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Guests can tell somehow. I’ve had a couple of guests mention it this last year. Things like oh you’re a real person or I think I’m getting auto responses, they don’t even acknowledge my question.
I could try it for the response I send after an IB comes through. It’s mostly the same for everyone other than their names and the dates of their stay but so many of them also have a question or a request of some sort that needs to be addressed. It doesn’t seem more efficient than my copy-and-paste system.
It seems like one more thing that the Airbnb system can screw up for me. There are posts here and there about messages being sent incorrectly in one way or another. At least when I screw it up I’m aware of it immediately and can deal with it.
And the message with the check-in instructions is highly personalized but it only takes 1-2 minutes. It’s as much for me as it is for them because it creates a “guest record” that’s easy to refer to during their stay (usually a week) or for their next stay. I get a lot of repeat guests and if I mention details in their check-in message then I don’t have to take notes somewhere else or scroll through all the messages looking for information, it’s all in one place.
I’d probably do it differently if I had really short stays that I didn’t expect to host repeatedly. And as a guest, it doesn’t make any difference to me as long as I get the information I need.
I use a mix. A few automated ones (“you need to sign our contract”, "your booking is confirmed " after signing the contract, and “your arrival is a week away and here’s some useful information”), but I reply manually to inquiries or their other questions.
The automated ones are from AirBnB (the one sent after/during Instant Booking) and OwnerReservations.
I don’t have a “thank you for your message. I’ll get back to you soon” automatic message, but
I’d consider it if I were to be out of range for contact for more than a few hours. But I’d explain that (“sorry, travelling today and limited access”)
Some people coming from Europe seem to think that I am in Miami (about 25 miles away) and ask if it’s safe here.
The funny thing is that NO American has ever asked. They assume, I suppose, that it’s foreign places that aren’t safe, not the good old USA.
There’s a new survey that says that the top safest places currently are (in order) the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Australia, Norway, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Spain, Ireland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Belgium.
I was cleaning out my email, and I found what is a not-atypical inquiry. This is why I can’t simply “answer all the questions in the listing”. I get a dozen or so inquiries a year where they ask me to price out their entire vacation for them…
"Hi! I have read all of the reviews, and we are incredibly excited about your property. We are very interested in visiting the villa from x - x with our four adult children. We will celebrate three college graduates from the last several years and a high schooler who graduates in June. Can you share a general budget we should plan on for scuba diving, snorkeling, a daytime boat excursion, dinners in local restaurants, and dinners made by your staff? We would also like to utilize your driver as well. I am sure there are extra costs associated with your staff’s service. Please also share the appropriate gratuities for your team. Any other arrangements for exploration would also be appreciated. A possible schedule for the week could look like the following.
Saturday - Arrive and relax - Eat at the villa
Sunday - Driving tour of the immediate area and possible hiking trip. Breakfast and lunch at the villa - Dinner at a Restaraunt
Monday - Boat excursion - Breakfast land dinner at the Villa - Lunch Restaraunt
Tuesday - Scuba diving and snorkeling Breakfast and dinner Villa - Lunch at a restaurant.
Wednesday - Morning Hike- Waterfalls - Villa Pool - Breakfast Lunch and dinner at the villa
Thursday Day at the villa - Breakfast and Lunch at the villa - Dinner restaurant
Whew! That’s a long and complicated question. But that’s nice that she’s asking you about appropriate staff gratuities, something I think most Australians wouldn’t even think about since there’s no tipping culture here.
