penalty for not replying a request ??!

[ShaRon133]

Hi, Im new here. about a week.

I started receiving requests and some of them didnt realy matched my creteria . anyway I received a note saying that I have 24 hours to approve or decline or the request will be over.  Thats all.

But just now I have noticed in other page that if I dont REPLY (approve or decline) to just a REQUEST  -  I get penalty for that and they charge me !   is this true ?!   I mean I didnt cancel or anything...  just needed some time to think.

Need your help please because I cant find any Airbnb costomer service mail here...

[Ira4]

@ShaRon133 first of all, I wish you a good start on Airbnb! 

If you don't reply to a request or inquiry, of course, you are not charged with money! Neither you get some penalty like the ones you get when you cancel a booking. 

However, if the 24 hours expire and you don't react, you are affected negatively in some way. Your response rate drops and that has as a result:

1) it is written on your profile that you reply within the same day (that means that a host replies late, because when someone replies fats, his profile says "within an hour")

2) you don't meet the requirements for being a SupeHost

3) your listing may appear lower in search results, as it would appear if you hadn't lost a request

Ok, it can happen to all of us. But of course, replying within the 24 hours is an important task of a host, you need to have that in mind.

There is a good way to check your pending requests. 

You can go to your Inbox and then open "Pending" category. There you will see only the un-replied requests, so you can give priority to them and answer them. 

Good luck to everything and keep going!

Ira​

• For anyone who wants to contact Airbnb, see this thread:
  

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728 …

• Let's all give thumbs up to hosts that help us!

[Andrea9]

@ShaRon133

And the worst part of not reacting to booking requests in addition to the points @Ira4 listed is that those dates are blocked permanently -

read up on this:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/28/what-do-i-do-after-i-receive-a-reservation-request

[Ira4]

@Andrea9 thank you for mentioning that, I really didn't have that in mind, because I always use Instant Booking. 

I am wondering if the blocking also happens when we have Instant Booking and someone makes us an inquiry (question). I hope not! 

Ira​

• For anyone who wants to contact Airbnb, see this thread:
  

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728 …

• Let's all give thumbs up to hosts that help us!

[ShaRon133]

Thank you so much Ira and Andrea for your prompt reply. I realy appreciate!

I always reply to requests quickly, I write back, but not necessarily "approve or decline" .

Does replying back only with text concidered as reacting or must I "approve or decline" ??  (regarding Negative/positive effect ect.) 

Thanks a lot

ShaRon

[Karen-and-Brian0]

Hi @ShaRon133 Promptly replying back with a text is great & expected, but in addition to that, before the 24 hours are up, you have to have replied with either an Accept or a Decline. Failure to do so will negatively impact your response ratings.

It's a steep learning curve for new hosts and we've all been there!It really helps (no, actually, its vital) to spend time exploring & reading the information in the Help section, as well as the Community Guides and the questions here. It will help you avoid some common pitfalls. Airbnb is great once you get the hang of it, but there's a lot to learn! Hope that helps - Karen

[ShaRon133]

Sure did! Thank you so much Karen

[ShaRon133]

Sure did! Thank you so much Karen and Brian

[Gwyneth0]

Make sure you aren't just 'touching base' with potential guests.. making sure that you are asking a lot of questions about their trip, who all is coming, basically qualify them to see if they are a good fit for your listing.  If they are a good fit then offer them a tickets to the circus or whatnot, and also tell them that you have other folks that may be thinking about coming the same weekendand I even will suggest other listings around town too if they don't make a move to book with you.  I almost never reduce the price anymore  - it doesn't seem to help to get stars or good reviews for me anymore, not at all, even from other hosts - suprising!   So what I'm trying to say is just keep after them - they started it and its completly acceptable way to go about getting them to make a choice in the matter:)

[ShaRon133]

Thanks a lot Gwyneth.  This tought me so much I realy appreciate !

[Annette33]

A request is a serious commitment by the potential guest, they are bound to it for 24 hours and need your response: if you accept, it turns instantaneously into a booking. if you  decline, no harm done, no $$ will be charged to you by Airbnb. but you do need to accept or decline within 24 hours, otherwise your response rate and time lapses, not good for a number of reasons. But a financial penalty to you only happens when you cancel a confirmed booking.

An inquiry however is an informal communication a potential guest may start with you, which often leads to a booking request. If you don't answer the inquiry, nothing will happen to you, but it will be measured in your response rate percentage.

 So whatever it is, request or inquiry, do answer, and push that decline or accept button if it was a request.

Best is to study the rules and regulations on all of  that, as a host you have more responsibilities than to just open your doors. Good luck!

[ShaRon133]

Thanks so much. 

I still think that there should be a notice pop up or a lead to those rules once you get an inquery.  Especialy for new confused hosts...

[Sunny71]

How do you respond positively to decline a request if you feel the booking isn't a suitable fit?