Lots of hesitation and no bookings

[Inna22]

I get a majority of my reservations through IB, no questions asked before booking. I have a pretty detailed description. Those who start asking questions are the type I probably do not want anyway. Lately I get a lot of window shopping.

So glad we found your place! Can we check in late? Our flight gets in really late. Yes, self check in with door code. Nothing after.

Your place seems perfect! Does the fireplace work? We are specifically looking for a place with a fireplace. Yes, it does. Northing after.

Your house is in perfect location! Just want to double check if a dog is allowed. Yes, dogs are welcome. Nothing after.

I pre approve all these people and follow up with me asking if they have any other questions. They do not.

So lots of questions already answered in the listing and no bookings. 

Is anyone else seeing the same pattern?

[Ann72]

@Inna22   I pre-approved people in my first year of hosting; now, almost never.  If I don't hear back from them in a few hours, I archive their messages so I forget all about them.  Every once in a while one of them comes back and completes the booking or says they're not going to, and while obviously I appreciate the booking, I almost appreciate the message about not coming as much, because it's simple good manners.  Those people always get a friendly "I'm sad too!" kind of response from me.  Otherwise, the inquirers?  I'm not gonna beg them to book.  The balance of power is thrown off that way!

[Max144]

Yes have a few recently, last request asked if I had secure parking for jet ski and were they allowed to flush, so reply yes plenty of options for secure parking and flushing and as Airbnb didn't respond 24 hours later asking to prompt them I presume they have booked elsewhere.

Actually don't mind as have good neighbours and I don't have to worry about noisy jet ski running to flush out motor with water.

[Inna22]

@Ann72 I do not recall ever getting a polite message back from someone who has decided not to book. It is usually something along the lines of "I guess we will spend our money elsewhere" after I refuse to cut my already reduced low rate season in half. Or "you ruined my celebration" after I say no to a 21st birthday party for 70 guests. I always respond with I hope you have an amazing time in Chicago or something like that because these days you never know who is going to screen shot what and post it where so I can never tell them what I actually think. I am sure you can imagine what it is

[Ann72]

@Inna22 People are horrible when they're hiding behind a computer screen especially.  I mean really - my mother calls that "PHT" - poor home training.

[Ale113]

Hi,

I don't mean answering those questions. For me it's important that guests know before hand our House Rules and other issues. 

What I hate the most is these people who doesn't answer the qüestions I ask them:

G: Hi, [...] do you have an underground sations nearby?

I:  Hi, yes there are [...]. Also, we need to know that you are aware and feel confortable with the House Rules: silenci 22-8, dog(s) [...]. Let me know.

G: I was Planning to pay you tomorrow can you reserve me the dates.

I: Please confirm House Rules.

(silence 1 day)

I: Hope you find a perfect place for you 😄

G: What?? Why? 

I: We need guest confirm House Rules

G: ok, sure I do

I: Ok, Then we accept

(Guest never booked)

[Alexandra316]

@Inna22 I find the same thing: few people with questions before booking ever complete their booking. It doesn't happen that often, though: I'd say 95% of my guests instant book and I don't talk to them until after the booking is made. Like you, my response just kind of goes into the void and I never hear from them again.

I had a really odd situation with someone this summer who made me change the way I handle questions. They asked about the layout of the flat: I answered and sent them a pre-approval, and they booked shortly after. I though great! They must have been happy with the answer. About 30 minutes later, I got an irate text asking why I had charged their credit card, because they were just asking a question and didn't want to complete the booking. I explained that I had just sent a pre-approval and they made the booking, but if they wanted to cancel, they could still do so penalty-free due to the 48-hour grace period. I got a series of increasingly upset and abusive texts, accusing me of fraud, dirty dealing, etc. etc. etc. I don't send pre-approvals for this type of enquiry anymore... once bitten, twice shy, and I didn't find that people were accepting the approvals anyways.

I'm one of those people who contact hosts before booking, for the simple reason that I've learned from experience that most dog-friendly hosts don't want to host my dogs. I've made the mistake of taking the listing rules at their face value in the past, then finding out that the hosts is not okay hosting larger dogs or more than one dog. I always write before booking and ask if they're welcome, then complete the booking if the host is good with it.  

[Inna22]

@Alexandra316 that’s an interesting perspective. I allow dogs so I put the dog questions into the same bucket of time waist g questions. I will not anymore. Thank you for posting. Although once  somebody asked how often the neighbors are out in the common backyard because they would like their two very large dogs run free. That made me pause. If the dogs are so big that they would have to ask and if they’re planning on letting them loose, maybe I don’t want them. With an inquiry like this, I wondered – how are these people expecting to find a whole house downtown Chicago with a yard large enough for two dogs to run loose with no neighbors in sight? Why do these people end up booking?

[Alexandra316]

@Inna22Yikes! Definitely guests you don't want. 

