What do you do about guests who make a request to book but then don't respond to messages?

[Niraj2]

I have just had a guest request to book my property. They are a large group, have no previous bookings or reviews and their message was "I look forward to our visit".  Naturally, I asked how many would be staying and the purpose of their visit but I have had no response and the 24hr countdown timer is almost up.  Ill have no other option but to reject the booking. The problem is the choice of reasons I'm given for rejecting are so limited and does not allow me to just say the guest didn't respond. This seems to be a bit of a flaw with airbnbs Accept or Decline function.

With airbnbs latest policy of penalising you if you decline too many requests, this seems like it needs to be looked at. I have had this happen a quite a few times and I don't feel like hosts should be pressured into accepting bookings when the guests can't be bothered to supply the most basic of information. 

[Yadira22]

Hi @Niraj2 

hope you are well. 

I give them about 12-15 hours based on time difference and if no reply, decline under counts of feeling uncomfortable with the reservation in question. 

They should be answering your questions- and if not there are other guests who would. 

Good luck to you! 

Yadira 🙂

[Quincy]

Welcome to the community @Niraj2, how did everything go in the end? 

[Niraj2]

I had to reject their reservation then they came back to me and tried to book again. It was quite an awkward process to be honest. It was their first time booking with airbnb so it made things more complicated for them. I really wish this part of the booking process was a bit more streamlined