Good day everyone,
Recently I logged into my account to see that '1 Host Requirement Needs Your Attention' under the Basic Requirements. The target for accepted reservations is 88%, and I have recently fallen to 86%. Seems fairly clear, correct?
I have my booking settings to Instant Book, with the caveat that all guests must be ID Verified. For whatever reason, AirBNB still allows unverified guests to make booking requests - something I don't typically mind, as I will explain my requirements to the guest, walk them through the Verification process and eventually, 9/10 guests do end up adding their ID and booking with me anyway.
The problem is this: AirBNB requires that hosts 'Accept' or 'Decline' requests when they're made. I always decline unverified guests, with a message outlining what I've explained above. Once they're Verified, they Instant-Book. I had no idea these 'Declines' were being held against me! When I spoke with Customer Service, they explained I should instead be asking the guest to withdraw their request, submit their ID for Verification and then Instant Book once all is said and done. This seems INCREDIBLY cumbersome for me to explain, and for the guest to adhere to. I'm not an AirBNB IT professional, why should I have to jump through these hoops when the settings on my listing are clearly intended for Verified guests only?
To me, this is the equivalent of allowing a listing to say 'no dogs allowed', then penalizing them by saying 'you only allowed 86% of your guests to bring dogs instead of the required 88%.' Don't let me select 'Verified Users Only' if you're going to turn around and penalize me for not accepting Unverified Users. Ironically, this number isn't even accurate as most of the Unverified Users do become Verified and book with me after I've declined.
Any thoughts on this? I'm being painted into a corner it seems. Their algorithms don't appear very well thought-out at times. I'm sure this is also damaging my listing's status in the search results. Customer Service just suggested to send them a completed Feedback Form. I asked if it would be better to simply not 'Decline' or 'Accept' but she said that would be worse. Sigh.