I received a hosting request where the potential guest mistakenly thought they had their own kitchen and laundry. AirBNB claims I didn't respond to the request.
I did respond, within hours, explaining to the person making the request that it wasn't a private kitchen and laundry, as per the listing. The potential guest replied saying she would then book for only 3 days instead of 7. I replied with a suggestion regarding days that would be better so she would have shorter ski lift lines.
She didn't change the request, the request expired and now Airbnb claims I didn't respond. I clearly did respond, via the Airbnb message system which they can see.
I have been advised by an AirBNB support team member that "In the future you never want to let requests expire. Even if the guest does not respond. It's better to deny it and choose "The request makes me uncomfortable" and you will not be penalized. It’s just how the system works."
The representative is advising me to lie because of the poorly configured reservation software system. This response would also discourage the person requesting the reservation from even changing the reservation, as the potential guest sees this response.
AirBNB has penalized me for my alleged failure to reply when it is their system’s reservation system configuration that caused the erroneous penalty.
The reservation system should
- Automatically extend an expiration date and time if the host has replied to the reservation inquiry using the messaging system. Why are these two systems configured separately?
- Give the host more time to either respond, or support an “away” message in the event the host is traveling without access to the Internet.
- Link with the message system
- Send a second reminder to the prospective host to respond to the inquiry within X time.
Without such a system in place, hosts are being penalized for actions, or lack there-of, of the potential guest.
I was an AirBNB host from 2012-2015 and again beginning in April 2021. While AirBNB has added some nice new features, their user interface (UX) and user design (UI) leaves a lot to be desired. Now I feel I spend more time dealing with customer support on technical issues around reservations, than I do managing the reservations and guests themselves. As a marketing technologist who makes a living fixing these kind of business process problems, I think AirBNB needs to address this sooner rather than later. There is a lot of competition nipping at their heels.
