Keep getting rejected from booking

[Maximilian33]

Hi guys,

I'm a long time Airbnb guest, and I'm suddenly having a hard time booking a flat in London for a few days. I've had 3 rejections in a row, and I normally don't get any rejections? It's a bit weird. I don't have any negative reviews.

The other thing I noticed is that instant booking doesn't seem to be enabled for me anymore. I have the filter switched on when I search, but all the places have the normal booking process where I need to enter a message etc. and the host has to approve it.

Little help?

Thanks

[Cormac0]

@Maximilian

Sounds like you've been a naughty boy, and some Host as given you a thump down, I would get in contact with Airbnb and see if they have anything worthwhile to say on the matter.

Regards

Cormac

The Explorer's Club Krakow III

[Maximilian33]

Oh wow, I had no idea. I've only had positive reviews??? Thanks for the info.

[Lawrene0]

It appears you never leave a review, @Maximilian33. I don't know why you are not able to Instant Book - as @Cormac0 says, it might be a thumbs down from a previous host - but the declines might be because hosts can see you never review, and we need reviews. 

[Maximilian33]

Hey @Lawrene0, I've left plenty of reviews. It shows 15 on my public profile page. Do you see none when you go to it? https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/5083710

[Lawrene0]

I'm so sorry, @Maximilian33. Yes, you are leaving reviews. My AirReview extension has let me down. I am sorry to have trusted it so blindly today, and disparaged a good guest! And the reviews of you are all lovely. It really does not seem as if you are the problem, but since you cannot Instant Book, there is something wrong in your account. Do contact Airbnb and ask them to take a look. Twitter is often the best way. It is AirbnbHelp, and you can direct message them. 

All the best, and thank you for your patience with rotten advice. 

[Maximilian33]

Not a problem @Lawrene0, thank you for your advice anyway. It's always good to double check these things, who knows if maybe there was a problem with my profile where my reviews weren't showing for any other people or something. Thanks and all the best to you too!

[Lawrene0]

Your reviews weren't showing for me, @Maximilian33, but it was a Chrome extension glitch (not an Airbnb glitch). So that won't be the case for your prospective hosts, certainly not for all of them. Will you write here again once you get an answer from Airbnb? 

[Maximilian33]

Ah no worres. Yeah for sure, I'll leave a comment here with their response @Lawrene0. Fingers crossed for a positive resolution...

[Maximilian33]

Hi @Lawrene0,

I got a reply from them within 24h, but I've been very busy so I haven't had a chance to post it here until now. They said:

"I am sorry that these hostesses have not accepted your reservation request. Effectively I have not found anything in your profile by which your hosts wish to reject your request.

I advise you that instead of sending reservation requests to your guests, first contact them using the "Contact Host" option that you can find in the listings on our platform.

Possiblemenete If you are trying to reserve for the same city and dates if there is an important event do not be discouraged.

I hope you find a space that suits your tastes and needs."

Possibly, there's an event on in the place I'm looking to book so I've been unlucky.

[Lawrene0]

Good to know they cannot find anything lurking on your profile, @Maximilian33. Any word as to why you cannot Instant Book? It seems a strange official answer to tell you to put in an enquiry (contact host). We hosts are encouraged to have Instant Book in place, and, failing that, to immediately jump to approve requests, and yet you are being told to go the long way 'round. I know when I get an unexplained enquiry here, I immediately wonder why the guest didn't just Instant Book. 

I just took another look at your profile, and the only difference between yours and mine is that I have the Selfie verification. Have you tried doing that one? It might magically open up Instant Book for you. Did your rep mention that at all?

[Maximilian33]

Yeah, it seems strange to me too for them to ask me to contact hosts first before booking. I've never done that before, except where I actually had a question about the listing that was stopping me from booking already.

I opened another support request about the instant booking thing, since the current one was closed. They replied with:

"That is strange indeed. I'm sorry you are experiencing problems with the website. I checked a few times and as you say it looks not a single Instant Book listing appears with the search function.
I've already gotten in contact with our Technical Team. It seems there must have been some kind of technical issue and we need to take care of it. Please be patience while our team investigates this problem.

And again I'm very sorry for you trouble. We'll keep you informed once we know more."

So maybe there is something technically wrong.. Perhaps I have been so unlucky because these hosts have instant booking switched on, and my request to book doesn't get approved before someone else instant books?

I had a look for the selfie verification but I don't see the option on my profile. I only have: email, phone number, facebook, google, linkedin. No selfie? Maybe my account is a little bit technically broken... I'll let you know when I hear back from them.

[Lawrene0]

If you haven't already, @Maximilian33, instead of going to your profile to find the selfie option, go to  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1556/why-do-i-have-to-complete-a-verification-process-to-host-an.... Click on the "complete the verification process" link at the end of the article. Follow any prompts there. 

[Maximilian33]

Hey @Lawrene0, thanks for the directions. I gave that a shot, and it seems to have verified correctly. But I still can't instant book 😞

I also got another message from Airbnb support saying that they're still looking into it at a technical level. And then offering the advice to message hosts before attempting to book! Strange.

[Moira21]

@Maximilian33 Recently had a message from a guest who wanted to book. She has a couple of reviews so not new to Airbnb. It seems the ID verification needed updating. (No selfie)