Booking request w/out ID and reviews, what to do ?

Booking request w/out ID and reviews, what to do ?

Hi,  I have the requirement for guests to have a govt issued ID and reviews, but I've gotten another request to book. Person has no photo, is new to Airbnb, message was just  'Hello, my siblings and I am are coming to (my town) to celebrate my sister's birthday. We'd love to stay in your place, looking forward to it!"

 

I'm sure he would provide an ID if I asked, but how do I ask for more information when they are new to Airbnb?

 

What happens if you decline a booking request like this when you have the booking requirements for ID and reviews?  Or is it like an inquiry where all you have to do it respond, but don't decline?

 

Is a photo not required to book (I'm not clear on the new photo policy)?

 

Just don't feel comfortable with no photo,  no reviews,  no govt ID (though I can likely get that -- won't book without it). Just not much info.

 

Any advice on this? Thanks!

9 Replies 9
Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Jennifer1351

 

The first rule is if you don't feel comfortable then decline the booking enquiry or request.

 

However, more than half of our guests are new to AirBnB and without exception have been lovely people.

 

If you are only uncomfortable because you can't see a pic, then ask them to upload one, and ask questions whatever questions you want to make you feel comfortable.

 

I believe it's only with IB that the 'reviews' parameter kicks in - so people who don't meet all of your criteria can still contact you with an enqiry. Declining one is not going to have any effect on your rating - multiple declines in a row (I think it's around 10) will have an impact.

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@Jennifer1351, @Gerry-And-Rashid0 are correct. These criteria only apply to Instant Book. If someone sends a booking request, all they need are the Airbnb standard requirements (phone number, email address, payment information, and agreement to house rules). A photo is NOT required by Airbnb (although you can now specify that they must have this on your IB settings). The new 'no photo' policy relates to the fact that hosts cannot see guest photos until the booking is confirmed (so in this particular case, they may well have a profile photo, but you just can't see it!)

 

If this is something you're concerned about, you can add to your house rules that all guests who request to book must have a profile photo and verified government ID (that they also need to show you on arrival).

 

Regarding reviews, if they are newbies to the site, they won't have any, but this doesn't automatically mean they will be bad guests.

 

In this particular instance, maybe continue chatting with them to get a feel, and if you feel comfortable accepting their request, explain to them first that you only accept requests from people with a profile photo and government ID. If they are happy to upload this information, go ahead and accept.

 

If you are not comfortable with the request, or they do not want to upload photo/ID, then just decline the request (and explain to them why you are declining). You won't be penalised for the occasional decline.

 

Hope this helps!

Thank you for the information @Kath9 and @Gerry-And-Rashid0!

So with instant book the reviews and govt ID requirements don't really apply it sounds like. They will still have my listing show up and then I have to decide to accept or not. That's odd that we have the option to make these requirements, but with IB it doesn't really matter. 

Good point about putting the requirements in the house rules. That's good to know that an occasional decline is okay.

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@Jennifer1351, no, with Instant Book, the requirements DO apply (according to how you've set them up). You can set your requirements for Instant Book under Booking Settings. For example, my Instant Book settings require all guests to have government-issued ID and recommendations from other hosts. You can also require a profile photo here. If people have these things, then they can book instantly WITHOUT sending you a request. Many hosts don't like IB and dont have it switched on, but that's up to you.

 

For booking REQUESTS, these criteria don't necessarily apply, but you can specify in your listing/house rules that you require guests to have these.

Ben551
Level 10
Wellington, New Zealand

Hi @Jennifer1351 - what @Kath9 says is correct. 

 

The Instant Book settings give you an option to require a Governmnet ID, photo, and past positive reviews.  I use IB and have the first 2 ticked in my requirements and it seems to work well for my market.

 

Guests that don't meet my IB requirements occasionally send me a manual reservation request or enquiry.  If I don't want to make an exception, I decline a Reservation request  (no consequence because the system knows it didn't match my IB criteria and sees it as validation of an already suspect booking). 

 

Or, for an Enquiry, if I don't want to progress with it I just reply in words to tell them no thanks.  I don't tick  "pre-approve" or "decline" on Enquiries, I just reply in words to maintain 100% response rate. Clicking decline on enquiries does some messed up internal stuff that results in your listing being slammed in search results, so watch out for that one...

 

@Kath9and @Ben551 thank you for the clarification. I understand it now. I can still decline if I want without penality since they didn't meet my requirements. Good to know. It can be a little awkward when you get these new people with no reviews and not much info. But the person I was originally posting about I did accept - he got the ID and seems fine.

BTW@Ben551 I really like how you designed your kitchenette. I have about the same amount of space and you've given me some inspiration!

Ben551
Level 10
Wellington, New Zealand

@Jennifer1351 I’m glad you got it all sorted - I found this part of the learning curve quite steep to start with. Oddly, I’m much more confident using Instant Book than the manual screening method. It’s personal preference, but I’m pleased with it.

 

Oh great! I’m glad the kitchen inspired! I built it myself and it didn’t cost much. The wall mounted cabinets up top are made of free pallet wood I upcycled. I also got the tiles free from a demolition pile at our “second treasures” recycle centre. If you are handy, I recommend giving it a go. My wife enjoyed helping me (she’s pretty good with the belt sander and drill) and it was all done for less than NZD $1500 and 1 weekend.

 

One thing to note - although we used a small sink to give the illusion of more bench space, it means there is no draining board for drying dishes. As we have no dishwasher, this presented a challenge where water could run off piles of hand washed dishes, cling and curve around the lip, then run into the drawers below.  Mother-in-law discovered this issue when she stayed. So, before opening to guests, we bought a portable draining tray that we put in the cupboard underneath with the dish rack. It has a lip that extends into the sink to let the dish water run off and back into the sink. Guests have all had no problem working this out, so it’s totally solved the issue!

@Ben551That's so great that you upcycled items! I enjoy finding things to use that way as well. You made use of a small small well! I'll keep it in mind for sure. Thanks!

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Jennifer1351

On one of my listings I have those same requirements set. I have never declined a request to book unless I am uncomfortable with the guest’s message. I am not sold on Airbnb's 'verification process.' There have been few guests that I would not welcome back but in all cases they were verified with previous good reviews. 

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