Get guests you can trust— every time

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a good day.

I wanted to let you know that we have updated the booking process to make sure you don’t have to host repeat guests if you don’t want to. Now, anytime you give a guest 3 stars or less, that guest will not be able to instantly book any of your spaces, even if you have Instant Book turned on.

Find out more in our Help Center.

What do you think about these changes? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Roger111]

I am so glad to be with Airbnb.  I have yet to meet the unwanted guest but did find information from you and other posts that caused me to amend my house rules. The new rules, written to protect our guests from problems in our home inform our guests that certain conduct that may detract from other guest's comfort and experience may result in immediate termination of the booking and forfeiture of fee.  Drunkenness, not following house rules, booking other people w/o written consent et.c., for example.  While someone drunk may write me a bad review, it's better than all my guests having a bad experience and submitting bad reviews.  ThankYou Liz.  I've made reading these posts every morning a ritual.  I am hoping the best defense os communication.  In one simple way to correct all these problems would simply require all guest submitting less than 5 to say why.  If the why was a violation of the published house rules, don't include it.  I've been a property manager until I passed  the bar exam and practiced law until I got injured, almost 20 years.  Each state has statutes regarding landlord tenant and defrauding inn keepers etc. These laws may affect the host's agreement with a guest.  Many times without the host even knowing about these laws. A guest's agreement with the house rules as Airbnb presently does it, is the rental agreement in almost, if not all, jurisdictions. Good job Airbnb.  So, just a few tweeks and Airbnb can also advertise they are the fairest program to both parties. 

[Lilian20]

big up, big up ! Love this new way of doing things, thanks a lot

[Indira5]

Hi Guys,

I am going in two weeks to Manvill for a week and wanted to know if i have to being any sleeping and cooking items?

[David126]

Whats Manvill?

[Chris596]

please include the ability to recieve chrome/browser notifications when we get new alerts (I use a lot of devices and mum also was having big problems with the android app on the Galaxy S8+  (couldnt recieve notifications and wouldn't display messages in the inbox)-- very frustrating 🙍‍♂️ so would appreciate more options to recieve realtime alerts (for more redundancy)  thanks!!

[Zephyr0]

I would like to know why we can't see the star ratings of our guests. Also I was able to read the the reviews that my guests were leaving for other hosts but not now. This helped me anticipate for my guests needs and preferences. But last time I tried it did not work.

[Harry-and-Sharron0]

I think one of the things that Airbnb could do is live up to and enforce their policy of having to have a clear picture of the person you are renting to (and also hosts) and to collect more than just a cell phone number and email, both of which anyone could give. We are new and have two rentals, neither of which had pictures and one no other ID. That isn't good.  I had to ask a renter for a picture, which happily he sent. But he's also new so there are no reviews of him, no picture and no ID other than cell and email. I didn't feel good about that. He rents in about 10 days so we'll see. However I think Airbnb is letting hosts down by not reinforcing their requirements.

[David126]

Just looked at my last 8 bookings. Every one of them is a clear photo, all show their faces, a couple are group photos but the person who booked is present.

I think only 2 of them I would recognise if I met them in the street, 2 I had to really look at, one was just too many things going on to clearly make out, had all his fishing gear on, the other 3 were probably just a bit old and looks, hair cut etc had changed.

[Zephyr0]

I agree completely. When I started I could look people up on FB or LinkedIn. Also when some people have arrived, they are not from the city they said they were from. 

[Cynthia149]

I noticed that also. Seemed everyone was from Kellyville Oklahoma and I knew that couldn't be right so I asked them and it was not right. They went in and changed their profile. What's up with that?

[Wayne9]

I like that there is a way to prevent unwanted repeat guests.  However, I would have hoped that it could have been implemented so that a Host can block a guest without it being tied to the review.  Within the 14 day review window, a guest may repond to a low review by changing their review to be more negative for the host which could present a problem.  I like to keep my Instant Booking activated, but I would feel better if I could either block certain guests or at least prevent them from Instant Booking without it being tied to a review.

[Zephyr0]

But if it does not show up in the review, how are the rest of the hosts going to know that he/she are undesirable guests??

[Greg152]

Excellent

that was a missing piece of the jigsaw

[Richard_Karen0]

A guests should not be able to instant book if they have given the host a 4star or less overall review in the past, having to put a booking request through is not a major hurdle and provides a great opportunity for the host to check what is required to improve the stay (reasosn for a 4star review are often not provided in the original feedback)

Also agree that IB should not be available if a previous booking has been canceled

I also think that if Guests are giving multiple low ratings to other hosts or multiple cancellations, they should loose the privalage to use IB (ie for  more than 20% ratings under 4 stars or more than 2 cancellations per 6mths, they may have a valid reason but then having to send booking requests isn't a big deal either).

[Helga0]

Lol, @Richard_Karen0, IB is not a privilege, it's a means to get the spontaneous clients and the eternally undecided ones to book now and stop looking around, where they could book elsewhere outside airbnb. Plus the business guests, who want to spend the least possible time on an unimportant thing like lodging, amidst the workload to prepare a trip. (But if you communicate efficiently woth those, the place is clean and the wifi fast, you get 5 stars anyway)

I'm with you, that 2 cancellations should block IB, maybe for 2 trips, that have to be concluded successfully. 

You can't make 2 4 star ratings a knockout for IB. That would suppose first, that airbnb puts in writing before reviews are made, how ridiculous the system is: only the highest rating expresses satisfaction, all others are bad. They don't do that after all the protests for many years. It would be more reasonable to think the host communication over. If the nagginv mails after 2 low ratings were worded differently or sent only at 3 star level, nobody would be boghered by 4 stars. It would be reasonable to know that some people like your place, whilst others like it very much. The same with guests, some are ok and others are adorable. 

But for justice sake and also to help hosts, who don't merit to be critisized in their homes by constantly unsatisfied people, airbnb should send out the nagging mails to gursts too: Dear guest, you rated  your ladt 2 stays at 4 stars, whilst these hosts usually are rated 5 stars by 86 and 79 % of guests. Please take the time to check all amenities before your next bookinv and read the listing description to avoid another stay, where you are not 100% satisfied. --- and the 3 star message much harsher, with an invitation to report serious problems  during a stay, not only afterwards. 

And then thereare justified low star ratings, so whenever airbnb is involved, that stay should not count for such messages.