How can I prevent same day booking requests without penalty for declining?

[Alanna50]

We don't allow same day requests for booking, ever.

Our Airbnb space is also our workspace studio and we don't keep it readily available for same day bookings, so we have this featured turned off, 2 days notice minimum.

Well i keep getting last minute same day requests anyways and it says I have to approve or decline. 

I have to decline, is this going to impact my score?

Why are they allowing these to come through, it's against my booking window and I don't want to receive any same day requests so why can't i block these from coming through at all?  I have it set to 48 hours notice for requests and i double checked again today, it still says the same thing. 

Am i being penalized for declining them when they are against our booking policies?  I had 2 already today so it's very frustrating and we are not in a high demand area and there's lots of hotel availability.

I had another guest request a 4 day stay today but in their comments asked it to be a one night stay only. We only do 4 night minimums at that property so again super annoying that I have to decline and potential get penalized as the guest made a booking request but they didn't actually want to honour their own request, they were trying to get something different all together. 

Is there something i am missing that can totally block same day requests? 

Am i being penalized for these declines? It's a little ridiculous.

[Gina-And-Jose-0]

I was thinking of that myself about her being another host only 40 some miles away from our house but wow. I will not host another host again if I know but I always advise the guests of any inconveniences here with us an location in Miami is critical to being an ok stay any place.  I try to be helpful for their convenience because its also mine in the end of it. 

[Gina-And-Jose-0]

She repeatedly said that my house was '' unsanitary'' .  It is not.  We had already told her we are updating, doing repairs, etc even putting an entire new roof on but she dug in to her '' unsanitary'' thing no matter what.   Our grandson had come to the bathroom and missed the toilet , a bit, so the floor of the toilet was not clean, yes for sure.  I had not had time to run in to check it ,  but then she also said the tub was gritty, sand, dirty.  My son had come from the beach with our grandson, showered and yes there was a little sand on the bottom probably.  We use new bath mats anyway there.   The grout is 40 or 50 years old around the tub,  stained ( not dirty ) and one of the projects we have on the list of To Do .  Meanwhile I have poured pure bleach, peroxide also and scoured around the ancient grouting calking it is actually, and nothing cleans the color off.  But its far from unsanitary.   Now its all been replaced with new calk anyway .  She took photos of the door showing large areas of discolor saying its dirty.   The door was/ is old, lost its finish and shine in. some areas from the scouring and cleaning over the years.  Our doors are due to be replaced as another project.  And so on.   This guest dug her heels in to insistent that the bathroom was ''' unsanitary'''.   It was upsetting and still bothers me.  She also cited open unused products sitting on the floor.  Sure, I had just taken them off the tub around to clean it all, and my sons do not throw away the products they use after one use while still full.  This was insane to me.  

[Brian2036]

@Gina-And-Jose-0 

There’s a good chance she came to you already planning to take some pictures, leave immediately, and post a bad review.

There’s really nothing you can do so don’t worry about it.

You’re review and response should be very short and without defensive details.

 I would just say, “Guest checked in, looked around, took pictures and left without notice.

Apparently this guest expected a $200 hotel room for the price of a $35 home share. We would NOT host again.”

And In your response to her vicious review, I would just say, “We pride ourselves in keeping our home extremely clean as is evidenced by many other reviews. Guests who notify us of legitimate issues are always thanked and any deficiencies are immediately addressed.”

[Gina-And-Jose-0]

Brian , thank you for your input to me.  I do agree but had not thought of it as you said.  Interestingly this guest said she was not going to give me a '' bad review'' and so far she has not but it was disturbing that any guest should be so dedicated to brand us as '' unsanitary''.  And yes,  she is from a city not 50 miles from us, and it also says she is a host.  I actually expect her to post a horrible review at some time. Yes, I did refund her the full amount .  We are a Home Share, and definitely not a separate facility with family living in and doing normal things that families do.  It bothers me that it does bother me as much as it has because - - -  she was wrong with it with the exception of my 4 year old grandson missing the toilet to pee and her going in before any of us could correct that miss on the child's part.  I should not be so bothered by it but I am,  I need to find a way to let things roll off like off a ducks' back as they say.   If she does give a negative repost,  I will respond as you have suggested.   Thanks for that.   fyi.  We buy  hydrogen peroxide by the case to clean and disinfect, use disinfecting wipes on everything, use bleach to soak dished especially all plastic, sweep and mop at least once a day.  My family calls me 'Sargent Sanitary' Mom.  I prefer to just put it behind me and have no further to deal with this person .  Can't help but wonder if she has done this to other Airbnb hosts. 

