booking inquiry

[Jerelyn1]

How do I communicate with a guest inquiry before I approve the booking?  Apparently a mother is trying to book for her son and some older boys but she doesn’t give ages. I’m not comfortable with accepting because I have a pool and would want a responsible adult in charge

[Sarah977]

@Jerelyn1  The mother can't book for her sons. 3rd party bookings are against Airbnb Terms of Service . If you accept a 3rd party booking, Airbnb will not have your back on anything.

I would respond like this "Hi XX- Thanks for your Inquiry. You may not be aware, but 3rd party bookings are against Airbnb's Terms of Service. Accepting a 3rd party booking would void my insurance. If your son and his friends are at least 18 years of age, they can open their own Airbnb accounts and book for themselves."

I'd venture a guess that these boys are under 18. And anyone who needs their mommy to book for them isn't mature enough to travel on their own, IMO. Or the boys had an airbnb account and got banned for trashing a place. Shame on Mommy, the enabler.

P.S. you don't need to either pre-approve or Decline and Inquiry. Just messaging back within 24 hours is sufficient. After that, ignore any proddings you get from Airbnb to Pre-approve.

[Qier-and-Philippe0]

@Jerelyn1 

You can send this message to your guests.

Instead of making a reservation for someone else, consider referring them to Airbnb. You can refer them to Airbnb directly from your dashboard by clicking the Invite Friends button. When a referred friend or family member successfully completes a qualifying reservation, you’ll earn travel credit.

When a friend uses that link to join Airbnb, they’ll get credit that will automatically apply towards their first reservation with Airbnb. The credit will show up automatically on the checkout page of any reservation with the minimum total value (excluding guest fees or taxes) indicated in the referral invitation.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jerelyn1 

third party bookings are a very bad idea and not allowed by Airbnb TOS. So, this is your perfect excuse