Guest inquiries

[Tim691]

I wanted to confirm, for certain, Airbnb treatment of owner ratings on this.  

I found on this forum what looks like a conclusive answer but it is 2 years old and things change.  

For an inquiry, if I message back to the person I understand my response rate to be ok.  Regarding the need to ultimately hit the pre-approve or decline button is what I want to be sure about.  Is there a penalty to me in doing neither?  

Many times it is someone wanting to talk offline and we reply that all correspondence and bookings need to happen through the app.  At that point there is no more communication. 

I am only looking for a reply from anyone on the forum with true knowledge about how the Airbnb rating for owners works in this case.  We did message right away but we choose not to hit the pre-approve or decline button.  

Thanks!!!

[Ann72]

@Tim691  You are absolutely right that you only have to reply, and do not have to pre-approve or decline, to keep your response rate up.