Hmm, not sure how to rate this guest? Started out with good ...
Hmm, not sure how to rate this guest? Started out with good communication, then stopped after sent check-in information. 1.Tu...
Hi! I'm new to hosting and my second ever booking request is from someone who had zero details on their profile. They have no reviews. And after i mentioned to them that they are not verified, they just verified an email and phone number but no bio or anything. It makes me really nervous because my house is in a really quiet neighborhood with neighbors who are pretty close. I really don't want this to be a party on NYE.
But Airbnb doesn't allow me to reject without providing a reason and I do feel bad but I'm too nervous to rent to them... How should I phrase the rejection note?
You can choose option "i feel uncomfortable" and mention as reason: the guest has no reviews and ID is not verified.
You can also choose "the dates are not available", Airbnb wil block the dates on your calender (But you can reopen them if you still want guests on NYE).
@Kara400 I think it's quite wise not to accept this booking as it's for NYE and the guest just doesn't have enough info for you to feel okay about it. And guests who are up to no good often target new listings, banking on the host being naive.
If I were you, I might even block New Year's Eve altogether this year while you're getting the hang of things. Sure, you could get a good price, but it's also a magnet for partiers.
But in general, when it comes to requests, being a new guest is often like being a new host-- not sure how things work, not sure what's required, or proper protocol or what's expected by way of communication.
So if you say to a newbie guest that you require verifications, they may not understand what that entails. So try to be specific with guests. "Hi XX, I see you are new to Airbnb. I would feel more comfortable about considering your request if you took the time to do a bit of a profile write up on your profile page, and submitted verified ID to Airbnb. You have no reviews yet, and hosts need to see that guests have made some effort to present themselves to hosts with some information."
You shouldn't ever feel bad about not accepting a booking you have a bad feeling about. Hosts' intuition usually turns out to be spot on, and hosts who've ignored it often regret it.
You do have to either accept or decline a request within 24 hours, but you may also be able to get the guest to withdraw it so you don't have to decline. If a request is inappropriate, you can try something like, in the case you have now, for instance, " Hi XX, I'm sorry, but you still haven't submitted any verified ID as requested, so I will not be able to accept this booking. I suggest you withdraw your request ASAP so you will be free to look for another place. "
Or in another scenario, "Hi XX, thank you for your request. As stated in my house rules, I don't accept pets, and I can't make an exception for your dog. Please withdraw your request so you will be free to look for a pet-friendly listing. "
And be aware that if it's an Inquiry, as opposed to a Request, the options are pre-approve, decline, or just message back. You never need to decline an Inquiry- just message them back explaining why your place wouldn't be a good fit for them, or whatever the case may be. You don't need to keep answering their messages if they get pesky- responding once to an Inquiry is all that's required. The Inquiry will expire in 24 hours, and doesn't block your calendar to other requests or bookings.
Wow @Sarah977! Thank you so much for the detailed reply! Blocking out NYE makes a ton of sense! Somehow the Airbnb UI makes me feel a lot of guilt about rejecting the guests' request but it'll be worse if I accept and change my mind after.
Plus, if I change my mind about NYE later, I've been on Airbnb for 24 hrs and have gotten 3 rental requests already so... chances are that I could find someone with reviews -- though it's probably just not worth the hassle (especially with the close neighbors) until I figure all this out.
Thanks again!!
@Kara400 "Somehow the Airbnb UI makes me feel a lot of guilt about rejecting the guests' request"
That's exactly the intent, and something for new hosts to be aware of- all of Airbnb's suggestions to hosts- their absurdly low "price tips", urgings to use Instant Book, to accept last minute reservations, to offer discounts, are not there as helpful things for you to be successful. They have one purpose- to drive bookings so Airbnb gets more business. They really don't care if you only make $5/ night profit, or end up with disrespectful guests.
Never feel pressured to do any of those things, or accept bookings you find iffy- use the settings that you feel comfortable with and that work for you and your listing. Nothing is set forever- you can experiment with a setting like min. or max booking length, or Instant Book, and change it down the road as you see fit.
So long as you communicate with them within 24 hours, that's what the timer and metric cares about. Do not feel pressured into accepting a request you're not comfortable with.