Booking request declined by a host

[Mike1034]

Dear Hosts,

Recently I booked a trip to Disneyland in Anaheim. I booked the townhouse which is very close to Disneyland theme park. The booking is for four nights starting from Friday. The nightly rate is $325. The host does not have instant booking turned on.

When I made the booking request, I saw that the dates are open from Friday. My travel plan has already set up between Saturday and Wed. I booked from Saturday to Wed. But the the host declined my request because Friday would have been left open if he had accepted my request. He has a minimum length of three nights stay.

Just a question for hosts, do you think that it is reasonable to decline a request like this? And do you think that this host is greedy? As a host myself, I have never declined a booking request because a request will leave me with one or two days which could not be booked. I have Instant Booking on by the way.

[Alexandra316]

@Mike1034 yeah, I've heard multiple stories like that also where hosts who are guests game the system for their benefit. It always makes me uneasy. 

[Mark116]

@Alexandra316  I agree, it is strange.  I would expect that other hosts would have the idea of wanting to be a great guest, since they have undoubtedly experienced poor guests, but it doesn't work that way most of the time.  Other hosts are more messy, not less, and more picky, not less.  We are also always nervous with hosts as well as now with guests who use airbnb a lot, they also are often very entitled and criticize any tiny thing that in most cases they should have known about if they read the listing.  I actually prefer people who are new to the platform now.  Weird.

[Emilia42]

@Mark116, I am with you on that one.

[Alice595]

@Susan17 The reason was clearly stated unless the host was trying to hide something.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Mike1034 

we are off-site hosts, have 2 listings and min. stay 2 nights.  One night gaps used to happen up to 5x a month and we were losing 400-500$ on them every month. It's a lot of money.

Since the last year, Airbnb introduced the "rule set" option where we can block check-in/out for certain days and it is very useful to us. We block check-outs the day before each booking and check-ins the second day after each booking to prevent 1-night gaps in between.

Sometimes our guest's plan change and they want to alter their reservation. If it would leave us with a 1-night gap, we decline. They can either cancel the entire booking or leave it as it is, it is up to them.

Airbnb is our business, not our hobby and we have to optimize our income during the high season.

Out of the season, it doesn't matter because we are not fully booked anyway.

[Sarah977]

@Branka0 & Sylvia  The way you are doing it is perfectly fair- you're using the rule set to ensure you that you don't have gaps and declining alterations which would leave you with empty days. I see that as different from the host simply declining the booking, leaving the guest hanging for 12 hours, just because they are holding out for a booking that fills the days. Maybe the host is unaware of how to use the rule set function.

[Sarah977]

@Branka0 & Sylvia  The way you are doing it is perfectly fair- you're using the rule set to ensure you that you don't have gaps and declining alterations which would leave you with empty days. I see that as different from the host simply declining the booking, leaving the guest hanging for 12 hours, just because they are holding out for a booking that fills the days. Likely the host is unaware of how to use the rule set function.

[Mike1034]

@Sarah977 well said. 

One point I like to add is that a great host not only thinks from the host's perspective but also thinks from a guest's perspective.

@Branka0& Sylvia used the rule set to make their Airbnb business better is a good example. This not only help them to avoid business loss and but also avoid guests to spend time and effort with a rejection back.

[Marie82]

@Mike1034 , i am sorry i did not said u were greedy or Linda, i simply said i dont agree with Linda saying the host is greedy.

[Mike1034]

@Marie82 I was a little shocked when read your post because the purpose of my post was not to offend the hosts who decline requests. 

I am just thinking from a guest perspective if it is reasonable to decline a booking request just because one day gap the guest booking is created. When instant booking on, the gaps could always be created unless complex rule sets are created and applied on the calendar.

For me as a host, I will never reject a booking request based on this. But I don't want to offend those hosts who do this because they need Airbnb income as the major source of income.

[Michelle-And-Michael0]

@Mike1034 I would be very happy and grateful with a booking from Saturday to Wednesday.... even if it meant losing a Friday night. 

We often get bookings with one or two nights of gaps in between. Sometimes we block them off, just so that we can have some breathing space! 

[Mike1034]

@Michelle-And-Michael0 Hosts with properties in busy location like near Disneyland have much more greater chance getting fully booked. This might be one of the reasons that they did not care my four days booking which would have given them over $1200.

[Emilia42]

One of the many reasons why I stick to instant book.

[Mark116]

@Emilia42  You find this is better?  Maybe we will try it, since we've already found that our guests this years seem much more about just wanting a cheaper place to stay and not interested in any tips from the locals, or even bothering to respond to messages, but I'm still very wary of IB because they we would have literally zero interaction with the guests to get any sense of them or their trip purpose, etc.

[Emilia42]

@Mark116, 

When I wrote this I was thinking more in terms of a guest. I've "requested to book" with hosts before only to receive no response or be declined which sets my traveling arrangements back sometimes by 24 hours. When I instant book and the reservation is automatically confirmed, I can check the accommodations off my list and move on.

But I am a host who loves instant booking and wouldn't use Airbnb without it. I am a friendly person who likes to chitchat but my favorite guests are those who book, show up, pay me, enjoy, and leave with little contact. For me, their payment, and getting to keep it (you never know with Airbnb these days) is enough of a 'thank you.' 

The main reason I like it is because when guests instant book they are confident enough in their decision to book my place based on my photos, price, and maybe description. That makes me confident. The only times I have been contacted by guests who didn’t bother to instantly confirm are guests who are asking me to bend my rules or price or wanting things that my listing does not offer. There are going to be times when guests are not very responsive, but that can happen once a reservation is accepted as well. I always ask people what brings them to the area, and I’ve always gotten a response at some point. The only time I have had some problems is when I dropped my price, but that had nothing to do with instant book.