Enquiry from a guest who wants to view the property before booking

[Jo506]

I have an enquiry from a potential guest who wants to see my apartment before making a booking

I have referred her to the Airbnb article www.airbnb.com/help/article/47/what-do-i-do-if-a-guest-wants-to-see-my-place-before-booking and suggested she read the reviews, descriptions and look at the photos.  However, she still wants to see the place as she is concerned that if she doesn't like it, and then what will happen.  I currently have a moderate cancellation policy.

I'd like some advice on how I should continue to handle this request.  Thanks so much!

[Helen3]

You are definitely doing the right thing.

have you checked your pricing against what other hosts are charging for comparable places in your area. Perhaps your pricing is too low.

you might also want to consider only accepting shorter stays. @Antoinette144 

[Antoinette144]

Thank you for your suggestions. I will definitely look at my pricing as you are the second person to mention that today., In fact a local business person who is familiar with my home told me that I was under pricing myself and that is why I was not attracting the clientele that I desire.  I was following airbnb suggestion to price low until I got ratings. In fact their suggested price was even lower. I will do the research and adjust my price.

In reference to length of stay please give me a suggestion

Thank you so much

[Sarah977]

@Antoinette144  Pay zero attenrion to Airbnb's price tips. No knowledgable host would use their price tips- they bear no relation to what a place is worth, they aren't designed to help you have a successful business. They are designed to get hosts to drop their prices to ridiculous levels so more guests will book and Airbnb can collect more service fees. They couldn't care less if you were only making $1 profit per night.

Airbnb's price tips for my listing, which is a really cute private room with private bath and full use of my kitchen and garden are $6 less than what a hostel bed in a room shared with 3 strangers, with a shared grotty bathroom and no kitchen facilities, goes for in my town.

I charge twice what Airbnb suggests and a lot of my guests have told me I should charge more than I do for what they get here. And I never discounted when I started out, either. It took awhile to get guests and reviews, but I've never had a bad guest or a bad review and I very seldom get annoying inquiries from objectionable people.

Don't take any of Airbnb's suggestions to heart. They will suggest you offer shorter term stays, longer term stays, use Instant Book, offer discounts, take last minute bookings, on and on.

Just figure out what works best for you. I have a 3 day minimum and a 2 week maximum, a day blocked for prep time between bookings, and a 2 day advance notice, for instance. That works for me. I don't want shorter stays than 3 nights, because I don't want to have to clean the space for only a 1 night booking, and I have a job, hosting is a side business for me- I can't just drop everything on a moments notice to clean or attend to a new guest. And I don't want bookings longer than 2 weeks because I don't want to feel like I have a roommate. If I wanted a roommate, I'd just rent the room out full time, not use Airbnb. 

[Antoinette144]

This has been very helpful and encouraging

[Ron7524]

@Ray1437    good to hear about your experience, similar to my own.

[Roy-And-Mary0]

We have been listed since mid-March this year, and yesterday we received our first potential scam.  As soon as this strange inquiry came, Airbnb's warning of potential scam popped up.  "Misty" (joined 6/21 and no reviews) wanted to know if our property is still available and operating, information, pictures, if military discount was available, if the place could be viewed, to accommodate the dressing of groomsmen and overnight for the bride and groom.  Our listing states that our overnight rates do not cover special events.  Obviously "Misty" did not see our listing.  How does a host get contacted and not see the listing? Have any of you received an abnb warning like this? How did you handle it?

[Sarah977]

@Roy-And-Mary0  "Our listing states that our overnight rates do not cover special events.  Obviously "Misty" did not see our listing.  How does a host get contacted and not see the listing?"

There is a Contact Host button on the listing page, as you are probably aware. What makes you think someone would have to read through your listing info in order to click on that button?

Tons of guests don't bother to read through the listing info. 

As far as this particular inquiry you got, obviously something triggered the algorithm to send that message. Maybe it's been flagged by other hosts who have gotten it, maybe the credit card info on file was fraudulent, who knows.

Lots of hosts get these. Just write a short message back, like "No events, no discounts" and click on the report flag.

[Ron7524]

We are new to listing, and it is a 30 days minimum rental.  My very first booking request was for 45 days, but they want to see the place first --   The  husband/wife are in town for a few weeks from Seattle and they want to view the property.   I was not comfortable with the request, but after reviewing policy, told him he could book it and then i would agree to them visiting.  They quickly toured the home and were nice, but said they are shopping around to various potential rentals.  Our cancellation policy is 48 hours and the rental would start in mid-Feb.  The next day, he requested if he could now bring his in-laws for a tour over the weekend, keeping our listing off the market for another 3 days.  Why does he need to tour it yet again??  We have very good photos and this couple saw the home for themselves.  I declined his request based on Airbnb policy and that it would keep our listing off the market.  He immediately cancelled his reservation, which,  if nothing else, put it back on the market.   Oh, and he also asked for a discount while he was in my home.  I said no.....  People who expect special exemptions for themselves will never stop asking.  It's good to see that others have similar issues, but i would love to hear any suggestions or how others have handled these requests.

[Sarah977]

@Ron7524  Just refuse pre-viewings. If they can't make a decision based on the photos, the written info, and communicating with you, that's just too bad for them.

[Kenneth311]

I had the same request today. Actually, it's my second, both from women.  I politely told the first young lady (who said she was in the area) that I wouldn't be around or that i was at work and couldn't change my schedule to accommodate her.  The other young lady that requested a pre-viewing today, wants to book for 4 months. I can see why she'd want to see the place prior booking but I have two current guests in the rooms and it would be a hassle and an evasion of their privacy. So, I let her know that it wouldn't be possible and that she should look at the pictures and read the listing description to get a sense of what it would be like.  I think she wants to see me as well as the community before making a long term commitment. I understand and I feel for her but I can't bend the rules. 

[Sarah977]

@Kenneth311  If the guests who are currently there are leaving soon and you have availability, you could suggest that she book one night to see how she likes it, and that if she decides she wants to book long-term, you'd deduct the cost of that night from her long-term booking. 

She'd also get a better idea of whether she would want to commit to 4 months if she actually stayed there for a night, rather than just looking at it. For instance, there could be traffic or other sounds that would disturb her sleep.