Host Response Time Is Rated; Why Not Guests Too?

[Brian2036]

Apparently host response time is a big deal and can affect Superhost status.

 I would like to have similar information about guests who request information or preapproval.

It appears that some of them make a habit of spamming hosts with requests and then can’t be bothered to acknowledge receipt of the information.

It is becoming annoying to receive messages from prospective guests who indicate strong interest in the listing, ask a pertinent question, then do not have the simple courtesy to answer, “Thanks for your prompt response but I have decided to book elsewhere.”

I’m not going to issue preapproval even though Airbnb apparently wants me to do that. Blocking my calendar for these discourteous people may cost me a legitimate guest.

 The last one requested information at 1:30 AM. I didn’t see it until 7:30 AM which I suppose will affect my response time. I answered the question and provided other information.

No response.

Airbnb has goosed me three times trying to get me to either preapprove or decline.

 I politely notified the guest that I would appreciate some kind of response before I preapprove.

Nothing.

Shouldn’t guests who habitually do this be identified for the edification of other hosts?

[Anonymous]

@Brian2036  As long as your listing descriptions are thorough and your rules are unambiguous, "legitimate" inquiries should be extraordinarily rare. Why? Because Airbnb front-loads the "Book" screen, and anyone who's actually ready to reserve a listing goes straight there. Inquiries are only generated when the user clicks the harder-to-find "Contact Host" button, ostensibly to ask for more information - the web equivalent of calling a store to ask if they have bananas today.  But in practice, that feature is most commonly used by scammers, spammers, discount-hunters, attempts to book offsite, and attempts to book outside your available dates/group size/House Rules. 

Most of them don't convert into bookings, so you need not invest any time or concern in them. No need to fiddle with pre-approvals or declines - just answer any reasonable questions and move on. If the guest is serious about booking your listing, they will proceed to follow the normal protocol to do so - "pre-approval" doesn't actually make a difference.