Booking requests that contravene Gov Guidelines

[Peter2704]

Hi,

Is anybody receiving requests that obviously contravene the post July 4th guidelines?

I've had to reject a booking request from somebody who wanted to stay in July with people from 7 different households, so I've declined.

It seems Airbnb are not policing any of this, and it's down to us to enforce the guidelines, but will be penalised for doing so as our stats will be negatively affected by declining requests...

I'd be interested to hear what other hosts are experiencing?

Thanks

Pete

[Lawrene0]

I think the only strategy available here is to ask the guest to withdraw the request, @Peter2704 . That doesn't hurt them at all, and it keeps you from having to decline. Save the declines for rule-breaking guests who refuse to withdraw their requests.

[Peter2704]

@Lawrene0  That's really great advice, thank you for that - I've never asked anybody to withdraw a request before but well worth trying.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

Peter

[Helen3]

Gobsmacking that 7 different households would want to travel and stay together while Covid is still so prevalent in the UK isn't it  @Peter2704 

Have you put in some text up front in your profile to notify those looking of the regulations. Hopefully this help.

I do understand why it is hosts responsbility rather than our marketing channel to police this.  We are the only ones with the ability to check ID's/addresses.

As business owners it is our responsibility to be aware of legislation that affects our business and make sure we comply.

Having said that I am wondering how easy it will be in practice for us to police.

Good luck.

[Helen350]

I've read the new gov.uk guidelines, & your post @Peter2704 , & it's got me thinking about those of us who home share... @Helen3 

If we view home sharing as welcoming people into our private home, & not a mini hotel or guest house (which is the facts!) - then I guess we can only let one room at a time, unless 2 were let to members of the same household? - As I form one household & the occupant(s) of one of my rooms form a second household? Then again, I intend to socially distance myself from new guests, so do I not count, & could I therefore host a 2nd household (single/couple) in a 2nd bedroom? 

(For those unfamiliar with new English guidelines, a household is now allowed to invite another household into their home, but not two households at the same time.)

Of course there is the issue of what is sensible  & what is within gov. guidelines... I'm feeling inclined to only let ONE room at a time for a bit, until gov. regs. are relaxed even more.....

What do other homesharers/British hosts think?

[Trevor243]

Your situation depends whether you are a homeshare or a proper Bed and Breakfast. If you're just a homeshare, then you are one household and you may have guests from one other household, even if you socially distance yourself.

[Helen3]

I am not sure how I can socially distance from my guests as I don't have a separate bathroom or kitchen @Helen350 

I only have one room to let (potentially two) so that's not an issue for me in terms of number of households.

It's  more around the cleaning charge for me. I only charge a nominal £5 as most hosts in my city don't charge a cleaning fee for shared homes where I live.

With the additional cleaning fee I am now being charged it won't be economic for me to have one or two night bookings and that's what most of my guests want so I am not sure whether I will be able to continue to do STRs.

[Trevor243]

@Helen3Many trade bodies have worked with the government to produce the new guidance. They've covered many situations for many types of business. UK Hospitality has now published it's guidance (which should now match the government guidance). There are several sections - read through and see which is closest to your situation.

Remember that the government guidance is very new - a lot more clarity and detail is still to come - so keep checking for updates. You can always ask your local authority (might be local Environmental Health team) - check on the council website or tourist board website for who to contact.

You have concerns over your pricing etc - you won't be the only one. You may need to rethink your business model - and others will do the same too.

[Linda108]

It would be virtually impossible for Air BNB to be aware of specific pandemic requirements for any area, so of course, you are the expert for your listing.  I think @Lawrene0 suggestion is a good one as long as the guest acts in a timely way and does not lose the Air BNB fee.  If this guest issue is frequent, perhaps a temporary banner in your description advising of the local restrictions would be helpful in deterring guests.  In my area, self contained listings are allowed but shared space listings are not at this time.  I snoozed my listing so I don't have to deal with inquiries.

[Peter2704]

Thanks @Linda108 and @Lawrene0 .

I have also now included on the first line of my listing to please ensure any requests adhere to the Government policy. 

Thanks again for your input, it's really helpful.

Peter

[Anonymous]

@Peter2704  Airbnb is in no position to screen every request for adherence to the ever-changing restrictions of thousands of different jurisdictions, so you do have to be the gatekeeper now. However, there is no penalty for declining bookings now (the acceptance rate is still recorded in your dashboard, but Airbnb's arbitrary target is no longer a "Basic Requirement.") 

As long as you don't decline for reasons that are discriminatory (e.g. race, nationality, etc) it is perfectly fine to decline trips that don't meet the local guidelines. Asking the guest to withdraw the request is not a necessary step.

[Peter2704]

@Anonymous - Thank you for letting me know that the acceptance rate is no longer included in the "Basic Requirement" - Very helpful.

It's tricky trying to balance income / regulation / safety and Airbnb benchmarking so I'm glad this metric is postponed for now.

Hope you are well.

Kind Regards,

Peter

[Lawrene0]

@Anonymous , "accepted reservations" is still one of my basic requirements. The target is 88%. It's no longer there for you? 

[Anonymous]

@Lawrene0 On my Progress tab, the Acceptance Rate is displayed under the label "Requirements paused due to Covid-19." Is that label not appearing for you? 

[Lawrene0]

No such labels in my progress section at all, @Anonymous . Must be location-based. My province lifted the pandemic ban on STRs, so it's persuasion (dissuasion)  rather than clicking "decline" for me.