No first message from guest when booking

[John5097]

Five of my last seven reservations didn't include a first message. This seems odd as this never happened before. I updated my rules to include a first message when making a reservation but just wanted to see if anyone else is having this issue? I didn't see any recent post on the issue. 

I thought a first message was required to make a reservation? Not a good way to start a booking. So far they have been responsive getting back with me,  but just had two today so waiting to see if they respond. 

If I don't hear back from, which would mean zero communication, should I contact CS to have it canceled? Problem is risk having to deal with CS.   

 If guest continue to make reservations without any first message I'm not sure how to keep hosting. 

[Richard-And-Debra0]

Hi, just a quick question about booking by guests. We've recently had a problem with guests booking for 1 person and then showing up with a total of 4 guests. How should this be handled? There is a fee for additional guests over 2, but if a guest doesn't enter the proper # of people, then there is no fee and it creates an awkward situation. Any suggestions?

[Sarah977]

@Richard-And-Debra0  When guests first book, you need to communicate with them and ask whether they have entered the correct number of guests who will be coming. Make it clear that no guests unaccounted for will be admitted to the property and that failure to comply may result in immediate cancellation of their booking. 

That will stop a lot of this sort of thing, and if they do show up with more, deal with it immediately- either they pay the extra guest fee on the spot by amending the booking, or the extras have to leave, or they all get booted.

A booking for 1 for a listing that sleeps 4 should always be suspect.

[Richard-And-Debra0]

Thank you so much for your response. We are making plans right now to clearly communicate these expectations with future bookings.

[Colleen253]

@Richard-And-Debra0 Seconding what Sarah told you, and also I suggest you add language regarding this to your house rules. "All guests must be disclosed and paid for at time of booking. Up to 4 guests may be on the booking. These will be 'authorized'. No unauthorized person is allowed on the property at any time. Disregarding this is cause for booking being terminated. 

[Richard-And-Debra0]

Thank you Colleen. We will do that - great suggestion.

[Jennifer1773]

Hi @Richard-And-Debra0 -- @Sarah977 gave great advice about early communication with guests booking for 1. I would add that if you find out that the guest is bringing additional guests not on the original booking, you should have them officially change their reservation via an Airbnb change request ASAP (make sure it is the guest that requests the change): 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/913/how-do-i-change-a-reservation-for-a-place-to-stay  This makes everything legit through Airbnb and will also update your payment to include your extra guest fee... and emphasize to the guest that the numbers matter.  

[Richard-And-Debra0]

We really appreciate your response. Your suggestion really helps. We feel a whole lot better about this issue, thanks.

[Ann72]

@Liv  I'm so sorry, but this didn't clear up the issue for me.

We check "pre-booking message required."  The prefix "pre" leads us to expect that the guest will need to read and respond to this message before booking.  But that's not what happens.  The statement below the box says "Guests will receive this message once they book,"  i.e., after they book.

This simply needs to be re-written.  But which is it?

[Liv]

@John5097 @Ann72 @Emilia42 

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the feedback! Sorry it took a while to get back to you, I was checking with the team. 

So Ann, in that case, the guest is required to provide a message before they confirm and pay. On the checkout workflow they won't be able to confirm a booking unless they send a message.

Hopefully that helps. I also let the team know about the double meaning on that sentence you flagged. Thanks for that 😊

[Ann72]

@Liv  THANK YOU for the clarification.

It was confusing, because below "pre-booking message required," it says, "Require guests to read and respond to a message before they confirm their reservation."  Then it says, "Guests will receive this message once they book."

Obvs it's excellent that guests are required to include a message with their booking.  I always get one.

But yeah those two instructions are confusing.  The first one could just say, "Require guests to include a message to the host before they confirm their reservation."  The way it stands, they're not actually required to respond to a message, and in fact they don't see the message until they book.  

[Liv]

@Ann72 

No worries, happy to help!

And that's a good point, I can see how that can be confusing.

Thanks again for the feedback 😊

[John5097]

@Liv

Thanks so much for getting back with everyone! I feel so much better knowing guest will be required to include a message when making a reservation. I also agree that it is confusing to have to ask a question that guest get after they make the reservation.

Once again I could have phrased my first comment to you better. Thanks to you I feel back to normal now, positive, as suddenly getting 5 reservations with no first message, got things off to a bad start, and very worrisome. (For clarification to others this didn't happen on first 250 reservations until now, 150 completed and 100 canceled during covid) Strange it happened to just me, but maybe mine is different as I also have a key code integrated with ABB, or Airbnb only change some listings, as that has to be some kind of record, or part of a focus group?) 

Anyway this is huge progress. Thanks everyone. So far the changes are working. Guest with no reviews are required to make a request to make a reservation and so far everyone has included a message. I'm also improving communication on my end so this is good progress. 

I just want the next 150 guest to be as happy as the first!  And think everyone just wants to keep hosting successfully and be proactive to avoid unnecessary risk or miscommunication. 

(Edit: I tried to tag more people but weren't showing up.) 

 

[Liv]

Hey @John5097,

As I said, no worries at all! That's also what the CC is for 😊

Happy to hear it's working properly now, and hopefully your next guests will be just as good.

[Colleen253]

 @Liv Further clarification on a small point, if you please. Did Airbnb indeed change the whole process to reduce friction in order to ease the booking process for the guest, and then change it back to what it was originally? 

As @Emilia42 mentioned, when booking as guest recently, she didn’t see the message until after booking, and other hosts in addition to @John5097 have said they weren’t receiving the first messages. 

Seems to have created a lot of unnecessary confusion and hassle either way. 

[John5097]

@Liv once again thanks for being so understanding. I realize you and the CC team are just doing your job but you taking the effort to get some info on this situation really helped me get back on track. I'm not sure what us host would do without the support of the CC.  

Also appreciate @Colleen253 and @Emilia42 chiming in, as well as others. In part its great progress for me to be around such purposeful and smart individuals and host. I think we all recognize this.  

Even now I don't have the option to include weekend pricing, but that's something I can work around. 

I was distraught over this situation. I'm glad my guest for the past 4 days didn't seem to mind. I did chat with them a bit and all was good. And communication with guest booking is going great. I now thank them for their first message and for having looked over the listing. That really helps getting things off to a good start. 

Liv may have also reached the limit on what info she could find out, as everyone on the CC team does the best they can to pass on info and keep up informed all within their limits.  I'm still not sure what happened but feel a lot better with the communication and support from host and the CC team.