[Sarah977]

Our grandson had come to the bathroom and missed the toilet , a bit, so the floor of the toilet was not clean, yes for sure.  I had not had time to run in to check it ,  but then she also said the tub was gritty, sand, dirty.  My son had come from the beach with our grandson, showered and yes there was a little sand on the bottom probably"

Sorry, but you need a reality check. Allowing your grandson and son to use the bathroom, leaving it dirty when you had a guest checking in is not excusable.

Whether this guest overreacted or not, or booked with ill-intent is immaterial to this. You don't present an accommodation  to guests with urine on the floor or sand in the shower. I can't imagine why you think this is no big deal.

[Gina-And-Jose-0]

Sarah,  I never said this is no big deal, my grandson is only 4 and the urine was on the base of the toilet, not the floor .  I also clearly say and post that the bathroom is not private & is shared.   This is a normal, busy home with family who are just normal folks,  not hospital staff  and etc.  Of course it was cleaned immediately when we went in - of course.   My son and grandson live here , this is their home and this IS a shared bathroom.  And this is clearly posted and discussed prior any guest arriving here.  fyi  I actually did not find ' sand' in the shower when I went in - the tub has those required non slip things on the bottom in the structure of the tub and they become stained from human feet and just from use.  Look that up.  This woman was right about the base of the toilet but had she come to me and realized it was a small child who lives here,  etc etc etc.  I am not a $ 200 a night hotel, not a hospital sterile ( if they really are ) building,  - we are a normal family in a normal home living routine.  Oh, well,  thank you for your time to comment.  

[Gina-And-Jose-0]

Do you have maids and house cleaners and cooks in Sayulita, Mexico ?  When I was living in Costa Rica then in Honduras, and in Peru, we always had cooks, house maids that cleaned .  Just wondering.   Only wealthy people in the u s a. have cooks, maids, housekeepers but normal families like we are, we do all the work ourselves .  fyi. My grandson and his father live in our home so of course the little guy use the shared bathroom. just  fyi.  

[Sarah977]

@Gina-And-Jose-0  Do I, or do people in general? I don't know anyone here who has a cook. Some people have house cleaners, and I have off and on, but not presently. When I did, she only came once every 2 weeks for 4 hours to do the things I just didn't have time to do, as I also work full time. But she never cleaned my Airbnb private room rental, I always did that myself.

Yes, I'm well aware that the average person in the US or Canada can't afford to have a cleaner. I'm Canadian and was born and grew up in the US.

And I also raised 3 kids and have 6 grandkids. Of course I know a 4 year old can miss the bowl (adult men can be sloppy about that as well).

But if I knew I had a guest checking in imminently, I would tell my son to make sure to clean up after himself and his kid if he was going to use it just before the guest showed up, or make sure to check it myself.

Nor would I find "stained with human feet and just from use" stickers in the bathtub to be acceptable in a bathroom you expect a paying guest to share with your family. 

By the way, your listing is set up wrong. It says you have 2 bedrooms to rent. If you rent them separately to 2 different guests, you need 2 separate listings, one for each bedroom. As you have it now, someone could rent both bedrooms for the price of one.

And your listing says it has 0 beds.

[Gina-And-Jose-0]

Alanna,  we don't accept instant bookings either,  I aways qualify to see that we are the proper location for the needs of the guest and to advise them of any specific thing going on like now - we are putting a new roof on the house,  so much noise all day, workers here blocking the drive etc, and we are also updating the house within  - on the list  - new solid core doors , painting, replace old door knobs, and a long list more.   We also try to make sure this is a guest we would want to welcome into our private home and the heart of the family.  So far in years of doing this, I have only made 1 mistake in accepting the wrong  type person.  Some of our Airbnb guests have become friends now for years.  Sure we make a little income but for us its not about the money first , its the money last.