Booking Inquiry - to lower rate & TX Covid Hot Spot - no response

[Angie520]

Hi Everyone, 

I receive a booking inquiry last night for a lower rate. I didn't see it until late but responded  -  no I couldn't due to the additional cost of cleaning, supplies and time.  I also saw they were from El Paso TX, not a hot spot it seem but its in TX which is.  I asked her to answer some Covid questions if she was still interested & to let me know.  I never heard back from her.

My questions:

1. Do I still have to decline?  I replied back regarding the lower rate & asked our Covid questions. She never responded back

2. If I decline will it count against me since it was only a Booking Inquiry?

3. Can I do nothing?  Or do I need to do something?

4. Is any one else charging more for cleanings

5. Guest lives near Hot Spot - are you booking them?

Angie 

1 month old Newbie Host

[Emilia42]

Hi @Angie520 Because this is an inquiry, you only need to respond. Your response will stop the ticking clock. There is no need to accept or decline. I never do. If this was a "booking request" you would need to take action by either accepting or declining. I can tell it is not a request because the guest would have already agreed to the reservation total and entered their credit card info (your 'accept' would confirm the reservation and charge their card.)

Personally, I am not charging more for cleaning but I have eliminated some extra perks and amenities that have saved me some money with each stay.

Never assume the city/location that is listed in the guest's profile is correct. Airbnb does not routinely ask guests to update their profiles. So the guest could have lived in TX when they set up their profile but now lives elsewhere or maybe is from TX but has been traveling in another state for the last 2 months. You never know. It is always best to ask the guest their specific plans and where they are coming from.

It is pretty common for an inquiry to go nowhere. I don't give into discount seekers and politely suggest that they find a place that better suits their budget. None of them have ever booked with me and almost always they won't since all they really want is a lower price. 

[Sarah977]

@Angie520   Simply answering an Inquiry within 24 hours is all that's required- you don't have to either pre-approve or decline. You will get annoying messages from Airbnb pressuring you to pre-approve, but you can ignore those- as long as you have messaged the guest back, your stats won't be affected. Don't ever decline an Inquiry for that reason- no need to lower your acceptance rate for an Inquiry.

Don't lower your rates. Yes, some hosts have actually raised rates to cover the extra COVID cleaning. 

Personally I'm not hosting at all right now, due to COVID and the fact that I home-share. Not worth the risk to me.

But if I was, and even if I had an entire house listing, I wouldn't accept guests from COVID hotspots, because I would not want to be a party to them travelling at all (even if that just meant they'd book something else and travel anyway, at least I would't have facilitated that, but that's just my attitude).

Although, as I'm sure you're aware, anyone could be carrying the virus, even if they were from some relatively safe place.

And many Inquiries you never hear from again after you've responded to them. It's pretty standard. 

Also be wary- many people who are booking since COVID are newbie guests, have no reviews to go on, and are just looking to throw parties. They especially target new hosts because they assume you aren't experienced at vetting guests.