Hello July 2025 Superhosts!
It’s been a little while s...
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Hello July 2025 Superhosts!
It’s been a little while since our last update, but we’re back and it’s time to welcome our...
Latest reply
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When hosts seek advice about how to screen guests and anticipate how a stay will go, I always say that the best indication is going to be in the quality of the correspondence. This is especially important for in-home hosts; not only do you want to know that they comprehend your listing text and rules, you also need to be able to communicate effectively with them throughout their stay. An initial request that conveys no useful information can be a bit of a red flag, but sometimes a follow-up question is enough to put the conversation on track and make an educated decision about whether your listing is an appropriate fit for the guest's needs.
But how do you handle a guest when they insist on writing to you in a language that they have no logical reason to assume you speak? And when they don't seem to understand your follow-up questions?
My instinct in these situations is to decline, because I'd rather have a vacancy than risk a stressful situation or uncomfortable misunderstandings. But I fear that doing so could be interpreted as discrimination; even though language is not a protected category, you could say it overlaps with nationality. I'm struggling to find an inoffensive way to tell someone that I'm uncomfortable hosting them because they're too hard to communicate with. Any thoughts?
@Roberta2 You live in England, and don't speak French?? How very dare you, I've never been so insulted!
@Anonymous @Roberta2
Andrew, more specifically, Roberta lives in London, considered to be 'France's 6th biggest city'.
Estimate of 250,000 - 400, 000 French in London.
We can't go anywhere without speaking French!
Of course, the second most spoken language in London is Bengali...good luck with that one!
I recently had two young girls from Korea with minimal English. I provided them an amazing experience yet they gave me a 3 star for communication despite answering all their questions, giving them locasl tips, allowing early check in.
It was difficult to communicate in messages and in person. In the end the guest left me an immature rude irrelevant review so I got it removed.
This experience taught me to never again host to guests that cannot communicate adequately. I put it down to health and safety.