@Lawrene0 this was great advice..... and it has already helped me once........
I really can tell me what to do here.
PLEASE NOTE I HAVE NEVER NEVER CANCELLED A RESERVATION
HERE IS THE MESSAGE FROM AIRBNB PENALIZING ME FOR DECLINING REQUESTES !!!
Email_icon_warn@2x
You declined your last 3 reservation requests. Keep in mind that
HOSTS WHO DECLINE AN EXCESSIVE NUMBER OF RESERVATION REQUESTS MAY HAVE THEIR LISTINGS SUSPENDED and removed from search results. Learn more
PREVIOUS Airbnb message
Hi,
My name is Massimo, an Airbnb Expert and a Superhost in Rome.
Happy to assist you!
If you don't feel comfortable, you can decline.
DECLINING A REQUEST DOESN'T IMPACT NEGATIVELY ON YOUR RATINGS AND YOU WON'T BE PENALISED.
ONLY CANCELING CONFIRMED BOOKINGS IMPACTS NEGATIVELY ON YOUR RATINGS AND YOU ARE PENALISEd.
…………………………….;
This was RECEIVED last week –
My name is Andreea G, Airbnb Manager, thank you for answering my call and was lovely speaking with you today.
Thank you for being an amazing Host and part of our community, we really appreciate your hard work and dedication.
As I mentioned on the call, if you receive booking requests from guests who may not have fully read your house rules or description, meaning that a reservation with them will not be possible,
PLEASE DO NOT DECLINE THE BOOKING REQUEST,
as the system doesn't know the reason you declined it, and YOU MAY END UP HAVING THE LISTING SUSPENDED for a certain time of period. The reason for this is that a Host that declines often booking requests, it's not a committed Host that can offer a wonderful experience for guests. Of course this is not your case.
AS A QUICK REMINDER, IF YOU DON'T ACCEPT OR DECLINE A BOOKING REQUEST, AFTER 24 HOURS IT WILL TURN INTO "NO LONGER POSSIBLE" STATUS, THAT WILL BLOCK THOSE SPECIFIC DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR. BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS GO ON THE CALENDAR AND MAKE THEM AVAILABLE.
I want to thank you again for your time today,
@Lawrene0 wrote:
One strategy when this happens, @Merrily2 , is to write to the requesting guest explaining why you have to say no, and asking them to withdraw the request. I know some hosts word that part of it this way: "Please withdraw your request so your credit card will not be charged."
They won't always, but it save your declines.
Wishing you all the best,
Andreea G,
Airbnb Manager
……………….
This was receved 10 january 2022
Airbnb Support4:56 PM
I'm so glad it worked!
Again I HAVE NEVER CANCELLED A RESERVATION…………………..
THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH DECLINING RESERVATIONS, …………..the site is measuring the cancellation rate, which means how many times a host cancels reservations after he accepts them.
The other thing related to this action is the response rate, which measures how many requests the host responds to,
AND FOR THIS REASON IS BETTER TO DECLINE ( OR TO ACCEPT) IN ORDER TO GIVE A RESPONSE, AND NOT LET THE LET THE REQUEST EXPIRE.
In order for you to keep your beautiful status of Superhost, your cancellation rate should not be less than 1% which means one cancellation per 100 reservations and also having the response rate above 90%.
You can check your performance on your profile, by accessing Superhost.
Follow this link for a simplest way to get there: