How would you handle this person?

[Jessica850]

This is my first week being a host. I have set my listing to instant booking and I’m happy with that.

But I had an inquiry from a young woman with severe environmental allergies, asking for lots of details about my space. I’m eager to get as many bookings as possible as I have gone into debt to turn my garage into a studio specifically for short term rentals. So I answered every one of her questions honestly, and offered that she could stop by and check it out between guests. 

When she came by today she said the place smelled too new. I had just cleaned it and I’ll bet she was smelling cleanliness. But I didn’t want to be confrontational so I suggested it might not be right for her as it was not set up for long term stays (there’s no storage or closet). She said she felt like she had to take what she could get and would be in touch about booking some time in the future, after the new smell was gone. 

I don’t want want to take away the instant book option, but I don’t want to host this person. I am pretty sure she would be very fussy and hard to please. I was thinking I would send her a polite message saying it was nice the meet her, but that I felt like we would not be a good match. But if she still books with me, what can I do?

[Emiel1]

Hello @Jessica850

It is not common potential guests visit the accomodation upfront to have a look (and smell..) around.

It is indeed a good idea to sent her the message you described. If you do not want her to book,you will have to block her by "flagging" her profile. But this is a rather unpleasant action, but effective !

I never used Instant Book, i want to vet every guest before accepting. But it is up to you what works best for you.

Kind regards,

Emiel

[Jessica850]

Ok, thanks for this information. I am not going to offer a preview in person again. I think it will take me a while to figure out what being an accommodating host means. Without being a pushover.

 I’m hoping my message will keep her from booking. I'm not sure how to vet people so I’ll keep the instant book for now.

[Ute42]

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Hi @Jessica850 ,

whenever You have a question, type in the topic into the searchline on the startpage of this community center and You will find similar cases.

[John1080]

@Jessica850, whether you block her as @Emiel1 suggests or just try to talk her out of it, I'd try not to host her as your intuition is probably correct that she will be a pain in the rear for you and not it will not be worth it. 

Maybe she doesn't quality for instant booking? Have you checked her profile to see if she has fulfilled all the verified info to be able to do so? 

Again, either way, try to discourage her or block her. Trust your gut! 

[Jessica850]

Thank you, I think she probably qualifies as she’s got a lot of positive reviews. 

Do you allow instant booking? 

[John1080]

@Jessica850, yes I do have IB turned on, but have only had a few guests who have qualified.   

I would recommend as others have also said, and not do anything long term right now. You can go into your settings and set your max amount of days for a stay.

How long is she wanting to stay potentially? 

[John1080]

P.S. What a cute little space - you did a great job with it!

[Jessica850]

Thanks so much. I’ve got lots of sweat in it and pride too. It’s hard not to take things personally at this point. No way does this place smell bad.

[John1080]

@Jessica850, exactly! I know some people suffer from allergies, for some like this person in question, I feel a lot of it is in their heads and they are hypochondriacs. Trust me, this woman will be complaining from the first moment she arrives. Nonexistent smells and dust will result in complaints of filth. Any noise such as a sirens will result in complaints of excessive noise. 

Avoid like the plague! 

[Ute42]

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@Jessica850,  D o   n o t    h o s t    t h i s    p e r s o n !  You will regret it.

[Sandra126]

I allow IB with conditions. One is that if you are a group, you can't use IB as the different rooms are differently priced. So you could make it a condition for instance that for visits longer than a week, no IB. You can add conditions as you see fit. This means they have to send a booking request first, and allow a discussion prior to booking if you wish.

Your garage conversion will smell like new for about a year, I think, so it won't be any good to her anyway. You will have other bookings!

All the best hosting.

[Emilia42]

@Jessica - I don't blame you for not wanting to host this person. Hopefully, your calendar will fill up and her dates will not work! I have instant book on and I like it, although a lot of hosts on this forum will tell you differently. I have a studio apartment as well, connected to my house. There are a couple of things you can do without turning instant booking off. About how long did she want to stay for? Set your maximum night stay to well below that. Also, get rid of that huge monthly discount. Remember, you are renting an all inclusive, furnished space on the short term. Rates are much higher for short term vs. long-term rentals. You could also set some restrictions for instant booking. For instance, requiring that guests can only instant book with a Government ID or reviews from previous hosts. People will still be able to request to book but only guests meeting those criteria will be able to book instantly. For a sure win, you can block this person and they will not be able to contact you again. Seems harsh, I know, but you are trying to run a successful business and these people can’t get in your way. (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2020/how-do-i-report-a-message-or-block-someone-on-airbnb)

With all hope you’ve already turned her away with your “new smelliness” 🙂 Hope this helps.

[Jessica850]

Thank you, I changed the monthly discount to 21%. I may change it altogether so that the maximum stay is three weeks. 

[Letti0]

@Jessica850  Something else to think about with long term guests is they are not tourists out and about all the time. They use more utilities A/C constantly on in summer, heat alway on in the winter, there is more wear and tear on everything as they are constantly at the property as verses out like most tourists, and they have tenant rights which mean you need to evict if they won't leave. So adding all these facts in 21% is too high a discount, you will be lucky to break even on actual expenses incurred.