Do hosts get penalized for declining unqualified guests?

[Yan3]

Dear fellow hosts,

I'm sure this question has come up previously, but I'm relatively new to hosting and couldn't find a definitive answer for this.  Anyway, I have a question about pre-approving/declining guests.  Do we get penalized (i.e. lower search rankings) if we decline inquiries from unqualified guests who do not meet house rules?  I have gotten a few requests recently which were just begging to be declined:

1.  Booking attempts with number of people more than my place can accommodate for.

2. Inquiries from people who don't read house rules (no pets, no children, etc.)

3. People who attempted to communicate outside of Airbnb before a reservation is made.

4. People who don't respond after their first inquiries.

5. Lowballers asking for deep discounts.

I understand that I must respond within 24 hours, but is responding to the initial inquiry enough to avoid getting penalized?  Do we have to press "Decline" for it to be considered a full response?  Does declining an inquiry lower my search rankings?

Thanks,

Yan

[Christian49]

I tried this but they still won't cancel their booking request. I don't want to decline but my dates will be blocked.

[Bruce182]

New to AirBNB, but have had 5 bookings already.  Like others have mentioned, I received 2 requests that did not even meet my basic rules: the first was for someone who did not verify Government ID, the second was someone who wanted the accommodations for disallowed uses.  In the first case, I made the mistake of declining after messaging the guest repeatedly in the AirBNB app and not receiving a response to my request for ID.  My Hosting Summary Basic Requirements Accepted Reservations score went down.  In the second case, I messaged the guest and had them cancel their request.  I DO NOT like that I get penalized for declining a reservation that clearly does not meet my criteria.

[Letti0]

 @Bruce182  Don't decline, either call AirBnB  and have them do the decline or accept with CONDITIONS. In the case of the guests with no Government ID not uploaded they would not have been able to complete the booking if you requirements request it. Put it as a requirement in your rules. This one call AirBnB on. Add a rental agreement to your rules that must be signed and return with ID put it in your rules. Also change your policy to Strict with grace period. The second one is where the CONDITIONS must be met or they need to cancel the reservation ASAP  if they cannot agree to these rules to receive a full refund, list and state them in the message. With a Strict policy they have 48 hours to cancel free of charge. I find they will cancel if they realize they will not be allowed to do whatever they want and you will hold them to the rules.  

Store this in your cellphone:

AirBnB number:

United States and Canada

+1-415-800-5959 +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free)

[Adrian375]

I've had to decline 3 lots of people as they wanted to bring pets when it is clear on our listing NO PETS. I have been penalised for this. 

[Sammy75]

Hi Dear, how I activate the condition? Meaning how I set the confirmation of reservation set after they sign my house rules (maybe a word document) and send me a copy of their ID?

[Jeanie12]

 I had someone just inquire who indicated that they wanted to exceed our capacity and have people sleep on sofas and sleeping bags.    They also wanted to hold a large party. I find it totally unacceptable that AirBnB makes no distinction for people that want to break the rules. They do not list that as an option. Why should I have to call every single time because I have had numerous request for overcapacity dogs large parties etc. which is clearly against my House rules. Very frustrating. Unfortunately I did not have Airbnb declined this which I should have.

[Stephen665]

We are brand new to Airbnb, joining less the 36 hours ago.  We have had a number of great requests and have accepted, with 27 nights booked already.  We are excited.  Then, a women sent us a request for a 13-week stay with her Siberian Husky.  Our rules clearly state NO PETS.  Our HOA doesn't allow any pets.  While the HOA sort of looks the other way for an occasional small pet, a Siberian Husky for 13 weeks would definitely get some unwanted attention!  So, I communicated to the inquirer the situation.  She was immediately understanding and was willing to withdraw her request/inquiry, but was unable to see a way to do so.  I read all the posts in this thread, called a couple "life-lines" of more experienced Airbnb hosts I know, and still felt completely unsure about what was the best response.  Then I saw Letti's post in this thread which included numbers to call.  I called.  The Airbnb Agent was very helpful.  At first she said she would send a link I could share with the inquirer, giving them the instructions to withdraw their request/inquiry.  Then, the agent sent me the following email:  

Hi Stephen,

This is Makelle from Airbnb customer support team. I just did a little more investigating and the Guest has not requested to book so there would be no way to retract the request. You can simply decline and it won't affect you since there was no requesting to book it was just an inquiry. I double checked with a team member and they did confirm it will not affect you if you decline.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns, I'd be happy to help.

