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We deal in facts here, none of this hyperbollocks.
I’d already worked that one out, but have refrained from using my normal descriptor for this type of host; after a week’s hard graft in chilly Jockoland my arthritis precludes any further time perched on the naughty step.
JF
Props to you for getting involved. Regardless of his background, the author clearly doesn’t understand how Airbnb can work. I hope he contacts you about a host article.
Ok. Guilty as charged.
Sorry I have not had a chance to get the exact numbers. But you get the idea: lots of inquiries from people who don’t book even though I sincerely answered their questions when I started hosting. So I gave up on trying to convert inquiries.
@house_plants I also find it bizarre to send a message which doesn’t answer the guest’s questions. It makes sense if they are indicating they want to bring children or pets or extra guests or something else you clearly don’t allow, to have a saved message that says “If you thoroughly read my listing description, you will see that what you are asking for is not suitable to my listing, nor do I allow that”.
But it sounds as if you simply send every inquiry packing rudely, which is bizarre.
Lots of my inquiries have turned into bookings. I appreciate it when a guest wants something clarified before committing to a booking- it’s better for them and for me to ensure a good fit.
I am always leary of inquiries, why did they not IB? Sometimes it is legit, wanting to ask about bringing a pet or something but more often they tend to ask for stuff I do not offer, discounts, early check in or whatever. Those ones I do not want to host and I can be dismissive.
I never respond with a pre approval, I just tell them go ahead and instant book. That filters the ones that cannot IB for whatever reason and gives me more leverage if I want to cancel as uncomfortable.
Thankfully I get very few inquiries, I would hate to deal with them all the time.
RR
I think stand alone places must get far more inquiries than a room in a home like Muddy has, or anyplace where the host lives on site. Like or not we all know that many “inquiries” are folks messaging a bunch of listings or are some sort of scam.
As I’ve never used IB, inquiries and requests don’t set off alarm bells, i.e. why didn’t they IB?
I’ve definitely gotten inquiries that I send packing, like “So is it really only for one person?” when my listing title includes “for solo traveler” and lists a single bed. Or a few that are clearly trying to get me to book off-platform. But most ask legitimate and reasonable questions.
I got one that asked if it would be possible for her friend to share the room, they’d bring an air mattress.
When I said no, the room wasn’t big enough for 2 nor would my water supply support more than one guest, and that she should look for a place for 2 guests she wrote back right away, saying, no, no, she still wanted to book- she’d tell her friend to find another place.
She turned out to be a lovely and interesting guest- Japanese but lives in Mexico. She brought food and cooked aa Japanese meal for both of us her first night, and we still occasionally keep in touch.
I don’t do it rudely at all. I have a polite response that goes something like : Thank you for your interest in my listing. Please review the listing and if it is suitable for you, you can book instantly.
I feel that @RiverRock has nailed how I feel about them.
This is my experience.
That’s why I previously mentioned that Airbnb has burdened us with the requirement to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.
But now I have figured out how to make lemonade out of this lemon. I get a lot of inquiries and I use them to raise rates.
I’m very interested in reading your letter. Would you mind sharing what you wrote to him?
Can you describe how this works - getting inquiries and using the amount of inquiries to raise rates?
Most of my bookings start as inquiries. There’s been a few I could tell were shopping. Most of my guests are over 50 & are first time Airbnb users so tend inquire first. It’s all so new to them.
I have IB. Last summer only 2 guests used it.
Every rental is different.
Agreed. What works for me won’t work for others and vice a versa. That’s what is great about this forum. We can disagree with each other but that doesn’t mean we have to dislike each other.
I don’t mind dealing with inquiries, they typically fall into two categories, a local trying to have a party, or someone with a legitimate question. If it’s a local wanting to party I have a saved message that I send to them explaining our strict no party policy and that we live below the apartment and will know if they try. I don’t hear back from them after that.
As for guests with legitimate questions I appreciate them reaching out to me to make sure my space will suit their needs. By far the most common question is how far are you from x location. Most guests don’t realize the city I live in is 139 square miles, and that doesn’t include the suburbs. So even if they glance at the map they often fail to realize how far away something might be. We had someone want to book who thought they could walk to downtown within 10 minutes because it looked close on the map. I had to explain to them that it’s a 15 minute drive using the freeway. They decided we weren’t a good fit for them and found another location. Did it take a few minutes of my day, yes, but it also potentially saved me a bad review.
I should also mention that in addition to running our Airbnb I am owner of a small design/textile/sewing/leather studio that is located in our part of the house. This allows me to be on hand if a guest needs anything, and the ability to quickly reply to any messages.
Our inquiries rarely if ever turn into bookings. Our 1st guest of 2022 however, happily, has. He works for a big high tech travel company that has more than 5,000 customers, including Crate & Barrel, Wayfair, Pinterest, Lyft, Zoom, Toast, Amplitude, Ancestry, Box, Axios, SXSW, Glassdoor, SurveyMonkey, Lennar and Qualcomm. I wonder if there will be a silver lining to hosting this dude and his GF??
I hadn’t thought of that spin. As someone who uses IB but most bookings come out of inquiries, I understand it.
So…If you flip the IB switch, the booking options would be engage in an inquiry or IB. The host would not put in a position to decline a reservation UNLESS the IB was a poor fit or maybe dates unavailable. I like it.
For now it’s wishful thinking but I like the idea.
Ditto. …………………………………
Although I have never used IB, it makes sense to me that inquiries only would be best for IB hosts. If the guest is serious about booking, but simply doesn’t meet your IB criteria because they have no reviews yet, if you feel fine about the guest’s communication, etc, you can always pre-approve and they can go on to book.
But as far as it being a “perk”, IB hosts already have a major perk- it’s the primary factor in search ranking.
Please do a separate post about your Glaswegian sojourn.
Pray that he’ll keep it a secret from that corporate horde.
Me too and if he does, I’m going to get everyone involved on this forum in helping me to write great a letter.