Declining a request

[David4355]

Could I ask a question, please?  I’ve had a request from a party of one to book my three bedroom 105 sq m apartment.  I’ve replied asking why one person would want a flat so large but have had no reply, also I’m worried they might want a party flat. If I decline the booking because of no response, will airbnb penalise me?

[Andrea2893]

Declining multiple request can affect your account however I understand that sometimes it is outside of your control. I would advise reaching out to Airbnb to see if the request can be canceled on the guest behalf to avoid penalties to your account. 

[Andrea-and-Francis0]

Yes call Airbnb customer service & explan the situation. If you cancel yourself it can effect your superhost status so best to have Airbnb people do it or at least they can call the guest & get more info! All the best 🙂

[Mark116]

@David4355   Yes, airbnb will penalize you if you have too many declines.  You can try messaging the guest and remind them that the reservation needs to include the correct number of people, and if you don't already have it in your house rules, that no one who isn't pre approved by you or on the reservation is allowed on the property.  You can then tell them if this doesn't fit their needs they have 24 hours to cancel penalty free, and hope they cancel or give you a satisfactory reply.  

[Sally221]

Hi David, your flat looks lovely! I don't know your local economy, obviously but your pricing seems rather moderate for the size & quality of your  flat- do you have a minimum stay requirement?  It's always a good idea to involve airbnb if a red flag occurs with a guest but I would also be proactive- if your space is trashed that would be much worse than losing a booking or 2, right?  If it were me I'd try contacting the guest to "Make sure that everyone's name is on the booking so no one is turned away as you can't allow guests not on the booking to enter the flat."You are doing this to ensure that your guest has a pleasant stay with no surprises. Emphasize how attentive & accessible you are as a host ( if you do remote access move heaven and earth to have a human there at check in) Mention that the potential guest can cancel penalty free if they find your listing isn't suitable after all.  Tell the guest your are awaiting their response. If you still don't hear back from the guest- personally I'd cancel under the "Guest made me uncomfortable" You might have your Instant Book turned off for a bit but a trashed place is the worse outcome and  the guest who books for one and ignores your very legit question is flying a flaming red flag. Best of luck, Sally

[Emilia42]

@David4355 

Go ahead and decline it if you are not comfortable with the request. It sounds like you haven't declined too many requests (or maybe none) so it won't kill you. Your acceptance rate will drop a little bit.

[David4355]

Thank you for your helpful replies .  The apartment is in Poland, hence the reasonable price.  I got a reply eventually and six people were coming, but he didn’t want to pay the price for that(about 12.00GBP pppn) so I cancelled the booking anyway..

Because I operate a self check in, it difficult to confirm exactly the amount of people staying and only when the cleaning is being done, the laundry tells a tale!  Too late by then, of course but I do find the majority of people are honest.

its only when it’s very blatant like this one, that alarm bells ring.

just have to be more vigilant, I guess.

thanks again for all your help.

David

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@David4355 

In your post you said you got "a request" and now, in your comment, you said you "canceled the booking"

Those are 2 very different things.

You can decline a booking REQUEST without any penalty if it is not too often.

You can decline or just answer by text to INQUIRIES as much as you want without any penalties

But if you cancel THE BOOKING then you are penalized, except in case of extenuating circumstances but in this case, you have to call Airbnb, prove it and they have to cancel for you.

Airbnb has 1 guest by default ( it should be 0 ) so often guests forget to change it to the right number of people in a group. It happens all the time.

[Helen3]

Hello @David4355 

Why don't you install CCTV or similar so that you can see if your guest is trying to sneak in extra visitors.

You can also make sure in your house rules you confirm that only guests who have booked and paid can be on the premises and that additional guests found on the premises will lead to bookings being cancelled.

You should also have a local co-host on hand if you are hosting in another country in case there are emergencies at the property or with problem guests that need to be resolved.

[David4355]

Thanks,

no I didn’t confirm the request but the whole 24 hours to decide freaks me out a little when I’m waiting for more information from the potential guest.  Eventually on this occasion, I declined and wondered if I’d be penalised by that, but it seems not, which is good to know.

[Sandra856]

Hi @David4355 🙂

You can see airbnbs requirements on your progress page. You acceptance rate needs to be  88% or higher. It has no effect on your superhost status at all (as the guy who commented wrote). You can decline a request now and then and it won't hurt you in any way.

You can also see the exact requirements for staying a superhost under the progress page - press the suoerhost box. So no need to stress. If you get a request and you and your guest finds out it is a bad fit you can ask the guest to withdraw the request.

Best, Sandra 

[Linda108]

There is a saying in management, @David4355  which is "Inspect what you expect".  As @Helen3   suggest, having an external camera you can access with your smart phone will give you that.  Also, since you have to disclose in your listing descripton that it is there, it should discourage the type of guest that "doesn't want to pay."

[David4355]

Thanks, Linda, good idea.