This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I denied an inquiry from a guest as she was asking for a discount and too many things that I don’t provide. She kept on pleading to book, and I kept on ignoring her hoping she would not book. There are 300+ other listings available for her dates so I’m not sure why she wanted to book with me as it’s not a good fit. Maybe some of them are not as nice as my studio or at higher prices.
This happened a couple of weeks ago. Today, she instant booked a different listing of mine. It’s a studio in the same building for different dates. I thought the inquiry denial would mean she could not book with me, but I was wrong. There is no easy way to block guests that I could figure out.
My primary reason for rejecting her as I thought she would leave me a bad review as the price is 50% higher than what she claimed her budget was, and she would come in expecting too much. All reviews in this listing are five-star reviews, so I don’t want to host someone who can spoil the rating.
The conversation with her has been cordial and polite so far. I’m wondering what to do next. I feel weird about keeping her reservation, and I’m inclined to cancel.
There’s no reason that a declined inquiry would prevent her from instant-booking a different listing from the same host. However, I don’t think a declined inquiry even prevents a guest from instant-booking the same listing and there are valid reasons it shouldn’t.
Note that since she instant-booked, you can still cancel the reservation and state the reason “I am uncomfortable with this guest.”
yes, but she booked a different listing. I don’t want to keep blocking dates in different listings for this one guest.
This one worked… I had to report them as inappropriate… which I have to admit is going a bit far as they asked me for a discount, but didn’t abuse me in any way.
You worry too much about reviews when you have 5* reviews on a place. If that place is booked a lot, her “bad” review will get buried. Plus you can always respond (check here first for reviewing the review by your fellow hosts) and say “guest kept asking for concessions we couldn’t provide (discounts, etc) and nothing we did would make them happy.”
Or ignore it and wait for it to get buried. Good guests will see she’s difficult, especially if your calm 3* review of her is truthful.
@house_plants I would suggest you try to get over your obsession with ratings. Setting out realistic expectations for guests is preferable to declining guests just because you fear they will leave less than 5 stars. There seem to be very few hosts with heavily booked listings who can maintain a solid perfect 5 stars forever.
This is why she kept trying. If you had communicated, “Thank you for your interest in my rental. I don’t believe my rentals will be a good fit for you. Airbnb has over 300 other listings in this area. I’m sure you will find one that fits your needs” she would’ve understood.
“not a good fit” is a pretty curt reply to a guest. You seem to want to communicate with guests as little as possible. I would have at least been a little more polite. “Hi XX, I really don’t think this listing is going to be a good fit for you, as you seem to have requirements I don’t offer. I’d suggest you look for a listing that meets your needs.”
That’s not really the point, is it? Several seasoned hosts and myself have suggested you put in a saved message what @KKC wrote. It’s simple, polite, and you’re in the hospitality business. Be hospitable Yes, people can be irritating and get on your nerves, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be professional.
And reporting them as offensive was wrong. She wasn’t offensive, she was asking for things other hosts MAY offer and you didn’t want to do it.
You seem to take things very negatively and personally when people try to book with you.
Always be polite and finish the conversation quickly. And if they book another property and you’re afraid of the review (really, you care too much unless you’re always getting 3*, then you need to care), then call Air CS and say you’re not comfortable and they’ll cancel penalty free.
It’s not that hard, once you have the methodology down.
Being curt and rude isn’t the only way to discourage a guest from booking. You’re a host, you should at least write professional-sounding messages. It’s not that hard.
Yeah… I’m just not sure how to discourage certain people from booking. I thought the “Inquiry denied” would send the message but it didn’t. Even the curt reply didn’t help. Even ignoring six subsequent messages didn’t work.
I even raised the rates after her inquiry. She still booked it
So I will have to try the polite response the next time.
So maybe have a saved message that says “I am unable to provide anything not explicitly provided in the listing. Requests to make exceptions to this policy will be declined and you will be blocked from booking. Second requests will result in me reporting you to Airbnb.” Don’t waste your time with back and forth messaging. Just hit reply and if they message you again, report them to Airbnb as harassing you.
I’m surprised you get so many requests for things you don’t offer that you find it to be a burden.
I my trying to change my mindset so that I no longer think of it as a burden. These inquiries provide me data to raise rates. So they are very valuable. Most of them can be dealt with easily with saved messages*. But this case is unique because she booked even after I denied her inquiry. I can’t remember if anything like this has happened to me before.
I just find that guests who IB are better quality guests. I think the IB guests know how to use google maps, tripadvisor, have better reading comprehension.
Also note that saved messages cannot be used when declining an inquiry. I guess I can change the work flow to send a saved message first and then deny.
