who is getting inundated with local resident stay requests during covid?

[Sammy35]

Hi there, Sammy here, better guest than tolerant host apparently.  What was once a fun hobby for extra travel money (during #stayathome I'd just tuck it away).  I'm turning away more people than's worthwhile to even deal with.

I'm sensitive to the state of the union, people are in pinches all over with housing/house mates/spouses/families etc more so now thanks to Covid.  I'm all about fair pricing not gouging (except steeler game weekends in the past--law of supply and demand) and in trying to do that, with still competitive pricing, I'm getting bogged down with local requests from the derelicty non user users.

No ID (much less verified) maybe an email no phone number blank profiles no stays no reviews people who literally have NO IDEA how this platform works, don't care, or get $h!tty when you try to explain....do I start reporting (and blocking) people?  So that my own profile gets flagged and airbnb penalizes me and snoozes my listings to teach me a lesson about tattling?

If these were all inquires I could respond then sidestep or ignore, or send an OUTRAGEOUS special offer (let me show you just "how 'special'" so special that its too special for you, or anyone else lol)....but they are coming is as booking requests.  I checked all my settings, tried modifying pricing, eliminated last minute discounts, reset setting for same day to FY/FO lol. 

WHO HAS TIPS, IDEAS, STRATEGIES FOR HOW TO MANAGE THIS BETTER my methods???  I'm dying to hear your success stories!

I'm a smart cookie and a management consultant you would think I'd be better at this, I'm losing my patience and getting ready to snooze my listings...

[Sammy35]

ps these opportunities crack me up
we (airbnb) want everyone's money and we'll do whatever we can to garner it!

[Debra300]

@Sammy35,

Even before the coronavirus became a pandemic, locals made up a good portion of my guests, e.g., weekend couple getaways, and regional people coming to the area for an event. I have IB turned on, and guests must meet the following parameters to use it:

1. A minimum three-day lead time before scheduled check-in.
2. Airbnb standard requirements: email, phone number, payment info, and agreement with house rules.
3. Profile Photo
4. Guest must have government issued ID.
5. Guest must have a host recommendation and no negative reviews.

If guests don't meet this criteria, they are invited to send an inquiry tell us a bit about themselves, and their planned visit.

[Sammy35]

@Debra300  hi debra, thanks for chiming in.  you're in st lucia.    that's an entirely different experience than a pittsburgh neighborhood.   and what looks to be a price point of $98/night that will no doubt dissuade unapprovable guests.  what's the chance of you getting requests, based on your listing pricing, for guests you're not comfortable approving no details, no id no phone no nothing. 

i don't value the ABB force to instant book philosophy despite the forfeit some of those features you mention above.   i'm a very selective host, especially for entire place, so IB doesn't work for me..  while your response is understandable, and while some hosts like IB, for me, it doesn't really circumvent the circumstances i am trying to prevent.  thanks for the input tho!!!!  you place is lovely!

[Debra300]

@Sammy35,

You're welcome, just giving my input.  Maybe you didn't notice, but I have a rental in Atlanta, and locals represent about 40% of our guests at at that property.  The $98 that I charge for 4 people is very comparable to what you charge for four guests.

And Spike Lee back at ya.

[Sammy35]

@Debra300 You're right I didn't see that.  I'm not getting this on my whole home listing though, just my private room one.  Didn't clarify that.  Whole home is way more stringent criteria so that'a an easy no.  I'm getting pleading from people who are in pinch seemingly due to Covid and temp interim need space.  That's not what your listing is going to attach so that's not on the same page as my concern.

But you're right for home to home its a decent comparison.  But not for room to home, which is a significant oversight in my post.  The GOOD news is, I don't even entertain iffy profiles for the whole home listing.

And while I get what you said about IB previously, the bottom line is that I don't like that IB philosophy for supposed sharing community that airbnb touted but no longer is.  Its a revenue push, not suited for me or my listing :-), that's not my primary doings on here 🙂

Though I love Spike, he's one of my BFF dj's main bruv, I don't really understand the reference.

[Sammy35]

@Debra300  ohhh lol, i forgot my sig line lol you're funny as h3ll

[Colleen253]

@Sammy35  I do get a lot of locals as we are situated well for getaways just outside the big city. I haven't found I'm having major issues such as you mention, but my patience has been tried more than usual on some occasions, since the pandemic began (covid craziness?). Since you don't use instant book, try adding to your house rules your requirements of guests so they're aware prior to even sending a booking request, i.e. that they have verified id., full profile with photo, positive reviews from past stays, or whatever is important to you. I don't use IB, and find this tactic works pretty well.

PS re pricing, my price is my standard for the season, no 'covid special' pricing.

[Sammy35]

Colleen253 thanks yep, already there.  i even post screen grabs of airbnb and booking requirements right after the first 5-6 preview photos.  will be curious to see if this makes a diff. when i was traveling i was a last minuter but i'm a optimal guest, i leave no footprint and space usually cleaner than when i arrived lol. but so few are that. 

point being "pinchers" unlike me, are probably going to require more advance booking notice settings.  which is unfortunate because i might miss a good guest.  i think i'm getting local nomads airbnb hoppers and couch surfers (multiple pittsburgh reviews since march) who can't find free space and can't sign leases.  

https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/923843

do you actually get people that read the rules, much less listing details?  how do you make that happen, ie, enforce it?

is your listing like a getaway?  whole place or shared?  pricepoint?

im trying to find comps.  if those answer are yes, whole, or above $ 75-80+ (my whole home goes for double or tripple that steeler season but otherwise no) then its not going to matter.  the private room is probably set too low, and for now so is the whole at less than what i mentioned above.

thoughts?

