HOw can I access guest reviews BEFORE they book rooom?

[Samira37]

Hello,

I recently had a bod experience w disrespectful guests..

Is there a way that I can I access guest reviews BEFORE they book rooom?

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Samira37 

I may be mistaken, but if you click on their profile the quantity of reviews should show and you should be able to view them. If you use Google Chrome browser with the appropriate 'plug-in' (AirReview) you can see hosts reviews of the guest alongside the guest review without going to the host listing and searching the time line.

[Samira37]

thank you Ian

I don't have that plug in, maybe it's worth putting in

as it stands now, I can only access the reviews once the person has booked..

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Samira37 

If that's the case, then after you have accepted their booking and can then see their reviews and don't like them, cancel. You can cancel based on not being comfortable with the booking but you most likely will get penalised. Sometimes the penalty can be worthwhile to avoid the guests!

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/259/what-should-i-do-if-im-uncomfortable-hosting-someone

Lots of  hosts try to get the potential guest to provide as much information as possible prior to allowing a booking, thus hoping to avoid any cancellation penalties. You can cancel without penalties by insisting in your house rules that "bookings should only be made after obtaining acceptance via Airbnb messages". If the guest doesn't contact you and you find their reviews are not suitable - your house rules are broken and you are entitled to cancel for this reason without penalties.

[Debra300]

@Samira37,

Only hosts with listings that accept Instant Booking can see a guests reviews before booking.  Which is kind of a mute point, because most often the booking notification is the first guest contact with the host.  If IB isn't enabled, hosts are expected to vet the guests themselves through communication with the guest (best to do it solely through Airbnb's messaging system).

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Debra300 

Only hosts with listings that accept Instant Booking can see a guests reviews before booking.  Which is kind of a mute point, because most often the booking notification is the first guest contact with the host. 

I asked a few friends about this last night. They had to check their listings and those without Instant Booking reported they could see reviews of their guests during a booking enquiry.

Because I have IB enabled I do see reviews, so I can't comment on the circumstances of not having it.

Instead, I've sent an enquiry to @Samira37 to see if she can see my reviews. From this, either her listing is broke because she can't see my reviews because she should, or she doesn't see reviews because she is being forbidden them.

Both @Anonymous and @Sarah977 don't have Instant Book enabled and it would be such a disadvantage not to see reviews that I'm sure they would kicked up a fuss about it before now. The star ratings may not be seen by other than IB's but the reviews should be. Maybe they could confirm?

[Sarah977]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 @Debra300  Absolutely not true. I have never used IB- I can easily read a guest's reviews before accepting their booking, whether they sent an Inquiry or  Booking Request. What non-IB hosts can't see is the star ratings. 

If I couldn't read a guest's reviews before deciding to accept them, I wouldn't be hosting.

That's actually why many of us prefer not to use IB- we can decide whether or not to accept a guest after reading their reviews, which IB hosts can't do until after it's booked.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Sarah977 

I thought that might have been the case, thanks for your confirmation.

[Debra300]

@Sarah977,

@Anonymous set the record straight.  Thanks for calling it out though to make sure that the correct info is shared.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Debra300 

I didn’t realise that. I know that we always manage to see guest profiles with IB both in enquires and bookings, but never realised that was the reason.

That’s some disadvantage to hosts without IB, but rather complicit in securing a booking in which the host might Have to incur cancellation penalties.

Is there any way to avoid the cancellation penalties if desired?

[Debra300]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 and @Samira37,

There are circumstances that a host may cancel a booking without penalty.  This is the link for the Instant Book Host Cancellation Policy:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2022/how-do-penaltyfree-cancellations-work-for-instant-book-host...

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Debra300 @Samira37 

I have used that on an IB booking. Is there any way without Instant Book I was wondering?

[Debra300]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0, @Samira37,

A host can only cancel a reservation without penalty through the extenuating circumstances policy: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/what-if-i-need-to-cancel-because-of-an-emergency-or-unavoid....

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Debra300 @Samira37 

I'm trying to find a solution for @Samira37 . Unwanted guests due to their bad reviews are simply, unwanted. They should not be forced upon an unwilling host.

She is penalised because she cannot check out the reviews of her guests without conforming to some discriminatory policy where hosts who do not apply an Instant Booking to their accounts get penalised. This in a number of ways; initially by not being able to view potential guests' reviews, which if illustrate the guest has a bad record they can be refused a booking. Then further, after being able to view the guests' reviews is unable to cancel without penalty.

This pretty much forces @Samira37 to take bookings which she is not happy to accomodate. 

So how is this avoided, this being the basis of the question @Samira37 posed?

[Debra300]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0, @Samira37,

I am going to bring in @Andrew0, and @Jessica-and-Henry0, because I feel they provide fair and object insight and guidance that encompasses a lot of hosting and guest experience.