Respond to Guest Inquiry

Respond to Guest Inquiry

Respond to ***'s inquiry

Now that you’ve exchanged messages with **, are you ready to pre-approve this trip? When you pre-approve, they’ll be able to book the reservation instantly.

If you won’t be able to accommodate the trip, dismiss the inquiry by selecting the option to let Adam know your listing is unavailable. Once you do that, Airbnb will help them plan their trip by recommending other listings.

If you don’t have the information you need to make a choice, you can always continue the conversation until you do.

 

I would like for ABB to add a line of code that does not send me this message multiple times after I receive an inquiry.

There should be an If, Then statement included.

If, the guest has asked a question and I have NOT responded, Then, yes I should receive reminders.

 

HOWEVER: If, the guest has asked a question And, If, I have responded to that question. Then, the person getting reminders to complete the transacation should be the Guest NOT Host.

 

Why?? because I haven't actually exchanged messages with this guest. What has happened is that the guest has asked a question, I have answered their question. Probably asked them a question of my own in my response. Now for there to be an actual exchange, they likely need to answer me back. So, NO, of course I do not have the information I need to make a choice, bc the guest HAS NOT responded to my question. It's right there in the message string. ABB, please pester the right party with these reminders. Give the guest a timer that tells them how long it takes THEM to respond to Host messages

 

One day this week I had three separate inquiries in the works. For each I responded IMMEDIATELY to their question. And for each they responded slowly or not at all. And yet, despite the fact that they had not replied in any way that would have given me the information I needed to make a decision, I received 3 different reminders via email & text for each inquiry. So for those 3 inquiries, I had 18 different pings that day telling me to do something. I can only imagine how difficult this is for Hosts who have more than one property.

 

ABB, thank you for the reminders, please find a way to be purposeful about who needs to receive them.

 

Kelly, Real Texas Barn

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12 Comments
Carol194
Level 2

Reading..... sometimes seems a skill that is dying out. 

CarlandDiane0
Level 10

Great suggestion. This bothers me too. I also don't care for the implied "threat" that seems to come with these reminders. If I've responded to a guest inquiry via the Airbnb messaging system, then I've responded. I may not be ready to delicine or pre-approve them. In some cases, even if I know they won't be staying with us for this particular visit, I don't want to alienate them (and risk future bookings) by sending them a big fat "DECLINE."

 

Gotta be a better way.

Kelly149
Level 10

Yes, @CarlandDiane0 that's right, I'm not declining & many times I don't know that they actually want to book, they're just asking a question & I have answered it. 

Im doing what is needed, it'd be great if ABB could help

Manuela132
Level 2

Thank you @Kelly149 for this quesiton. I am a brand new host, haven't even had my first check in yet. But I am wondering about the same thing. I got an inquery yesterday about my pet policy. The person was new to AirBnB, no reviews, was not verified, only had his FB account linked and the profile picture showed a child and a dog. I responded within the hour, answered his quesiton and politely asked if he would mind going through the verification process and add a picture of himself to the profil. If everythings checks out I would be glad to host him. I have not heard back but got that same message from AriBnB. I don't want to pre-aprove him without that info, but I am worried my response time is being negatively affected. I tried to find the right info here in this community. There is so much great information here, but I am still somewhat confused about this. 

Kelly149
Level 10

@Manuela132 Yes, you're right it is confusing. Since the action buttons are similar for a Reservation Request and an Inquiry (Accept - Decline) many hosts are confused. However, they are actually treated differently. For a Reservation Request you must take action (Accept -Decline) within 24 hours & sooner is better. With an Inquiry you must Respond with a message, the Accept -Decline is optional. So, why all the texts & emails??ABB programming should recognize the difference

Manuela132
Level 2

@Kelly149 Thank you for clarifying this. I totally agree that this is a programming bug and should be fixed. 

My2
Level 2

Dear Kelly and all,

 

I am a new host and I've talked to many people in Vegas and Philipphines on ABB help line as this is confusing!  

 

As I care about my role as the best host possible by communicating and also agreeing to guests' requests such as extra guest, a much later check in than usual + etc.


All are not as important if you don't communicate right away....even to an inquriy...it doesn't seem right from Airbnb's side...

 

 

 

 

 

Ursula16
Level 5

@Kelly149 @Manuela132 @CarlandDiane0

BEWARE: In our Melbourne airbnb forum several hosts recently advised  it is NOT enough to simply send a reply. If you receive too many inquiries - and do not respond with enough PRE-APPROVALS - your account will be SUSPENDED! We have been shown the screen shots to prove this. So effectively - BOOKING REQUESTS - & - INQUIRIES - are being treated similarly by the airbnb automated system. The host made clear - he had encouraged guests to book, but did not formalise this with a PRE-APPROVAL also and his listing was removed from the system.

 

My2
Level 2

HI Ursula

 

I just read your comment about PRE-APPROVALS-- so do you think as Hosts, we should make a PRE-APPROVAL for inquires? 

I don't want the listing to be suspended... 

 

thank you! 

Ursula16
Level 5

If you would welcome the guest making the inquiry - yes, it is BEST to give them a pre-approval! This issue is a particular problem for those hosts who want to be fully booked and get many requests. Their rejection rate can be higher proportionally due to the high volume coming through.