High Risk Inquiry Blocked

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Megan601
Level 2
Little Rock, AR

High Risk Inquiry Blocked

Hi all - Just this morning I had an inquiry for next weekend.

 

The potential guest said that he received a message that he was unable to book due to risks of parties. He assured me that he would not be having a party; that he was coming for a job interview - however he's requesting to check in on a Friday afternoon and check out on Sunday; 2 guests; and his home base is less than 10 miles from my listing.  

 

So I agree - it seems fishy. 

 

On my side, I received an alert that said the inquiry was block automatically because it was identified as being high-risk. 

So my question is -  has anyone else ever approved a 'blocked inquiry' and it turned out okay? Or if I was to approve it and it ended up being a nightmare and I had to terminate the booking or whatever the case may be - what would AirBnB's stance be? 

Basically - why is this user even allowed to inquire if their bookings are suspicious?

 

For the record - I love this feature. And I did decline the booking.  I told him that my suggestion was to call Customer Service.  Not sure where that will get him? 

1 Best Answer
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

The guest is allowed to inquire because anyone can send a inquiry. Let's say he was inquiring about dates 6 months from now and wanted to book a 2 week stay- that wouldn't likely trigger the algorithm. An inquiry is just a way for guests to ask questions, so anyone is allowed to do that.

If it's an Inquiry, there is no need to decline it- just messaging back to an inquiry is sufficient. If it's a booking request, you do have to either accept or decline within 24 hours.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by asking if you were to accept a blocked inquiry, what would happen. Even if you were to approve it, it wouldn't go through if Airbnb has blocked it. If you found some other way around it, to accept the booking, I think that Airbnb wouldn't be supportive if the guest wreaked havoc. It's hard enough to get them take appropriate action on a normal booking if the guest causes damage- if they already blocked the booking, I think they'd tell you, sorry, you cooked your own goose.

 

And it isn't the guest himself that's suspicious- it's the combination of booking factors which trigger that block. If he were trying to book a shared home listing, it wouldn't get blocked, only entire home listings.

 

I agree- "coming for a job interview" over a weekend, with his girlfriend, when he lives 10 miles away, doesn't sound very likely.

  

 

@Megan601

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25 Replies 25
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

The guest is allowed to inquire because anyone can send a inquiry. Let's say he was inquiring about dates 6 months from now and wanted to book a 2 week stay- that wouldn't likely trigger the algorithm. An inquiry is just a way for guests to ask questions, so anyone is allowed to do that.

If it's an Inquiry, there is no need to decline it- just messaging back to an inquiry is sufficient. If it's a booking request, you do have to either accept or decline within 24 hours.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by asking if you were to accept a blocked inquiry, what would happen. Even if you were to approve it, it wouldn't go through if Airbnb has blocked it. If you found some other way around it, to accept the booking, I think that Airbnb wouldn't be supportive if the guest wreaked havoc. It's hard enough to get them take appropriate action on a normal booking if the guest causes damage- if they already blocked the booking, I think they'd tell you, sorry, you cooked your own goose.

 

And it isn't the guest himself that's suspicious- it's the combination of booking factors which trigger that block. If he were trying to book a shared home listing, it wouldn't get blocked, only entire home listings.

 

I agree- "coming for a job interview" over a weekend, with his girlfriend, when he lives 10 miles away, doesn't sound very likely.

  

 

@Megan601

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

That happened to me this summer. Airbnb wasn't allowing people under 25 from booking entire house or apartment. Even if you sent them a pre approval, and contacted CS, still couldn't book. I'm hoping they changed that because I've had mostly young guest this year as they were the only ones traveling and didn't have any additional issues.  

@John5097 In this instance I have to appreciate whatever abnb does to block those kinds of bookings. There are too many inappropriate bookings done by folks with not so good intentions. like using their name and ID to book for someone else. Question!!! are we allowed to ask a guest to show ID after they check in???     thanks for any advise

Stephane365
Level 1
Montreal, Canada

Screenshot 2021-01-09 110327.png

 

I'm having the same problem with several reservations.  CS told us its because it was last minute.  But it was last minut because previous guest canceled last minute.

 

Did anyone find a solution or a workaround for this?

 

Thanks

 

Stef

@Stephane365 Last minute is still last minute, regardless of the reason. The algorithm automatically blocks some Inquiries and bookings, and CS will never over ride it for you. Frustrating yes, but it's pointless to try and fight it. Yes there are ways to skirt the system, but if you do and that booking then goes wrong (higher probability), you may end up with more trouble than it was worth in payout. 

Young people with no review living around can book a private room.

If they don’t live around, they can book an entire place even if they have no review.

 

When they have 3 reviews, young people can rent around an entire place.
Considering the risk and the price to pay for a destroy party, this system seems well balanced.

This just now happened to me as well and I called Airbnb. They suggested the person who is inquiring call them. They want to book for tonight as they just found out their current booked airbnb has no power. So who knows what happens now. 

Jacqui5
Level 1
Salmon Arm, Canada

i find calling airbnb difficult, and number not easily found

 

Elsa-Y-Ramón0
Level 2
San Juan, Puerto Rico

What I find odd is that after the inquiry is blocked I still get the messages to reply within the timeframe to maintain my response rate. Why should I need to response a blocked inquiry? Is not even a booking request... 

@Elsa-Y-Ramón0 

 

As long as you have answered it, you can ignore those messages. If you clear your cache, they will probably disappear.

thanks for the reply, make sense!
I guess I just found odd that the platform block the inquiry and also want me to reply to maintain response rate. I don’t even know what to say as they were blocked by the algorithm. I just said, that if they have questions they should call AirBnB help. 

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Sophia44
Level 3
New York, NY

I have been going back and forth with Airbnb to get back 1%.  Unfortunately  if they block a reservation because it’s high risk they still expect you to respond to the inquiry and say hello.. I have had quite a few of these requests and got penalized when after not responding with something.. . because it showed not possible.. shortly after booking . I was penalized.  Customer service was not helpful in resolving. To avoid a decrease in rating just respond with something. Hopefully  this policy can change because it makes no sense.. Airbnb blocks it and hosts still get penalized.. 

Mark3964
Level 2
Winnipeg, Canada

I just got this too. My new years reservation was just cancelled so of course it's kind of last minute tho it's still 2.5 weeks away. Person has zero reviews and haven't verified ID, which is a requirement of mine anyways. I wonder, can someone with good reviews and verified ID book me for New Years "last minute"?

Dion207
Level 2
Portland, OR

Just had this happen for the first time.  The potential guests are over 25, the booking is for 2 days, and it is a month in advance?  I actually know the guests and let airbnb support know this, to no avail.  I am awaiting a call from a supervisor.  This makes no sense.  Any ideas?