Head scratcher message

[Laura2592]

So yesterday this came in with a reservation request:

"hi Laura! I love the look of your place and can't wait for my trip! I'd love to be on a waiting list if you suddenly get an opening before the end of the month. otherwise we'll be there after the new year!"

Profile had 0 reviews, also a host apparently but no listing, just joined. So I comb through other messages and try to see if this is someone I have spoken to previously but there is nothing with that name. Reservation is for 1 adult, 2 kids and a pet which is our max capacity. Reservation request is in January but unclear what date  the guest is asking for to switch to. No Easter egg rules code word. We don't have a waiting list.  So I respond:

"Thanks for checking out our cottage! What month were you looking at...Jan or December? Can you tell me a bit about who will be joining you on your trip? And send over the Easter egg from the house rules and let me know if you have any questions about them? Have a great day! Laura"

Nothing. Airbnb keeps pinging me. I refuse the request saying: "Hi again: I never heard back about your preferred dates so I am going to go ahead and release this request. Please let me know if you have time to chat about what you are looking for. Have a great day!"

All I can think is that she has confused my space with someone else's or has been communicating under a different name.

[Elaine701]

I had a similar situation some months ago. No profile no history guest "requested" some dates. I had some simple questions. Guest never replied. Request expired. Got (bot) message from Airbnb saying since I had not responded, request expired and my response ratings would be diminished. 

So, I wrote to Airbnb support, not to ask for anything, but just to point out that I had indeed responded, but the guest did not, so I'm the one who takes the hit. 

Airbnb did actually respond, and agreed that I had responded and the guest had not, and it shouldn't be my fault, but there's nothing they can do. My response rate declined anyway. No biggie, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence. 

[Colleen253]

@Elaine701 Any time you let a Request expire, you get dinged. With Requests, a reply isn’t enough. You have to take the action of either declining or accepting, or get the person to withdraw it. Only when it’s an Inquiry is simply replying enough. 

Not saying I agree with it. Just saying that’s how it works. It annoys me to no end that the host should take any sort of knock in circumstances where guest lack of communication, or Request is inappropriate is the issue. 

[Elaine701]

Thanks @Colleen253 

Yes, I'm well aware of how it works, but to decline a request hurts a bit more than letting it expire. So, given a choice of bad or worse, I'll take bad. 

And yes, by default it seems the host takes the hit. 

[Colleen253]

@Elaine701 Not so sure it’s better to let it expire. Letting a request expire counts as a decline anyway, plus your response rate takes a hit. Dates get blocked as well, but can be unblocked by the host. 

[Elaine701]

Thanks again, @Colleen253 . You're probably right, but either case comes with a downside. 

The honest truth is that I didn't consciously "let it expire". I was just waiting for a response from the guest. It expired in the mean time. I even reminded the guest a day earlier, but no response. Expired anyway.

It's a small thing, but it's another lesson in Airbnb avoidance. 

[Huma0]

@Elaine701 

@Colleen253  is correct. Your response rate is more important than your acceptance rate. It's part of your Superhost assessment and also shows on your listings. Acceptance rate, on the other hand, is not visible to anyone else and doesn't affect any assessments.

I've had Airbnb CS confirm to me numerous times that Acceptance rate really doesn't matter. It has to get seriously low for Airbnb to do anything about it and one host even posted on the CC that her's was at 11% and her listing still active. It's just a tool that Airbnb use to scare hosts into accepting as many bookings as possible.

So, never let the request expire. It's frustrating when the guest doesn't respond, especially when you chase and explain that there's a time limit involved, but I leave it to the last moment and then hit decline. It's never done me any harm.

[Elaine701]

Yes, well, I responded. Twice. Even Airbnb CS agreed.  But it didn't matter. It's still recorded as if I never responded. 

If it weren't for Airbnb's completely brain dead methodology, I might even have a few nice words. 

But I don't. Sorry. 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 The fact she obviously didn’t read your house rules and then never responded when you asked her to, and provide the Easter egg, is justification enough to decline. Perhaps she’ll be more clear on the rest of it if she gets back to you. 

[Lisa723]

@Laura2592 I would have interpreted this as a request to book the January dates, with an additional note that if earlier dates were to open up in December she would be interested. I also know that guests don't always see Airbnb messages, for whatever reason.

[Laura2592]

@Lisa723yes that is what I was thinking she meant, but wasn't 100% sure. I declined this morning and have not heard anything back so I guess if she is interested she will come back with more info. I am just confused. As per usual.

[Huma0]

@Lisa723 

That's exactly what I would have taken it to mean. Unfortunately, it seems she doesn't have the best communication but could still be perfectly fine as a guest. I don't think that guests are aware that there is a clock ticking or that you might need information from them/clarification on something/a confirmation that they've read everything. It's clueless but it's often harmless.

I've never agreed with the whole 24 hours to accept or decline. I understand the need to respond in a timely manner, but there should at least be a set of pre-booking questions that ALL guests need to answer when sending their request (e.g. a short form they need to fill in) and the clock should only start ticking once they have done so.

Or, it should only start ticking when they have responded to your first message back to them. That would ensure that both hosts and guests respond in a timely manner.

[Laura2592]

@Huma0  @Lisa723  this person's profile seems to have disappeared. I never heard back from her. Not here or social media. The dates are open if she resurfaces and wants to provide more info. Or is an actual guest who really wants to stay.

[Huma0]

@Laura2592 

Stranger and stranger. Well, let's see. I have had cryptic guests like this in the past who have then suddenly resurfaced and booked after all, so you never know. Weird that her profile has disappeared though.