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. 

[Kelsey94]

The verification process should be enough to discourage spammers.

I am not grateful for this, because this requires them to create a "pre booking inquiry" which gets the host hopes up thinking they have a new reservation when all it is is a general question. 

then I am put into the confusing and difficult situation I am in now, not knowing whether to approve or decline if the dates are available but the answer to their request is no .

[Marit-Anne0]

@Kelsey94 

Then just do what you need to do - answer their question (and read our responses).  The pre-approve/decline button is also there to mislead hosts into thinking that we have to pre-approve or decline and if we pre-approve it will (or so airbnb thinks) then encourage the potential guests into making a booking.  airbnb wants bookings - that is their only reasoning.

Why would anyone need to contact you if they had no intention of staying, and if they want to stay they need to enter their dates, right ?

You do not need to be fully verified to contact a host - a simple account through facebook will do.

[Kelsey94]

there are many instances when someone may have a question that is not tied to any particular date. Such as how far away are you from x? What kind of sheets do you have? Etc. they may intend to stay, but they have no reason to be forced to select dates just to ask a simple question. 

All they would need to do is put the "I'm not a robot" checkbox to avoid spam issues. Instead they create this complicated mess. 

[Sandra856]

@Kelsey94 Does it really matter if it shows dates or not? The important thing is that you now know that replying with a message to an inquiry is enough. In case you would like that guest to book you can press the pre-approve button (in that case it is pretty important to know the dates one might think?) but you don't need to in order to keep your rate intact.

If you would like to write to a specific person it is important to tag that person otherwise the person won't get a notification that you wrote to him/her. You can see the other contributors tagging using @ and then choose the name.

[Ange2]

@Kelsey94   Airbnb is confusing because they use words with different definitions interchangeably and are not precise with their instructions.

This is an area many people get confused about. 

I just look to see if the countdown clock disappears  after sending a message and recaching the page numerous times (Airbnb server is very slow).

Here is a page. NOTE:  Reply to new mesaages only applies to inquiries.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/430/what-is-response-rate-and-how-is-it-calculated

[Kelsey94]

What about bullet point 2?

[Mark116]

@Kelsey94 If it just an "inquiry" then as others have said, ignore the prompt to accept or decline, all you have to do is respond with a message within 24 hours.

If it is a "booking request" where it will then say 'pending' next to their message, then you indeed do have to accept or decline them.  But in this case, if what they want isn't possible you just tell them so and tell them to decline with no penalty.

[Sandra856]

@Kelsey94 but you don't have to approve or decline. You just need to answer the questions. 

[Jeff158]

@Kelsey94 Everyone is correct that you only have to message the guest, nothing else.

Click the link for the official explanation

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2410/what-can-i-do-when-i-get-a-booking-inquiry?

[Kelsey94]

That explanation says that you need to approve or decline trip request within 24 hours as one of the three things. 

So that really doesn't prove what you are saying... 

I will do as everyone has said and simply do nothing and wait for 24 hrs to pass & see if it negatively affects me.

Airbnb really needs to modify this. It is not rocket science to create a simple effective system. 

[Ange2]

@Kelsey94   

"one of the three things",  one, you do not have to do all three. 

True,  Airbnb do make it complicated by their imprecise, confusing, misleading  instructions which appear to say you need to do all three things.

To be clear, "You have to do at least one (1) of the bulleted instructions"  within 24 hours or you will be penalized, and which one will depend on whether:

1.  it is a reservation request, aka a booking request

OR

2. it is a trip request, aka an inquiry, aka a question alone (i.e. not a reservation request, aka a booking request, with a question attached to it)

Yes, it's all very confusing until you become proficient in airbnb-speak.

[Emilia42]

@Kelsey94 

There is a difference between a REQUEST and an INQUIRY.

For an inquiry, a guest is just asking a questions. They do have to select dates. I agree with you, it's silly and not necessary but dates have to be selected to send the message. The host only needs to respond. I have not pre-approved or declined an inquiry in my life. I only respond to maintain my 100% response rate.

A request is already a booking (guest has entered credit card info and correct dates), they only need you (the host) to accept the booking so it is actually confirmed. These dates should always be correct since the guest is attempting to secure the reservation. You will be dinged for not responding and your accept rate will drop if you decline.

I always refer to these two articles whenever I need a reminder on the difference:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Airbnb-Updates/Understanding-Response-Rate-and-Acceptance-Rate/b...

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Tips-Tutorials/Difference-between-a-Reservation-Inquiry-or-Reque...

[Kelsey94]

I understand the difference, however Airbnb states inquiries must be approved or declined within 24 hours to maintain response rate. Apparently this is not true, according to the responses in this thread. 

[Emilia42]

@Kelsey94, it does not say inquires.... it says trip REQUESTS. Yes, requests have to be approved or decline. Not inquires. Inquiries only need a response.  

[Kelsey94]

That is covered in the first line, called "reservation request". Trip requests are specifically different and are the same thing as a pre-booking / inquiry.