HELPFUL TIP: How I Go About Choosing the Right Guest For Us

[Momi0]

Hi Fellow Hosts....

I was asked to post this on the CC by Airbnb to show other hosts how I go about choosing which guests gets a CONFIRMED BOOKING.  (I decline about 20% of my booking requests every month as I am sure you can understand why) - plus some people prove to me they will not be a great guests just by choosing to ignore my 10 questions but continue to ask me questions that are easily answered had they read my completed listing....and we are totally ok with that, because other hosts need bookings too and not everyone is gonna be a good match.  Our listing is for a PRIVATE ROOM in our 4 bedroom 1600sq foot home. 

To date, I have helped over 100+ hosts compile their own 5-10 questions.  Each one loves how its working for them already.  And so do the guests.  One host even showed me the answers she received from her first guests which included the guests gratitude towards this host for taking the time to find out what the guests needs were prior to their arrival with her 10 questions, (which of course are different but some similar to mine)

The answers I receive are also very telling about who has read my listing, looked at my photos, and how respectful they will be in my home.  (yes, some guests have even written back saying...."Wait, What?  You have a Cat?" - still shaking my head over those.  

FYI - In my listing, I talk about our awesome cat in 3 places and even have a photo in Position #5).

************Momi's 10 Questions for Potential Guests************

Thank you  __guest name____  & __guest name____ for taking the time to fill out these questions. I'm sure you can understand that we have to be very careful about who stays with us in OUR HOME.  These questions are meant to help us get to know you, find out your needs, and to ensure that we will be the best fit for each other as host and guests.  Honest answers are required, but humorous replies are welcomed too. 

1. Pls tell us ONE reason why you chose our place.

2. What are your plans during your 6 night stay? (Day & night)

3. Do you like dogs and cats?

4. You will be receiving our HOUSE MANUAL from Airbnbs' confirmed booking through your email. (after your booking is confirmed)
PLEASE be sure to read it as soon as possible. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions. I always reply very quickly. (This is not the same as our House Rules)  

5. Are you interested in my "Real Hawaii" private tour? Need airport pick up and/or drop off?

6. Are you planning to drink alcohol at our home? Which is totally fine, but no excessiveness will be permitted.

7. Do you need a rental car?
I have fantastic idea that will save you significant money. Just need your email address to send you the link to the app PLUS $25 of free promo money to help you get started.

8. Have you stayed in a PRIVATE ROOM inside a Family Home before with Airbnb?  If so, how was the experience?

9. Do you consider yourself a neat and clean person? And your husband? girlfriend? partner? friend?

10. Do you enjoy a gorgeous Sunsets? I know a secret spot near my home 😉

(if you would like to borrow some comfortable chairs to watch it, just let us know, I even supply wine glasses & corkscrew)

Mahalo for getting back to me. I would like to receive these answers very soon to move forward in your booking request. Should only take 1-2 mins. Unless you write a lot like me - lol, - Aloha, Momi

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

I hope you have all had a nice weekend. This has certainly been an active discussion and has certainly highlighted a split of opinions. 

What is clear from the discussion here is, as I have discussed elsewhere in the CC before, as hosts we all have different ways of hosting. Things that work for us, may not work for other and visa versa. However, the CC is here to enble us to discuss this with each other, openly and most importantly respectfully. What upsets me by some of the comments I have seen is that, regardless of the actual content of the post, Momi has spent time to share the way she hosts, this takes time to compile, it also takes courage, because it can be quite a daunting and personal thing to share this with fellow hosts based all around the world - so I think this is really important for us all to remember this. 

We can all learn from each other and even the most perfect of guides or lists of tips can be molded further or if there is a list of 10 tips, perhaps we can think of an 11th. Therefore, in general if you create a guide, it would be great if you are open to suggestions and take it as a positive that we can all improve and evolve. This also means that the responses we give don't always have to agree with one another, if it is constructive the discussion keeps to the original point and benefits everyone, rather than just critical comments to one another, which usually only ends with it getting personal and no-one benefits. We want to encourage others to create great discussion points, great guides that can help us all. 🙂

I would also like to clarify a point which has been mentioned a few times here, in terms of writing guides and/or tips this is something that I actively encourage all community members to create. Sometimes you and other community members will post them without my knowledge and I have the little delight to discover them myself, or if I have seen that a great answer has been given by you or a host has shown a detailed knowledge or interest in a particular area, it would be great to have a guide on it, as it will make it easier to find and more of us can benefit from it. Which is fantastic!