[Colleen253]

My place is not comparable to yours then, if you’re talking about a private room listing. But if you’re getting the bottom of the barrel in terms of bookings and requests, and upping your price isn’t deterring them, I’m not sure what would.

If you post your requirements in your house rules and a guest requests to book without them, you can at least politely refer them back to the rules and ask them to withdraw their request as they don't meet your requirements.

I have inserted two things in my rules that guests must address in their booking request. If they don’t, I know they haven’t read the rules, or not fully, anyway. 

[Sammy35]

Colleen253 i have two whole and private room.  but yeah, you're right.  this only started with covid for the private room not the entire space.  trying to figure what's going on here other than covid can't imagine never saw this happen before...but i also never adjusted my pricing either.  thanks for weighing in!

[Huma0]

@Sammy35 

I am also only getting enquiries from locals (mostly Londoners, some from elsewhere in the UK) for my private rooms these days, those that are in between homes etc. That's fine by me though. I've never had a problem with those kinds of guests and I would actually prefer that right now than travellers. There are lots of reasons why someone might need a temporary home, especially now. It doesn't make them bad guests.

Of course, there are sometimes red flags (I had a recent one where the girl expected her boyfriend to stay over for free, but was not willing to disclose how often he would stay and took offence that I would even ask) but I would say there have been no more of these than usual. The thing I have experienced is more people asking for extra discounts and that annoys me. 

Some of these people are first time users with no reviews and some have lots of lovely reviews. I am just doing what I always have, i.e. telling people that they need to verify their government ID, upload a profile photo, tell me a bit about themselves and confirm that they have read and agree to the house rules, if they want to book my place, and saying no to extra discounts. 

Luckily for me, these have all been enquiries. Perhaps I would find it more annoying if they were all booking requests and the clock was ticking to accept/decline...

[Sammy35]

@Huma0  Hi there, thanks for weighing in.  Its always nice to hear someone not even just understand respond (intuit) to my exact points.  I was wondering if that was just local to Pittsburgh?  Surmised no.  But was curious to see if other Pitt hosts would weigh in--they have not unfortunately which also doesnt shock me.  We don't have a Pittsburgh (specific) community (not "big" enough?)  and I know I'm not starting one lol.  

I BIGTIME used airbnb to relo to NYC there was no way I could have done so logistically speaking in the timeframe of moving and starting a new job then two family deaths in and out travel I was upside down.  ABB was a LIFESAVER and prevented me from jumping NYC 99% occupancy guns many times over as well as paying ridiculous 3+% yearly rental commissions to agents brokers who don't even cart you around 😳 🙄

I totally get it, like I said, especially now.  I'm just utterly befuddled at the surge of derelicty profiles that have accompanied said err "requests"  The lack of a proper message is my nemesis.  Might attribute such to crises, BUT when I'm trying to help people understand the site, terms, policies (not my role, nor am paid for it) and MY booking requirements and house rules etc, (they never read) and someone gets testy (to say the least) I have been losing my patience, albeit offline--hence coming here to cheese with my whine.  I got reported once for placing some male Karen trying to mansplain me and ABB punished (sanctioned my listings) me for it.  Learned a valuable lesson, even though I knew better...

Yeah, asking for discounts is a dicey option, I can see for low supply high demand events (not these days) like Steeler games and Kenney Chesney (🤢lol) concerts but discounts on a low priced nightly private room (29-39 a night i wouldn't DARE) or cleaning fees (during Covid??  you want to skimp on a modest fee????   now????) or monthlies well lower than a rent payment is SUPER obnoxious, even in Covid.  I'm learning a better way to handle folks like these with templated ABB links to ToS help CS and cut and paste messages.

I've gotten both inquiries (mostly) but also rez reqs (annoying to try to redirect) to which I use boilerplate language and ask to rescind/withdrawl until conditions are met with a "no penalty no fee" come back and see us blurb that SEEMS to help.  Inquiries are indeed easier to handle and for those who want the whole place, its super easier to "'counter' them" with a private room option they almost always ignore.  And that (to me) is a sign of thanks but no thanks.  There's no way locals or travelers are getting whole home without compliance.  

And as for Covid, I'm "screening" to the extent that one can, the honor system is probably truly worthless for that however, but if someone contages or gets contaged, its documented at least and at the very least for contract tracing purposes.

I've not had one local resident comply so most of them go away grumbling or not, that's on them at least.

[Huma0]

@Sammy35 

Not sure why right now, but it seems the guests contacting me are being a bit more cautious. They are all sending enquiries, rather than requests to book, even though some of them qualify to instant book with me (e.g. girl today with 29 reviews!). 

I understand. It's normal for long-term guests, who want to get a sense of who you are as a host too. That is all good as far as I am concerned and mostly they are sending proper messages.

The thing I don't get is the constant demand for extra discounts when it's **bleep** cheap to start off with.

However, that does seem to be slowing down. The last few requests they haven't asked for a discount (yet), but now they all want to come round for a tour... Well, that's a bit difficult without breaking multiple Airbnb policies, but when you try to explain that nicely, they think you are being  a d*ck.

[Debra300]

@Huma0,

I never give tours of my place prior to booking, and state that it's for the privacy and security of all of the residents.  I give them the link to my website and inform the prospective guest that the online pictures are accurate and current.