Best Regards,

M.

With that, I sent a final message to the inquirer, thanking her for her gracious understanding and for her willingness to stay in the process with me while I figured this out.  I then declined.  We will see what happens....

Thank you, Letti, for your very helpful post.  I hope my post is helpful to others, as well.

[Carlo312]

I've been hosting for the past 3 months now and my listing clearly states that any guests needs to have a valid id and feedback from other travelers, well my accepted reservations target is at 67% because I have declined two guests that don't comply at all, if its in my listing and in my house rules why on earth do I have to be penalized for this? Airbnb shouldn't even let them make the reservation request at my place if they don't meet the standards. 

[Zoe169]

I just spoke with customer service. 

She stated that declining a booking reservation will not affect your super host status and the only penalty you will receive is being potentially pushed back in the search results but she assured me if you have a high ranking and you're doing well then 1 decline should barely affect you at all.

If you decide to let the booking reservation time out or your response rate is low then this will indeed affect your super host and rankings.

[Gillian120]

I have had more and more requests by people who deliberately put in 1 guest even though there are a lot more.  I also had guests turn up with an infant he had not mentioned deliberately hiding the fact he had an extra child so he would have more choice in bookings.

Airbnb needs to make it clear that those deliberately not putting in the correct number of occupants or those turning up with more than specified can be reported and blocked from Airbnb, just like a host who is misleading in his description of his property.  There is no difference between the two.

Perhaps if we all called Airbnb to complain when this happens they may do something about it

[Ange2]

@Gillian120   Interesting.  I have also had a glut of the same in recent months, including from hosts, who you think would know better. Now I always write "Thank you for your reservation for (x) guest(s) and further down as an asterisk note "Please note guests not listed on the reservation (you could spell it out to include infants stating insurance rules) are not allowed entry into the listing".   It seems to work most times.  But there are always a few who make it a labor intensive nightmare problem, in that case  I try to get them to cancel - if they are a nightmare long distance it bodes ill for what they will be like in person.

[Gillian120]

Hi, Yep, I now spell it out but even that does not work.  Guest inputted 1 guest when she included 3 in her description and I requested her to amend the inquiry for the correct amount of guests but still has not.  Last-minute booking so thought I may as well let it go, but so annoying especially as I charge extra guest after two.  Airbnb should let us amend the booking as do VRBO when we know it is for more than input.

[Kelly926]

A new host, not even 40 days in. Just received my first low offer which I was not aware was possible.  Why select a minimum if people can offer low. Reading comments I shouldn't decline but how do you say "thanks but no thanks" without being penalized?

[NJay74]

I had the same question and Airbnb was quick and definitive with their response. Hope this helps someone. 

***Brief Synopsis***

As long as you reply to inquiries within 24hrs you are good no need to accept or decline but with reservations a reply is not enough because travelers have pre payment involved so a explicit accept or decline IS necessary. 

***My question***

Hi I’ve recently listed my place to stay and want to start off on the right foot. Can you definitively answer the following questions?

1) Does responding and declining an inquire affect your listing in anyway? If so what are the ways your listing is affected?
2) Is it better to respond to an inquiry and never specifically pre-approve, decline, or special offer? Or should you decline inquiries that lead to travelers not wanting to book ?

I searched through community post and other resources. Seems there is still some confusion on the topic. I would more than happy post your response to help the community with a definitive answer!

Thanks

*** Airbnb’s Response ***

Hi there-

My name is Will and I am a fellow host, Airbnb certified expert, and it is my pleasure to assist you now.

The difference here is between an inquiry (which is just a question) and a request (which is based with payment).

A request requires you to click on Accept or Decline within 24 hours, a message back to the guest is not enough.

The reason for this is that the guest has already made a pre-payment at your listed price and Airbnb has to know what to do with the money. So that the charge is not held indefinitely, you have 24 hours to click on accept or decline, so the charge is finalized or voided. If you do not do so, the request auto-expires and the charge is voided and your response rate and tie is affected.

An inquiry (always marked as inquiry in the message thread and email notification), is just a question and involves no payment by your guest. So, a message back is sufficient there. No need to click on pre-approve or decline.

I hope that clarifies and helps you on your future bookings!

Will