Why is it required to select dates when contacting a host?

[Kelsey94]

This is very frustrating and non-sensical for people who want to ask general questions. 

I have a guest who asked a question about making an exception for pets, my answer is no. But do I decline her request (and possibly hurt my ratio?) or approve while telling her "no pets"?

Two support agents incorrectly told me a message could be sent without dates selected, which I quickly proved wrong. 

This feature makes absolutely no sense. Airbnb needs some SERIOUS consultation on website efficacy. 

[Sandra856]

@Kelsey94 if the guest sent you a request and just wanted to ask you some questions then ask her to use the "contact host" link in the future. You can ask your guest politely to withdraw/cancel the request from her side. Tell her that it otherwise will hurt your stats as you can't decline the booking. When a guest use the inquery "contact host link" you don't have to neither accept nor decline. You just need to answer with in 24 hours. That way it won't effect your stats.

Best  Sandra 

[Sandra856]

You can see the link to "contact host" on the picture. It is called an inquiry and you don't have to neither accept nor decline but just answer as fast as possible.

[Kelsey94]

She did use the contact host link and it still requires you to select dates. 

I am being asked by Airbnb to accept or decline within 24 hours to maintain my status. 

[Kelsey94]

There is no option to message a host without selecting dates. I have looked everywhere. 

[Sandra856]

@Kelsey94 it doesn't matter at all if she selects dates or not. When she message you via an inquiry you just need to reply as fast as possible. The only thing you need to do when receiving an inquiry is to reply. Just ignore the decline/approve buttom unless you want to approve of the booking. When doing that within 24 hours it won't hurt your stats. 

[Kelsey94]

Sandra, the dates must be selected. That is not optional. 

As you can see from the screenshot above, Airbnb is telling me to approve or decline within 24 hours to maintain my stats. 

There seems to be a major consistency problem on this platform. 

[Sandra856]

@Kelsey94 as I say. It doesn't matter at all if there is dates selected or not. With an inquiry you just need to reply with a message and it won't hurt your stats. You can find a link that tells you about excactly that and the difference between a request and an inquiry. 

[Ange2]

@Kelsey94   

It is telling you to respond within 24 hours.

If  it is just an inquiry you can respond by sending a message, make sure your message has been logged, refresh the page and you will see the clock has stopped ticking down, no further action neccessary,  I do it all the time.  You may have to recache the page a few times to see the stopped clock, the Airbnb server can be slow.  

If it is a booking request the clock will keep ticking down and you will need to click accept or decline.

[Kelsey94]

I have already responded and it has been logged. 

It still shows that i need to approve or decline to the INQUIRY within 24 hrs.

[Ange2]

@Kelsey94    Recache your page a few times. If you still see a countdown clock saying you have to respond there is a glitch. I just did the same five minutes ago and it worked. The inquiry (aka the trip)  will then appear in under requests and at the bottom in tiny print there is a message that says the following:

It does not help that Airbnb use request, inquiry, trip interchangeably, even though they mean entirely different things that demand different actions,  it muddies the waters and creates confusion.

[Sandra856]

@Kelsey94 if you receive a real request you need to press either the approve or the decline buttom.

But with an inquiry you just needs to reply. Nothing else. I'm 100 % sure. I have been a host for 5 years with more than 300 bookings. 

[Kelsey94]

Airbnb is constantly changing things, i'm not so sure. 

Why would they tell me I have 24 hours to respond? 

Either way I appreciate your reply, but I see other hosts having the same issues I'm discussing. 

[Sandra856]

@Kelsey94 airbnb rates you after how fast you reply to a guests question. Any experienced host in this community would tell you excactly what I told you.

Best, Sandra 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Kelsey94 

There is no option to send an inquiry without selecting dates - it is there to discourage spammers and you should be grateful.  It was rather terrible before that feature was in place.

But there is no need to accept or decline,  you can just respond within the 24 hours and it will not affect your response rate in a negative way.

The pre-approve/decline button is there in case it is an inquiry that could lead to a booking.  Usually when guests contact hosts it is to ask questions about the property and a simple answer to a simple question could very well lead to a booking.