Unverified Guest Blocks One of Our Nights!

So even 500+ bookings in, there’s always something new! We had a potential guest send us a SAME DAY request last Sunday morning just before noon. My phone was on silence and i didn’t see the request until about 12:45, and by then it had a message from ABB saying this booking was not “possible” at this time. The guest then sent me a message asking if my listing was already booked, and when i checked our calendar i noticed it was blocked off! So…i called ABB customer service to see what was going on. Turns out this guest had not completed the verification process yet so the date would be blocked for 10 hours, or until she completed it. (so far, i have not even received the chance to accept or decline because it was “not possible” by the time I saw it) Finally, the process was completed and this request was sent through - after midnight the evening she wanted to book! Again, my phone was turned off which i tend to do while trying to sleep and by the time i saw it, it had “expired.” I then received a reprimand from ABB saying that if i didn’t respond to a request in the future they would block off an entire week of days. (i guess as my punishment!) We’ve been hosts for almost 4 years, and we have a 100% response rate up til now! It was crazy! I couldn’t book it to her, and it was blocked from booking it to anyone else. MY SOLUTION which I sent to ABB: Potential guests who have not completed the verification process should not be allowed to send requests to hosts. They could still browse the site, send inquiries, etc…but if they are not capable of booking (per ABB regulations) then why should they be allowed to request a booking? Anyone else ever have this experience?

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Yes. It’s frustrating but since it’s been this way for years I don’t know what it will take to change it. It’s really hard on those of us who accept and get quite a few last minute bookings.

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This is the first time this has happened to us! We’ve had several bookings delayed due to verification, but they were always a few weeks or more away. I suggested strongly on the Airbnb platform for input that they limit those who have not completed the verification process to inquires only.

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Yes, this happened to me last year:

tl;dr: Air’s substandard vetting system held this woman’s reservation for 70 hours when it ought to have timed out at 12 per their policy. In this case, the guest completed their verification within that time, but Airbnb was hung up on background check. They cancelled the booking and the guest ended up finding me through social media to book directly.

I called Air to complain. The first person who has both money and credentials should be able to IB with me. It’s ridiculous that an un-credentialed guest could block my calendar for the better half of a week, preventing others from booking. They acknowledged the error, said they escalated the issue, and paid me one nights’ fee for the trouble.

No I haven’t but you are right. The error is on their part. I’ve experienced other such technical glitches. It’s always annoying.