How to Decline a reservation request with a guest who wants to break house rules without getting penalized for the Decline?

[Douglas353]

We have a no pets House Rules.  (Our insurance company doesn't allow it.)  With it clearly stated in our listing I received this request from a guest.  How do you Decline a guest who is requesting a stay which violates house rules without being penalized for the Decline by Airbnb?   

Hi

Hope you are well. I am extremely interested in renting your property. I will be traveling with my girlfriend and our dog. Your property is listed as 'no pets' - I am writing that you kindly reconsider. Our dog is a small miniature poodle, who is a very well trained.

[Douglas353]

How did you get to that screen? 

[Lisa723]

@Douglas353 it is my home screen. It looks like yours is different, to my surprise!  Possibly because I am using Airbnb's "professional hosting tools" but I'm not sure. Maybe another host who is not using them can be more helpful in directing you to the same information.

Here's what an inquiry and a booking request look like in my inbox. Again they are clearly labeled.

[Laura2592]

@Douglas353 I have only gotten a "pre-approve" with a booking inquiry. I have then gotten a lot of prompt emails from ABB making it SEEM like accepting was hyper urgent. I have let some just fall off after asking questions (that the guest didn't answer), declined some, pre-approved some that the guests booked or didn't. In general when I see the word "inquiry" I think that its likely not a good fit because the guest is asking for permission to bypass some rule before booking, or they want a different day than is available but have sent the inquiry to ask if I really truly am booked. 

If I see the word "request" I know I have to be more on top of things because I have 24 hours to accept or decline and it will ding me if I don't. These are typically guests who are new to the platform or not recommended by other hosts (that's how I have my settings-- they can't just book. They have to talk to me first.) 

The only time I see the word "trip" is either when I am traveling or when someone is actively staying with me. Its in the context of "trips in progress." So maybe they did change something? But I am unfamiliar with anything other than the above. 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 All of my recent booking requests have come in as 'Trip Request'. This is new. I wonder if it is not platform wide yet - another annoyance with these stupid little tweaks they are always making. It's exhausting trying to keep up and unravel the mess when they make platform changes!

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 sounds like it. Honestly "inquiry" vs "request" are not the clearest pair of words that they could have chosen so it makes sense that they would change it, but instead changed "booking" to "trip" 🙂 Sounds about right. How about  just allowing people to ask questions versus the serious people who are ready to put money down? 

[Douglas353]

I agree. 

[Douglas353]

So you are seeing it too.

[Douglas353]

@Laura2592   Because of the City of Berkeley laws I am required by law to have the guest read and agree to obey all of the laws about strs.   This came about as a result of the 5 people being shot and killed and many others injured at an Airbnb rental in my city.

If cannot legally allow a guest to stay at my property the agreement. 

[Laura2592]

@Douglas353  I understand. I was just saying that ABB made the process even more confusing for hosts from what it sounds like. We are pretty booked so I have not had an inquiry or booking in the last week or so and have not yet experienced this new "trip" language. 

Here is my suggestion for the ABB programming team: 

A button that says "I would like to ask the host a question"

and

A button that says "I am ready to book"

The "ready to book" would prompt the myriad of emails ABB likes to send to pressure hosts to accept in the 24 hours. The "ask a question" would be for the people who want different dates, different rules etc and hosts could answer at their leisure. 

[Douglas353]

Yes, I agree.  But that's not what they are doing.  Instead our partners in business make it confusing for us.  And then the penalize us for not getting in right and threaten to suspend our listing.   What kind of business partner would do that? 

[Laura2592]

@Douglas353 they aren't a business partner.

This is an advertising platform and nothing more. I know there is a lot of rhetoric for hosts about protections, guarantees and the magical experience of allowing strangers into our homes to create better understanding across people of all stripes. But that's just marketing. ABB consistently demonstrates they want hosts to make them money but they won't do much about any problems encountered along the way. 

Once hosts understand that (and I say this not to be cynical, but this has been my experience over many stays and several years) we can adjust our expectations accordingly. Its only here, in this community with loads of other people who have experienced so many different situations and are kind enough to share, that I feel ABB can offer more than just a website to list on. And all the advice and support you get here is (to paraphrase Blanche Du Bois) dependent on the kindness of strangers. THIS is the best I get in terms of "customer service." And none of us are on the CS payroll. 

[Emilia42]

@Laura2592 👏   👏    👏

[Lisa723]

@Douglas353 Airbnb is not your partner. Hosts are a means to Airbnb's ends, and vice versa.

[Cherie-and-Bill0]

You could be getting it right and Airbnb will still penalize you!

[Sarah977]

@Douglas353  Airbnb's TOS make it quite clear that hosts are independent contractors. The company is not our partners even though they love to put out that sort of PR rhetoric.