Potential guest asked for early check-in, then became abusive

[Alexandra316]

Hello all,

I'd really like a second opinion on something that happened today.

I had a booking request from someone with no verifications except for their email. They were new, and they didn't even have their name set up: just a single initial. They were also local. They were asking for early check-in for their stay, which is generally fine: we have a 4-hour window between check-out and check-in times, and we can usually accomodate without an issue. However, their inital request was really terse, verging on rude, and I was not feeling good about the request based on all of this stuff combined.

I sent back a message asking how early they'd like to check in. I also politely asked if they could supply a bit more info on themselves and the reason for their trip. They responded saying they wanted to check in at 1 pm, and didn't address the rest of my question at all. I sent back a message again asking for a bit more info. They responded with an abusive message, telling me that I was wasting their time and to forget it. At that point, I obviously declined the request. I then got another abusive message from the potential guest, at which point I blocked them.

Is there any way that I could be penalized by Airbnb for declining this request? I am a newer host and I'm still finding my footing. I found this situation to be a bit upsetting.

Thanks,

Alexandra

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Alexandra316 - go back into the communication and flag the emails where the guest was rude and abusive.  At the end of the day, yes, ultimately, you can be penalized for too many declines.  However, if the guest is rude, you have the ability to flag their abusive emails and also flag their profile.  Both of these will result in an Airbnb handler reviewing the situation.  

[Alexandra316]

I did that, and now the potential guest is now also sending me abusive messages on the other booking site I use, CanadaStays/Home Away. Not a good situation.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

If you haven't contacted Airbnb yet, you need to do so immediately.  Do not stand for this.