Please do away with REQUESTS to BOOK.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Why, oh why, does Airbnb allow guests to hold dates without having a valid payment?

It's completely unfair to hosts. No other platform does this.

I was forced to call AirBnB this morning and waste more than half an hour of my valuable time to get this sorted.

Newbie guest did not respond once they finished what they thought was a completed booking.

It wasn't, because the payment was not valid, and in the meantime, I'm left with my dates tied up, preventing someone who actually meets the requirements and has a *valid* payment from booking, and I'm also left facing penalties for not accepting a Request to Book.

It's not right, and it's infuriating to have to deal with this in this way.
No other platform does this.
If the payment isn't valid, the booking is simply not made, which is how it should be on AirBnB, too.

They should do away with requests and just go with inquiries, instead of trying to force hosts to accept bookings from guests that don't meet the requirements to book or isn't a good fit.
Had I accepted this Request, I likely would have been out the full amount, since the payment did not go through, and the reservation was for a check in today.
I was never sent the initial Request to Book email, which usually lists why a Request was made, instead of an instant book (except in the case of invalid payment, which lists no reason for why a Request instead of an IB was made), so unless I called in, I would have had no idea that the payment didn't go through.

We have requirements for a reason, and AirBnB shouldn't be trying to force us to waive them.

[Cheryl497]

What is BDC?

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Booking dot com

[Sarah977]

@Pat271  They haven't all been experienced users, but most. And even the new to Airbnb ones seem to have all their required info and payment method in place before they book, because their bookings seem to get confirmed right away.

It's really nothing I do. It just seems that my listing attracts those kinds of travellers. Maybe has to do with the fact that I only host one guest at a time, I don't know. And because most are travelling internationally, they don't book last minute. In other words, they aren't guests who open an account, and try to book right away, before all their requirements are in place.

[Pat271]

@Sarah977 

You are too modest. I suspect that your reviews and guest quality are in no small way related to your hosting skills.

[Sarah977]

@Pat271  Thanks. I do think I treat guests well and provide them a nice space.

But I also know that it's easier to please veteran budget travelers. They've ended up staying in some pretty grotty places around the world, so what I think of as a pretty simple accomodation can feel deluxe to them.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Sarah977 , IBers dont get penalized for rejecting bookings, ive done so many times and my rejection rate is still zero as long as you communicate with the guest and tell Airbnb why your rejecting them, with me its usually when they are asking to bring a dog and they know we are listed as dog free, somehow they think I will change my mind for their pooch, not gonna happen!!!!!.    

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

@Melodie-And-John0  You absolutely do get penalized. You just don't know it because they don't tell you.
I'm betting your acceptance rate is below 100% and your listings are down in the search results because of it.
You'll likely getting the guests to cancel on their end (with a full refund) and so it doesn't count against you in that case.
I try to get the guest to cancel immediately as well, but I've had guests refuse to do it because my place is a great deal and they don't want to have to pay a higher rate somewhere else. Yet they insist that they want to bring fluffy, their children under 8, and 20 of their closest friends to our place that has a maximum capacity of 4.
Then I have to waste a hour or two of my time calling AirBnB.
Meanwhile, they are holding my unit...
And eventually, you *will* get penalized where you do know it.
You'll get some poorly trained CSR who doesn't know what they are doing and who will disagree with you and insist that you should host the guest and refuse to do it for you penalty free.
Ask me how I know.....
What then?

[Cheryl497]

You escalate and ask fir a manager!

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

And get nowhere again because when they "escalate" it takes weeks for them to respond.
Not fast enough for a time-sensitive issue like this.
It's a complete waste of time.

[Sarah977]

@Melodie-And-John0  You mean you don't get a ding in acceptance rate if you decline a booking request sent because the guest wasn't eligible to IB?

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

You absolutely do get a ding if you decline, no matter what the reason is.
I never do it online and always call in, because they add up and eventually, it *will* count against you and you will start getting dings and your listing will be found lower in the listings search.
They *do* penalize you for not accepting, which I think is wrong.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Michelle-and-Ray0 , Im not sure what top say, even with the couple handful of rejections my acceptance rate is still 100% with over 400 reviews  and my listing always come up top of the list when searching this area, it really doesn't get much better than that.  

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

@Melodie-And-John0  I don't know what to say either.
Maybe you got the elusive teflon Unicorn account! LOL

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Right???!!!

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Pat271 , right on both accounts!   We pay Airbnb to guarantee payment on the bookings they refer to us, we should be able to expect the perspective guest and their money have been verified as per our pricing policies.   We are not credit service providers, financiers or banks, @ Bearpath lodging, our payment plan is the same as the Hilton,  no money, no booking.  Encumbering my calendar because AIrbnb is offering an enticement that is not in our policy is wrong and making folks like @Michelle-and-Ray0 spend measurable time in a day on the phone with a highly compromised Customer Service department trying to sort it out is just salt on the wound.