Booking "request" from a guest who should have been able to instant book. What am I missing?

[Kia272]

So, this has happened a couple of times: A guest with multiple "rave" reviews and all verifications, ID, etc. (meets my criteria for IB) submits a booking request instead of instant booking. 

The first time this happened I was a bit confused. The guest looked good and had over 30 good reviews. I asked him what was up with that and he never responded, so I let it go. 

This time I just got another request. The guest has multiple reviews- he seems to be sensitive to noise and has left other reservations early for various reasons- bit still has over 16 reviews with a 5* average. 

Could this have anything to do with a host indicating they "would not host again?"

It's confusing to me. It seems to me that there is something preventing him from instant booking. 

Thanks for any info. Kia

[Huma0]

@Helen744 

The whole Airbnb ID verification (as well as profile photos) is a bit hit and miss in my experience. Here are two contrasting examples:

1. A guest told me that she had submitted her ID for verification but it hadn't worked. When I called CS, they told me that the ID had been rejected because the photos didn't look like the same person as the profile photo. The rep admitted that this can come down to something as small as the person having their hair up in one photo and down in another. The guest sent me her ID directly instead. For sure, it was the same girl who arrived at my door. So, Airbnb seemed to be maybe a bit too thorough in this case, but at least it seemed like they were checking.

2. A guest tried to IB but couldn't, I'm guessing because she had a thumbs down. I turned her away based on a terrible review + her communication was really poor and she just wouldn't provide me with basic info. She then attempted to book again using a fake account with an obviously fake name and no reviews. Both her accounts showed as ID verified. I called Airbnb who told me to report and block her, which I did, but her accounts remained on the site, including the fake one I had reported. So, clearly the system was not working in this case, but at least she wasn't able to IB with me because I require recommendations from other hosts.

I agree with you that communication is more important than reviews, profile photos or even verified ID. It can tell you so much more about what type of guest that person is going to be. Unfortunately, there is no IB requirement for good communication. The pre-booking message should do that job, but as @Emilia42 discovered, not all guests get to see this message.

I have had guests that instant booked that I probably wouldn't have accepted based on their communication. When I have ignored the little red flags and let the booking stand (after all, we only get three penalty free cancellations a year, so I save these for the big red flags), I have almost always regretted it. Guests that have to be chased to answer basic questions usually turn out to be problematic in other ways.

[Huma0]

@Emilia42 

PS, I don't actually want more guests to IB. As I host long term stays and want to have a conversation with the guest first, I much prefer guests who enquire first. Failing that, I'd rather receive a booking request and hope the guest responds to questions within 24 hours.

I only use IB because I found that, when Airbnb really started pushing it, my listings plummeted in the searches and my bookings stopped. I turned it on and suddenly was bombarded, not just with IBs but with enquiries and requests too. So, for me, it's about the visibility. The only things I like about IB are the penalty-free cancellations and being able to see guests' star ratings, although I think perhaps now you can see the latter anyway.

A couple of months ago, I turned off IB for one of my rooms as I was getting so many problematic bookings and was going to run out of penalty free cancellations very quickly! I wanted to see how it goes without it and that room is currently my most booked listing. So, I may well turn it off on another listing soon and eventually, maybe all three.

[Colleen253]

@Huma0 Re guests seeing the pre booking question, there is something wrong, because I never get the info I ask for, either. It never used to be a problem (I’ve had IB on/off variably over the years). Something has changed. I just can’t figure out what it is, because as Emilia’s screenshot shows, the message is there to be seen. Could all guests seriously be that lacking in attention now?

[Huma0]

@Colleen253 

I know. It is very strange. I have always request booked listings myself rather than use IB, so I didn't know that the message was actually right there and easy to spot. I had thought that maybe it was obscured or not obvious in some way, in a similar fashion to our full house rules or 'you must acknowledge' section on the listings. 

When I mentioned it to guests who had answered the questions, they said it was easy to see. The rest of them claimed not to have seen it at all. So, not ALL guests are that lacking in attention, but it seems like the majority are...

[Colleen253]

@Huma0 I’m not exaggerating when I say ‘no one’ supplies the info requested in that message. It’s also in my house rules. So they are missing it twice. 

[Huma0]

@Colleen253 

Yep, it's very rare for any of my guests to do it, so the ones that do really stand out! Like you, I also ask for that info in my house rules, but I've always had to prompt guests to read those and then many of them still don't do it, even if they claim they have.

I decided to stop spoon feeding guests to get them to answer my questions and added the Easter egg to the house rules. So, it's pretty obvious to me when someone says they have read them and haven't (which happens all the time). If someone can't be bothered to read the house rules, then I can't be bothered to host them.

[Colleen253]

@Huma0 “If someone can't be bothered to read the house rules, then I can't be bothered to host them.”

I feel much the same way, but if I acted on that, I’d have zero bookings. Luckily, our guests have not been problematic, despite lack of attention to the house rules and asks. Go figure. I read of all the problem guests other hosts have experienced, especially after the onset of the pandemic, and I thank my lucky stars we haven’t had the same experience. It probably helps that a good majority of our guests are repeat. 

[Huma0]

@Colleen253 

I didn't mean any guest that doesn't read the rules of their own volition without being reminded/me insisting. Then I also wouldn't have many bookings!

I meant the guests that ignore messages asking them to confirm they've read the rules and/or tell me they have read them, but I know they haven't because they've made some sort of assumption that would not have been made had they read them.

Since I added the Easter egg, I am more convinced than ever that many guests lie about having read the full rules. I still give them a chance to rectify that, but I simply will not accept a reservation until I have the answer to the Easter egg and any other important questions. If an IB guest doesn't provide this after a few prompts, I will ask them to cancel within the 48 hour penalty free period. If they don't, I will cancel.

[Emilia42]

@Huma0 @Colleen253 FYI

I just did a little experiment where I sent Huma an Inquiry. When I went on to book her place from the message thread (see photos below) the pre-booking message was not there. I could simply enter my CC and click "Confirm and Pay." This confirms why all of the guests that I have prior communication with go on to book with no further messages. So inquiring guests do not see pre-booking questions when completing the booking.

[Colleen253]

@Emilia42 That’s useful info. I don’t get many Inquiries going on to book. Inquiry usually = red flag of some sort, asking for something I don’t offer/won’t accommodate and such.

[Huma0]

@Emilia42 

That's extremely annoying and also non-sensical. It indicates that as long as the guest has sent some sort of message - regardless of what that is and whether the host's pre-booking message includes questions) they are able to book. 

It certainly explains why some IB guests see the message and others don't.