree to which I get along with guests is strongly correlated with how well they communicate before they get here. Asking wacky questions, btw, does not consitute good communication. So far, no real surprises…
Though if someone claimed to be a “neat freak”, I think I might turn and run the other way. Just as if someone wrote and said - I’m a really nice person and everyone loves me. Yikes.
Oh, and
If you mean the initial query, my check in and check out times are clearly posted. If he was after early check in our late checkout, he needed to provide some context. Which he did by his second message, I suppose… (Shrug.)
I guess I just want people with lotsa good reviews saying how much they love my room. 
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Hi @anon67190644,
Those are all very good and reasonable points you are making. If someone had started with “Dropping our daughter off at college.”, I would have thought it a bit abbreviated, but I would have continued it. But it was the question with no context that put me off.
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Just had one of those one hour ago, one cryptic sentence and the guy’s picture looked like one of a scared ax-murderer on death row. Mr. non-photogenic. Started communicating and turns out they are coming with their kids and want to give them a ‘Robinson Crusoe’ adventure. The height of family normalcy. On their middle day I will take them to see and walk other deserted islands; the father couldn’t be effusive enough with thanks then.
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Hi @Magwitch,
It’s very competitive here too. There are a zillion listings here, many of them really cheap. But I guess part of it is that it’s only a 2 night stay. And it’s awkwardly placed, it’s breaking up a long stretch; cutting off three days before it. And of course, all the afore-mentioned reasons I didn’t like it. Though it’s relatively close, so who knows if I will get another booking this late in the day. (Shrug.)
Maybe I need to work on controlling my unconscious biases and be a better person. Or something,
Pshaw… we all need to do this hosting thing in ways that make us comfortable. You have learned that you need more than a question that has already been answered in your listing to get you started in the right direction with a potential guest. There is no one right way to do this. If there was, we would all be staying in a Holiday Inn Express!
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If you mean biased against the Chinese, I’d say yes, definitely work on that! Don’t believe everything you read about them being bad guests, particularly young solo travellers or friends/couples travelling together.
I get what you mean about the awkwardly placed booking dates but honestly, I think it’s a mistake to get hung up about that. You can’t control who will book and when and you can never be sure that a better booking will come along. So I think it’s best to set your parameters (eg. minimum 3 night stay over weekends or whatever) and let the bookings come as they may.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think you need to work on being a better person 
Well, no more than any of us have to, anyway!
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I think you’ve just hit the proverbial nail on the head!
Hi @konacoconutz,
Agreed, that’s at least technically true. Though he might have read the listing. But clearly he was talking about early check in and late checkout.
Not necessarily. The dates are quite close. But fingers crossed.
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Never let the money influence your decision, greed should never rule, it always turns out badly.
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