Best way to proceed with an inaccurate request

[Scott44]

Hi! I'm wondering how to proceed with an inaccurate request. A guest made an inquiry for 1 person, but in the inquiry and subsequent messages they have been clear that the request is for a couple with two children. In our replies we indicated we have plush hospitality beds and cribs/etc. to accommodate various configurations of four guests. However, their request came in for one person. 

While it's easy enough to simply decline the request, this isn't the first time we've felt like a guest has deliberately placed us in this situation. For example, we've had inquiries asking to waive cleaning/guest/pet fees or negotiate price, and when we politely explain that rates are non-negotiable, they follow up by submitting a request. Sometimes it's for fewer guests or they'll just pick a big block of dates and submit a request that gobbles up a huge chunk of our calendar. We'll send a polite reply. For example, "Hey! Looks like you may have selected the wrong dates. Can you revise your request?" Or, "Thanks for the inquiry, but as we discussed the rates for additional guests is. Can you revise your request?" Unfortunately, the person doesn't respond leaving us to wonder if this is a mistake or a deliberate 'slap.'

Again, easy enough to decline, but these tactics seem to be on the rise for us and it certainly affects our acceptance rate, which is problematic. Is there a way to handle obviously inaccurate requests in a way that doesn't affect your stats? Or is this just another nagging issue for hosts? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Scott44 

if someone sends you an INQUIRY then you just have to answer by text but if it's REQUEST then you have to accept, decline or he has to withdraw his request.

If the guest picked up some random dates to ask you something then tell him to withdraw the request within x hours or you will accept it and he will be charged.

if the guest has sent you a request for an inaccurate number of guests tell him to change it. I am not sure if you can change it from your side. If he doesn't then just decline, you have 24 hours to do that.

[Scott44]

Sorry, we understand that part. What we're asking about are situations where the REQUEST for fewer days, different days, or fewer guests appears deliberate. For example, within the past year we've had the following exchanges:

INQUIRY: "We will not pay your pet/guest/ cleaning fee, they are ridiculous. "

US: (description of cleaning service: licensed, bonded, insured, workers paid a living wage) "Please confirm that you accept these fees before submitting a request."

REQUEST: .........(radio silence)

For hosts with frequent guests, this may not be a big deal. However, we host 10-15 times a year. The first time something like this happened was a few years ago, but we've experience several of these types of exchanges in the past year. The more flagrant ones demanding different dates, contact outside airbnb, etc. we report and are not penalized for. However a few of these types of 'strategic' requests can really hurt our acceptance rate. 

[Scott44]

Also, for the record, accepting one of these requests is horrible for a multitude of reasons!

Top on that list would be:

1)We don't want people in our home who are already trying to negotiate the rules; directly or indirectly

2)We're not going to agree to a contract that allows someone to hold portions of our calendar hostage with little consequence to them (our policy is MODERATE)

Literally, we get people with a new account submitting an INQUIRY saying things like, "There will be 6 of us and we will stay there 5 days in May." Then we reply, "Sorry, the maximum occupancy of the apartment is 4." Then comes the REQUEST for most of Dec. and Jan. (with Moderate cancellation policy). You really think it's a good idea to hit accept?

[Scott44]

As an update. We had our rental off the market due to Covid. However, after opening up dates in July and August, our second booking request was a similar situation. Family of 4 that submitted a request for 4 people, which we pre-approved. They then declined, resubmitted for 1 guest, said the don't need a kids bed, and have refused to revise their request.

As we reflected back on these situation we realized that, overwhelmingly, they are parents that don't want to pay an extra guest fee for their kids that pull this manipulative garbage. Ironic, since toddlers seem to cause our housekeeping folks the most grief. 

We just declined the request and moved on since we don't want dishonest people in our home. We did also take the time to report this most recent guest to AirBnB since they attempted to make contact with us outside the AirBnB system, presumably to "negotiate," but also are considering decreasing the number of occupants permitted and/or making it clear that our rental is not child-friendly rather than bending over backwards with kid-beds/pack-and-plays/toys/kid TV channels......

[Colleen253]

@Scott44 Declining these guests was a very good idea. I’m always thankful when guests start off wildly waving their red flags, so I can save myself the inevitable grief of their stay. 

Your idea of reducing your guest capacity is good. Your listing appears to have one queen bed and unless I missed it, no sofa bed. It seems perfectly suited to 2 guests. I would suggest you keep your rate the same, if you do this, and not reduce it. You will surely attract better quality guests that way. 

