Deterring Guests Without Reviews

[Kay36]

For my safety, I require guests to have reviews to book with me. Directly in my listing, I write: "NOTE: Guests are REQUIRED to have positive reviews or references (at least two) to book – No exceptions!" Despite this, I repeatedly receive requests from guests who have no reviews at all. I end up declining about 80% of my requests because of this! I worry this is negatively impacting my listing's search ranking.

How can I keep guests without reviews from sending me requests??

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Gerry-And-Rashid0

I am so glad that someone else is having fun with the new guests to Airbnb. We sure are. Enjoy!

[Helga0]

I'm having lots of new guests and most are charming. A few a month at least feel like having family at home. I love hearing stories from other lives. I guess they are more open with the first experience;-))

[Ange2]

@Kay36   IB is the only way at the moment to do this automatically as others have mentioned, but that has its drawbacks too.  I do believe declining a request does effect your listing, (declining a reservation almost certainly).  Coincidence? I declined a few requests and reservations in a row, all with children and pets and/or unable to climb the stairs (even though I am very specific in my listing),  my listing disappeared for a good few weeks, confirmed by Airbnb -  maybe a glitch, maybe not, Airbnb didn't know/say why.

As to my own experience I do accept many people without any reviews and have not had a bad experience.  To the contrary, they have been great guests. I strike up a conversation, ask for a Government issued ID and stress they read the desciption and ask any questions.

[Michele39]

I have one of my listings set to Instant Book "only for travelers with at least one positive review", and I get very few inquiries from newbies on that one. I think maybe Airbnb pushes my listing to the bottom of the search results for those that don't meet that requirement, which is fine with me. (I do take newbies on some of my other listings.)

Maybe one day they'll make the search engine more sophisticated so we hosts can say, I don't want inquiries from newbies, or somesuch. But if you have Instant Book turned off because you want to be picky about who you host (and thus turn down "most people" in the eyes of their automated engine), then Airbnb is going to push you to the bottom of results because your listing isn't relevant to "most people". 

Instant Book with the one-review requirement is the only thing that's going to save you here. Maybe you could try it on one listing and see how it goes.

[Kay36]

Hmm okay I think I need to rephrase my question because I'm getting a lot of feedback from you guys, which is valid, but it's not what I was expecting!

What I mean to ask is how can I let guests know ahead of time that this is a boundary for me? It's possible that people read the listing and choose to ignore what I said, but there's probably some people who also just didn't see it, or didn't understand what I meant. Should I word the statement differently? Should I put it in all caps or put ***'s around it to draw attention? Should I place it somewhere else? (I had it under "House Rules" originally, and then later bumped it up to the bottom of "About this Listing".) How can I make it known to people that this is a hard rule BEFORE they message me?

[Dee9]

@Kay0 It is my experience that guests don't read the listing. They see price, they see location. That's what they care about. Like I said previously my ad states in all caps at the beginning of my listing FEMALES ONLY but men still put in requests frequently. It is both a combination of them hoping to be an exception to the rule AND/OR not reading the listing in full

[Helen3]

@Kay36 I did provide you with some practical suggestions earlier in this thread. Did you think they weren't relevant?

[Vanessa-and-Kurt0]

@Kay36

Just checked your listing. Maybe change your wording so it is a complete sentence and take our references (I think people think that references mean verifications). Something like "We only approve reservations for guests who have at least 2 positive reviews from AirBnB hosts."

[Helga0]

@Kay36, I wanted to write something like @Vanessa-and-Kurt0: a whole sentence, maybe something like :" Please NOTE: to book my place, you need to have at least two reviews from other hosts or guests. Please do not book your first stay with me."

you could even adapt the title and add ... for experienced travelers. 

That said, the declines will dump you and my worst guests had several reviews, one was a superhost with 75 guest reviews and a dozen trips. He could not IB because of seceral Not Recommends, but he disguised that cleverly by asking for a special service. The more experienced they are, the better they know how to play the system. 

[Kay36]

* also just to respond to the IB suggestions – I don't think this is something that I want because it would give me less control over who is able to book. I like to approve people myself.

[Marie-Claire3]

In my experience, newbies are the best guests, eager to please and super friendly.  I love educating them to the concept of trust and friendship that makes the sharing economy not only viable, but so much fun.  Many newbies are apprehensive of how a stay will be going, and it's a pleasure to lessen their anxiety level with a warm welcome and a cup of tea.

Just a thought:  maybe your own level of anxiety and lack of trust will keep more guests away from your home than declining them.  

Another thought:  it's my experience that guests do not read my listings, they only check the location, price, and reviews.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Marie-Claire3

We love the newbies! As you said so well, it is such a pleasure to welcome them and put them at ease. I feel it is a privileged postiion to be in, to give them an excellent first experience. They will be great guests for us all and some may even become hosts.

[Momi0]

@Kay36  I just sent you a very detailed private message to your email.  I can possibly help you solve this issue. Looking forward to talking to you.  Dont' stress.....there are other ways to prevent this from happening about 99% of the time.....not full proof but I can assure you its worked for me when I have decided the guests (with a few reviews or not)  just isn't gonna be the best fit for us. (and declining them is NOT the only option.)

But the other hosts are right.....definitely put your STRICT conditions at the TOP OF YOUR LISTING.  (not in your listing title)

Aloha, Momi,

Superhost - Hawaii

[Paul-And-Raymond0]

I have a preformatted message u send. It almost ALWAYS gets a great response along the lines of "Oh I didn't know the system works that way. Let me tell you about myself....". 

This is what I write: "

Hi!

Looks like you are new to the system.

Welcome to Airbnb. This will change the way you travel!

I would love to have you stay. Before I confirm your request, can you please tell me a little about yourselves? As its a new profile, you don't have any reviews and there is not much info in here for me to get a sense of who you are.

Airbnb works on a trust system so hosts know who will look after their home and their neighbours.

I need to be very mindful of my neighbours ability to enjoy the building peacefully. A lot of hosts will not accept any unreviewed guests, but I just ask to learn a little about folks and then we are good to go. With over 400 guests in four years, this system has always worked and I've met some great people from all around the world.

And then once you have stayed and all has gone well, I leave you a positive review - and it's much easier for you to get your next booking!

Best wishes,

Dr Paul McCann

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Paul-And-Raymond0

I do a similar polite letter to newbies with no profile info or with no headshot. I welcome them, ask about them, as it is customary to be open with each other; and thus, comfortable. They always turn out to be really great guests, and it is fun for us to be their first hosts. We spoil them rotten and they are thus enthusiastic new members of the community.