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Welcome to the Community Center! I'm @Bhu...
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Hello everyone!
Welcome to the Community Center! I'm @Bhumika , one of the Community Managers for our English Community Ce...
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I have a new booking from a guest that requested a discounted rate. I turned him down three times, once in messages after I declined his request twice. The third time he contacted me, I reported him to Airbnb. At least two times, I asked him to book somewhere within his budget and let him know it was not worth it to me to reduce my rate. Today he has come in as an instant book. I don't want to host him; our communication has not been hostile, but not great either. It seems strange that he's so focused on my listing when there are 20 or 30 other options in the area that he could easily book. When you report a guest to Airbnb, in my opinion, they should not be able to book. My guess is I'm going to get marked down for value, maybe even worse.
I would contact AirBNB and ask them to cancel the guest. Inform the agent you reported this guest previously and that you don't feel comfortable hosting him.
Once that happens, go to your messages with the guest, click on the flag symbol and that will allow you to report him. When given the option, select "Harassment". And then clock "Block this guest". He won't be able to book with you anymore.
@Jillian115 you get 3 penalty free cancellations per year with instant book so just cancel (saying you are uncomfortable with the guest) and then block the guest as per the post above (although I don't know if blocking works as I have never had a guest refusing to go away!)
@Jillian115 I had a similar situation. Get Airbnb to cancel ASAP. This guest will stay and try to extort a discount or freebie saying there are insects, its not cleaned, they hurt themselves in your unsafe space etc.
I would just say "Sorry my listing is not a fit for your needs. Wish you the best on finding something else." if the guest reaches out after cancellation.
@Jillian115 There is normally an option to block someone after you report them. Sometimes it doesn’t appear. Use one of your Instant Book penalty free cancellations to cancel it. Then think about blocking the dates. Do NOT host this nitwit. It will end badly for you, somehow. What a pain, to have to use all those declines and then a cancellation on this guy. What is wrong with some people?
Thanks, @Colleen253 @Laura2592 @Mike-And-Jane0 @Stephanie365. I was able to cancel the reservation through Airbnb without penalty. I did find out from the agent that when you report someone they give you three choices, I can't remember what I selected but you have to select "They 're being offensive" to block them from booking your listing in the future. I think the means that the other two options will not block them from booking. Also once you report someone you can't report them again. The agent had me try to go back and block them but the reporting link was greyed out and said: "user reported." She did it on her end.
I had a similar experience recently. It was not discount related, but I had a guest who tried (and couldn't) instant book with me due to a really bad review. Based on that and her extremely poor communication, I turned her away, but she kept bugging me so I had to be very firm about not wanting to host her. She then requested to book using a different account with no reviews and a fake name, but it was obviously her.
Airbnb told me the same thing as you, report and block and yes, they also said you have to click the 'they're being offensive' option, even though that was not the reason in this case. Seems you can't block a guest just because they are harassing you or even because they are breaking Airbnb rules (multiple profiles, fake profile).
I think the block option worked as I haven't heard from her again.
I've never had a problem cancelling an IB before as you have the option to do so if you feel uncomfortable hosting the guest or think they will break your house rules, but you only get to do this penalty free three times a year.
That is fine, unless you get a guest who keeps rebooking (this has happened to me) as you waste two or three of your cancellations on one idiot who won't take no for an answer. Sadly, Airbnb still count each cancellation towards your quota even when it is the same guest trying repeatedly to make the same booking.
@Huma0 people do get weirdly obsessed. I had a woman try to book 3 times last year saying every time she just wanted to have a small party. We don't allow that. She just wouldn't go away. I didn't understand it. To this day she occasionally tries to contact me through social media with new accounts that are obviously her. She just gets blocked. Give it a rest already. I have people who do this in my online jewelry business too. It's just so bizarre. They covet a specific thing and won't let go despite many other options. I'd hate to date one of these folks.
Oh, can you imagine dating someone like that?!
I once went on a date with a very handsome, successful man who seemed to like me. He wanted to take me on a picnic that Saturday as he was going to be away for a couple of weeks after that, but I was working (styling a fashion show), so I suggested it wait until he got back.
He wouldn't take no for an answer and kept insisting that I just cancel the job. I explained that I couldn't let people down at the last minute like that. He didn't care. He just kept insisting and I kept refusing, over and over. This really irked me as he clearly showed no respect for my work/career and also didn't seem to care about consequences to others as long as he got what he wanted.
Needless to say, I didn't see him again.
PS next time I cancel an IB, I will also block the guest so that they can't keep rebooking. I hadn't thought about that before the recent experience with Miss Persisent Fake Name.