Educating first-time guests

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Educating first-time guests

First-time guests

 

Hello everyone,

 

I hope you are having a good week.

 

We know how much time and effort you all put into welcoming your guests and making them feel at home.This is why, when you have guests booking on Airbnb for the first time, we want to set the right expectations for you and your home.

 

If your expectations are misaligned, this can lead to less than ideal trips and reviews, which is discouraging for everyone involved and something that has been mentioned here in the Community Center before. So to help these travelers understand the unique, local experience they can have when they stay in your home, I wanted to let you know that we’re reaching out to educate first-time guests before they arrive at your doorstep!

 

To find out more information about this take a look at this blog article.

 

Do you have any handy tips on how you manage expectations for your first-time Airbnb guests?

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks,

Lizzie


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144 Replies 144

@Zephyr0@Kathryn91, the nore may help. It's usually first tmr guests, who think they can get away with it and they don't know that it's not easy to take money from the deposit. Some fines are there to discourage offensive behaviour, not to be collected. 

What you could do additionally: explain at checkin, that dishes have to be washed and put away. Then say, that there is an option to leave them and someone will wash them every morning. Spot the reactions. Then add the fee for that. In my experience, nobody takes the cleaning option, but those who like it very much before they hear it costs money will leave a mess. At leadt you will know, that you have to check for dirty dishes. If you are a good salesperson, you can use the difference in Ah, great, a cleaner! And Oh, no, expensive! to sell them an end-cleaning on the spot at a discount specially for them, so they can enjoy their breakfast without worrying about dishes. 😉

People who prefer to use a dirty plate over washing it are often not only lazy, they may have an irrational fear of water. You can check that by speaking about long showers, water temperature may drop or open the window to let out the steam after a very long shower. If they protest, that it will never occur, check your dishes ;-). You can't "educate" people, if that's the reason. 

Hello Lizzie,

 

I would like to kindly   ask for us hosts to have an option to mark minimum of guests to book  especially on INSTANT BOOKING! Same as we can mark minimum of nights! My guests' room can take 3 guests, ( it's a big room,and 3 are very comfortable) and when I used the intant booking, it happend that one guest books the room , so a room of 3 is used for only one guest!!  This is not worthed, so I will go back to using INSTANT BOOKING if I get to mark that option!

 

Many thanks

Joan

Hi @Joan147, I can't access your listing on my phone from the post, but I suppose your problem is not a minimum number of persons to keep you company, but a minimum price to earn. At the moment, if you get a request by one guest only, you refuse it? 

You should raise the riom rate and lower the additional guest fee or st it after two persons. 

That way, the room is relatively expensive for one, but cheaper for a family. 

From an economic point of view, if a single person pays the same as a family, it's more profitable for you. 

If you fear to be alone with a single guest, ask for a long description , if the guest has no reviews. Most of mine follow that request with the booking , others after the first mail. If someone stays silent, I call airbnb. If they cannot get any reaction either, they propose to cancel. I had that proposed several times, I did not even ask for it. I took two cancellations and educated the others 😉

it's easier for a single guedt to book on the spot. In a family, you may have to wait for the partner anyway, before committing. But you can fill the time by contacting several hosts. - that's one of the advantages of IB: either they book or they don't, but they don't waste my time. 

Viviana62
Level 4
New York, NY

It would be nice if guests were encouraged to read the entire listing description rather than just looking at a few pictures and reading a few comments. Once they book and find out the host doesn't have what they were looking for then they rate the host poorly when in reality the host indicated he/she did not offer that. 

Viviana62
Level 4
New York, NY

When a guest pays $35 to $60 a night for one to two guests, they should realize that they will not be staying at the plaza hotel with 24 hours room service and cleaning service. Some guests have really high expectations and it seems unrealistic when you already indicated in your listing that you will be gone most of the day working and that all common areas will be clean once a week. 

Viviana62
Level 4
New York, NY

Guests should be encouraged to communicate with their hosts about any issues encountered during their stay rather than staying quiet or saying that it is ok then they make sure they write the issue in your review. How can we make guests understand we are a community and we offer a warm, loving and safe environment at a very affordable price so everyone guests the opportunity to travel around the world. 

Viviana62
Level 4
New York, NY

Guest need to stay in communication with their host. I have two guests that just checked in yesterday and since yesterday I have been texting the guests asking how was their check in since I wasn't the one to receive them and if they found everything ok or if they need anything else. They have not bothered to answered.  I can only imagine what kind of review they will leave me. 

Melody-And-Peter0
Level 3
Massachusetts, United States

I actually have grown to like "newbies"! They do need some hand holding and guidance. One thing I do is send this message at the end of their stay:


"Thank you, Soandso for staying with us! You were a great guest and we've given you a 5 star review. If you feel it's warranted, we would love for you do the same for us. 5 star reviews (AirBnB considers 4 star reviews below standard!) are what keep us in business and able to host at reasonable rates in a competitive market. Hope to see you again soon!!" 


I try to "under sell and over deliver". I have all the flaws of this old house and eclectic neighborhood in the first two sentences of my listing (the under-sell). Then, I have a bottle of wine for each guest, fresh flowers everywhere, cookies on the counter and a zipper pouch with a silk sleep masks and earplugs at the end of each bed (the over deliver). 🙂

@Melody-And-Peter0I believe your method of solicitating 5 star ratings is contrary to Airbnb policy, although I do like the idea of how you do it 🙂

@Patty-And-Beckett0Tis is what I was able to find on AirBnB policy regarding asking for positive reviews:

 

This policy does not prohibit:

  • A host from asking a guest to leave an honest positive review or rating reflecting a positive experience.

 

Viviana62
Level 4
New York, NY

My current guests, two young girls maybe teenagers (18 or 19) or early 20s woke up at 2pm from partying all night and texted me to ask me if breakfast is included on my nightly price. This proves they didn't even bother to read my listing. Since they checked in I tried to communicate with them to find out how was check in since I wasn't the one to receive them they haven't even bother to reply. But now that they are hungry they found the time to text me. They didn't even bother to read my listing. I do not prepare breakfast for my guests because I work all day since early morning, However, I do but them breakfast goods for their first few days and provide intrusions as to where the oil, butter, salt and pepper are. I replied to their texts and again they don't even bother to reply to my texts. I do not want to host guests like that ungrateful and disrespectful. 

Robin129
Level 10
Belle, WV

@Lizzie It isn't just first timers that need reminded to read listings. I think the check-box verifying they read all the house rules and check-in/out times should be in EVERY booking. 

---> That's how I look at most guests, like cousins. And you know, some of those cousins are kooks.

I agree with you Robin. The reminder should be to all new and existing guests. I normally ask them if they read my rules before booking and send it to them two or three days before they arrive. They always reply back saying yes I have read a I agree to your rules. However, the minute they arrive  thru the door they are braking rules. 

Lois28
Level 1
South Africa

My rate for a 1 night stay is higher than for longer stays. How on earth do I go about setting this up on my pricing profile. Airbnb suggested that 1 night stays will increase bookings but I do not see my way clear to do so at the same rate