Is there a third option other than pre-approve or decline?

[Elizabeth61]

It looks like Air BnB has a ticking clock that will dub you as a good host if you respond quickly to a booking request. But the options are only Pre-approve or Decline. What if I want to ask questions of the potential guests before I do either?

For example, we have someone with allergies here. If a potential guest says they have a dog, I want to ask them about whether the dog is non-allergenic.

Is there a way to neither pre-approve nor decline--but keep your quick response rate--while you ask a question?  There should be.

[Emiel1]

@Elizabeth61,

Yes, you mentioned allready the third option yourself: just respond within the time limit (means mostly: answer the question) on an inquiry.

No obligation to pre-approve or decline an inquiry. (You can remove the item from your dashboard later, if the communication is not resulting in doing business)

Best regards,

Emiel

[Sarah977]

@Elizabeth61  You are confusing terms and it's important for you as a host to understand the difference.

Inquiries-  There will be an option to Pre-approve or Decline. You only have to respond via message to the guest in order to not be penalized. Ignore the messages from Aiorbnb urging you to click on one of the options if you have already messaged the guest. If you have to message back and forth with the guest to get things straight beyond the 24 hour window, the Inquiry will expire. Then if you and the guest have worked things out and they still want to book, they can send a Booking Request which you can approve, or another Inquiry if you still have things to talk about.

Booking Requests- the options are Approve or Decline. You do have to choose one of those within the 24 hour window or you'll be penalized. But you can still exchange messages with the guest before clicking on anything, as long as you do that within the 24 hour window.