Alternatively, add to your house rules to address this issue. Use your house rules to your advantage, both for informing guests, and for leverage when needed, against them, and if needing to involve AIrbnb. ie ‘All guests must be registered and paid for at time of booking. This includes children. Defying this is cause for booking being terminated.’ Advise guests that this is a requirement of your insurance. Whether true or not, it helps to have an outside entity to ‘blame.’

It remains though, that guests worth hosting will not hassle you, and those that do are a hard NO. Forget worrying about your number of declines. Airbnb uses all their threats as a behavior modification tool. They’re pretty empty, but It’s effective. 

[Scott44]

Thank you for your thoughtful response. We reached a similar conclusion about dodging a bullet with these types of guests. As a rule, we decline anyone that attempts to negotiate price. Some folks are upfront about what they are willing to pay and we politely decline, but this manipulative nonsense seems to be how some people (unashamedly) do business. Either way, we're not interested in hosting someone that wants to discount the value of our accommodations before they even arrive. 

Agree that our apartment is best suited for 2 people. Definitely no sofa bed. Instead we have super plush hospitality beds (memory foam, gel topper, featherbed..). Having portable beds gives us the flexibility to create a second bedroom area in the living room or in the bedroom depending on the guests needs. However, that comes at a cost. 

Great suggestion about modifying the rules. We do respond with the "all guests must be registered and paid for at the time of booking," and are going to clarify it in our rules. Thank you again for confirming that we should be thankful for the obvious red flags. Cheers!

[Sarah977]

@Scott44  Maybe you could revise your wording to these inappropriate inquiries that go on to submitting a booking request. "Can you revise your request?" is obviously not being understood as a "We can't accept the terms of your inquiry" so I'd find another way to make it evident that you will not accept a booking from them under the conditions they are proposing, or without them inputting the correct number of guests. In other words, don't ask them to do something, tell them they have to if they want their booking accepted.

And if it's just a matter of not ever getting any response from someone after you answer their Inquiry, that's quite common, and I wouldn't waste your brain cells wondering if it's a slap or a mistake, or just being rude.

The examples you gave are different from one another. In the case of a guest asking you to waive your cleaning fee, or otherwise lower your price, when you answer that that won't be possible, and they go on to submit a booking request, that means they are accepting the price as is. It's up to you if you want to accept them or decline them simply because they tried to see if they could get it cheaper.

If a guest enters the wrong number of guests, a return message like "HiXX, It sems you may be unclear on the booking process. You've indicated you are travelling here with your wife and children, therefore you need to enter 4 guests, not one. Unregistered guests not accounted for on the booking will not be admitted to the property, which of course would be disastrous for you. So change the guest count to the correct one and resubmit your request, thanks."

The ones who enter wrong dates and hold your calendar hostage have probably done that on a few places- holding them all until they decide which one to actually book. Those guests are a right pain. Message "Hi XX, please ensure that the dates you have entered on the booking request are the actual dates you want to stay, as once I accept, your credit card will be immediately charged." This may prompt them to withdraw the request, opening up your calendar and eliminating the need to decline.

[Scott44]

Thanks Sarah,

I really appreciate you taking the time. I do in fact do all of those things (though I tried to keep my examples concise) and I do try to give them the benefit of the doubt. 

My issue is that, if I'm accepting 10-15 reservations a year, each one of these types of innocent (or not so innocent) 'mistakes' means I'm taking as much as a 10% it to my acceptance rate for reservations. So one or two each year might be okay, but a third or a fourth one of these issues and I'm at the bottom of the search results. That simply isn't fair.

[Ricardo85]

@Scott44 

Airbnb ToS item 8.3.3

Ricardo

[Scott44]

Obrigado por mostrar a seção! 

[Lisa723]

@Scott44 my practise is to accept the terms of the request as submitted, with a clear message that no deviation from those terms is expected or will be allowed, and if this is not acceptable they have 48 hours to cancel penalty-free. Has not failed yet.

[Scott44]

Thanks! We didn't realize there was a cancellation window on the guest's end to avoid fees and deposits. While that might not be the best option for every situation, it's nice to know we have options.

Also, in going through our host history we found flurries of these types of problematic reservation requests from seasonal workers during our early experiences with AirBnB. So maybe it isn't something that's getting worse.