I am sure most of you have discovered our Community Guides post in the Help board, if not please do take a look as we now have around 40 guides. This is a closed board (so no replies can be made here-to keep it tidy), however these have all been posted elsewhere in the CC and I have created a link to highlight them. There can easily be more - so if you would like to create one this would be amazing, and if you have any questions please let me know and we can speak via DM. 🙂 

Please keep this in mind when replying and posting anywhere in the CC. I think we would all agree that we want the CC to be a welcoming and positive place for everyone. 

I would like to thank you again Momi for creating this, you have received some lovely comments and thank you to everyone else for your involvement. 🙂

Thanks for your time,

Lizzie

@Momi0, @Karen-and-Brian0, @Jeet0, @Jayesh0, @Ryan63, @Curt0, @Rachael26, @Karen-and-Will0, @Nancy245, @Susan10, @Gordon0, @Hugh20, @Joanna85, @Roz4, @Annette33, @TMcribs0

[Rachael26]

@Lizzie  - and everyone else! 🙂 as the system won't allow more than the last four contributor names to be highlighted)

I think that everyone will agree that most threads/posts submitted here in the Community Center - positive or negative - are a good learning experience, and there is always something to be learnt or modified for use in our own Airbnb hosting practices.

And of course no one should be critical or personally attack another host for posting their thoughts and experiences.

TMcribs gave his excellent 'quiet two cents' and that was spot on.

But if you look at the timeline of responses (not always easy when Airbnb has a post/thread system that allows people to answer in the middle of the thread), it is the manner in which Momi replied to Lois and Darryl's excellent post (they were the first to respond). Momi's aggressive, defensive, self-promoting manner is what most hosts were reacting/responding to - not her initial post of 10 questions which works for her and is a great example of the different hosting styles that attract different types of guests and the different experiences they are seeking. No-one has a problem with that.  @Jayesh & Lisa expressed this superbly.

But to start off a thread with "I was asked to post this in the CC by Airbnb" and then in the subsequent reply to ask the moderator (both of whom had given the post a thumbs up) to change a word in the initial post and at the same time belittle and snidely correct the first innocent responder - I don't see that as a contribution to be 'encouraged' from a host that is being 'brave'.

These were the red flags that other hosts were reacting to (and some of them are 100% 5star superhosts with plenty of knowledge and experience as well as their own helpful tips to share like @Jeet0).

 As a moderator, you may 'actively encourage' hosts to contribute to the CC - but allowing a host to start off their thread with 'I was asked to post this....by Airbnb' will give the impression to many (especially new hosts) that this is the way to go and is Airbnb's officially recommended method. A moderator can and should be primarily an editor - not because an apparently favored host requests a word change so they can appear to be right - but to correct any misleading impressions, whether accidently or, as in this case, deliberately made.

 Most of the post responses were reacting against this, as well as Momi's manner - not to her method of asking questions to help towards getting a good guest that fits in (and one that supports her many business ventures on the side).

The Community Center should be a place to exchange ideas, ask for help, give help and opinions and share experiences - with a balanced, unbiased, light touch moderating team - and the Help Guides are where we should look for 'Airbnb approved' methods/suggestions/helpful tips.

Long may it continue!

Best Wishes.

PS - Please, Please can we correct the error html message that immediately deletes @Jayesh (Host) & Lisa (Admin - link whenever they are mentioned?? Lisa writes excellent posts and whenever I (and others) try to mention them in a post, the automatic system filters it out as an 'illegal html link' - which makes me laugh as I constantly see other posts advertising email and website contact details promoting businesses.... so how do those get by the same system? Many Thanks.

[Lizzie]

Hello @Rachael26,

Thanks for your addition points here, my aim is avoid any misunderstanding here in the CC, so I will speak with Momi to discuss removing the original sentence here, so it is clear to everyone -however at least you understand more about, the creating a guide process from my response above. 🙂

I do feel we are moving away from the original topic again, so unfortunately on this occasion I think it may be best to close this thread now. 

Thanks for your time.

Lizzie