[Linda513]

I would like to add my perspective to this conversation, as a host but also from the perspective of an Airbnb traveler/guest. Please understand I do not mean to counter or contradict anyone or argue, just want to offer a different perspective. I have read, over and over again in several forums that inquiries accompanied by questions are usually not serious inquiries, or that people who ask for discounts are (basically) bums, or that the pre-approval step is a no-brainer. First of all, as a life-long bargain hunter, while I might not inquire about a discount especially when I am getting a really good rate to begin with, looking for a discount or being open to one does not mean that I will be nickle and diming you the entire stay! (I've heard this warning many times). It also doesn't mean that I'm trying to insult you. It's just the way my husband and I think (actually, he sort of brainwashed me). We're bargain hunters and we respond to the word "discount". When I got started in this business I offered discounts as a way to get a few reviews under my belt (mostly military, as we are in a military dense area). I removed the discounts this year, but I might reinstate them if I see that my bookings are not as brisk as I'd like. It's just another tool in the toolbox. Secondly, the last time I was looking for a place I did contact several hosts and I did have a legitimate question that, to the best of my knowledge, was not addressed in the listing. I may have missed it, however. I was, admittedly, in a hurry, looking for the best deal that I could find, and looking for an unusual combination of features. I stated in all of my inquiries that I was NOT ready to book and that this was just an initial inquiry to find out the answer to my question. To my dismay, all of the hosts pre-approved me. This led to an onslaught of emails and messages from Airbnb that lasted, literally, for weeks. I will NEVER, as a host, pre-approve someone without their permission because of this experience. EVER. It was HORRIBLE. So distracting. I had messaged every one of those hosts to let them know that, for one reason or another, their place would not work. It didn't matter, it was too late, I was continually bombarded for weeks and weeks, nagging and nagging and nagging me to DO SOMETHING about this wonderful property which, because I had only INQUIRED about it, I obviously hadn't indicated that I wanted to book!!! I wasn't playing games, I wasn't being flighty, I wasn't jerking the hosts around. I needed a place but I had some specific requirements that I had to inquire about. The properties either met the need or they did not. I don't think it would have been terrible if I hadn't messaged the hosts because it was an INQUIRY. After a period of time when I get an inquiry and don't hear back I know the person has moved on. I might spend a few minutes answering questions, I might send a canned answer, but I don't get all worked up and I don't pre-approve them (unless I am trying to get back at them). 

[Ann72]

@Linda513 Good points all!  I'm glad I don't send pre-approvals if that's the way Airbnb handles them - I never knew about the relentless barrage.  I don't mind a pre-booking question, but if there are more than a few in a row, it's tiresome.  I'm with you in that I don't get caught up anymore in whether they're going to book or not - that's why I archive the messages right away.  As to asking for a discount, you never know - maybe the host will agree.  I never do and I find it easy to say no.  But there's no need for me to be impolite about it.  

[Sean433]

@Linda513 

While looking for bargains is ok, there are some things people and guests should be aware of when doing this besides the fact that it is super annoying for most of us hosts.

If you ever read airbnb horror stories from guests, a lot of the times it is because they come to a home that looks completely different or they show up to the home and the host never replied to their messages to grant check-in and they are stranded having to find a much more expensive hotel last minute.

It seems that a lot of the times, such guests find themselves in these really bad situations because they bought into something that was too good to be true. E.g a 5 bedroom ocean side villa for $150 a night. Too good to be true! or a 2 bedroom penthouse in Manhattan for $150 - impossible to most rationale people right?

Often times, you get what you pay for and you take a risk when trying to bargain something into a price that has very few reward for the seller unless that seller is a scammer or has bad business ethics. Proceed with caution.

That is why I personally don't push for discounts on certain things that can really hurt me like food or shelter. I've never asked for a discount in any airbnb I stayed at and have never had a bad experience.

[Linda513]

I wouldn't ask for a discount unless it was mentioned in the listing. My point is that discount seekers aren't always losers or "the by product of the low season" as someone suggests in this thread. It's just that some people are bargain hunters and some aren't and some people give discounts and some don't. It's a choice. I don't think it's kind or fair to label people just because they want to save money.

As to the other part of your message, yes I've read numerous horror stories. When I hear about them I can hardly believe it and I suspect they are so blind to common sense that they are willing to forego normal safety and security precautions to save a few bucks. How can people afford to spend $11,000 on a vacation and not make sure a property exists? It just seems that there are huge chunks of those stories that are missing. There are plenty of safeguards that I can think of to avoid that kind of fraud, especially in light of the publicity this type of thing has already had. Absolutely ridiculous. I'm certainly not in that camp. Nonetheless, I have gotten some really good bargains because I was looking and because I asked! 

[Inna22]

@Linda513 you say you would not ask for a discount unless it was mentioned. None of us mention a discount therefore your points do not really apply. 

[Linda513]

Inna22 I was actually replying to Sean433 when he mentioned "looking for bargains".  I said I would not ask for a discount unless it was mentioned in a listing (so as not to be "super annoying" as he points out), not in this conversation. None of us? Who is this "us" of whom you speak?  I'm not exactly sure of your point. 

[Inna22]

@Linda513 by us I mean all the hosts who attach all this attributes to people who ask for bargains.

In your earlier post, You were giving a different perspective and saying that you a bargain hunter. And you will not later nickel and dime anyone.

Of course it is OK to ask for a discount when a host states he or she is giving one. It would be silly not to. However, if the host is mentioning nothing at all, why would someone think they’re entitled to a discount?

I would think they either have an attitude “you don’t ask you don’t get”, which means they will nickel and dime later because if they have this attitude towards initial price, they will have it towards everything else. Nothing is wrong with that attitude, sometimes I have it, but that would explain why most hosts don’t want that type of guest.

Another reason would be entitlement, thinking there’s something wrong with the place and it’s not worth the price or trying to get more while on budget. And I would not want any of these guests either. I don’t want to make a super long post, in short most of these people will just never be satisfied.