Communication by people enquiring about renting my house

[Fiona294]

It would be useful if Airbnb gave more guidance to people who want are looking for places to stay.  I rent my home and leave strangers in my home which I care about.  If people fail to provide any information about themselves or send a terse request to rent my house such as "do you have parking?" or "I want to rent your house" - failing to introduce themselves - explain why they want to visit and who is coming I will turn them down.  Surely the very least they can do is write a polite request?!

[Alexandra316]

@Fiona294 You would think that, but for some, it seems that manners are something that happen to other people. Airbnb does instruct people to send you a polite welcome message already: some people just don't bother.

When they go to send a request, the system says:

Say hello to your host

Let Hosty McHostface know a little about yourself and why you’re coming.

Any failures in manner s fully belong to the guest.

[Emilia42]

@Fiona294

You would hope so, but people still do not answer questions as instructed by Airbnb. I think it is up to the host to start a conversation with the guests as a way to “screen” them and get these questions answers, as well as educate them. Airbnb wants to streamline bookings as can be seen with instant book. Hotels and vacation rentals don’t give a hoot as to why you’re coming and with whom so many people think Airbnb should be the same. I ask the guests these questions and let them know that the more I know about them and their stay the more I can better help plan for their trip. (i.e correct # of towels and drinks left in the fridge, special treat for celebrating an anniversary, tips for which area/attractions they are visiting.) The people who give me the most info ultimately have the better stay. I make sure to put in their review too that they “messaged me with all the facts.”

[John1080]

@Fiona294, I've found that those potential guests requesting a stay who lack basic communication skills also often lack the skills to clean up after themselves or to be good guests overall.  

I have gotten to where I deny those who send messages like that because of prior negative experiences with those who do not communicate well. 

[Fiona294]

This is all very useful and interesting conversation.   Renting one's home requires trust and shouldn't be seen by guests as just a cheap alternative to an hotel.  Screening potential guests is not always easy and I am happy to say that thus far I have not faced problems.  Emilia's approach is certainly one to aim for!

[Rebecca181]

@Fiona294 Airbnb appears to be distancing itself from home shared hosting in favor of hostless, commercially managed properties that are more similar to staying in a hotel. So I think that you will see this trend continue - us hosts being treated like hotel desk clerks. This means we hosts will need to gently educate our guests, especially those that are new to AIrbnb who do not understand the original community-based, home sharing culture.

I build many screening tools and guest requirements into my listings, which I am able to successfully use to ensure I feel comfortable with prospective guests even when I had Instant Book on. If they cannot follow my instructions as listed in my House Rules (complete profile; Government ID; purpose of trip; who they are bringing, etc) then I have no problem declining the booking. When the guest Instant Books, I simply let them know nicely that they need to go back and read my House Rules and meet my booking requirements to hold their reservation. I have only had one or two instances where the guest cancelled their booking after reading my House Rules - and that's a good thing, as far as I'm concerned.

So you might think of doing something similar - We should never have to feel uncomfortable with who is staying in our home; unfortunately, these days it seems that Airbnb wants to pressure hosts into accepting any and all guests into our home. It's therefore up to us to say "no" when we do not have a good feeling about a booking or request.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Fiona294

I've had a couple inquiries like that as well.....each time I was quick to reply with a "I feel you will not be a good fit for my home and what I offer since you clearly did not bother read my listing description or house rules. Please book somewhere else more suited to your needs." then I usually block them. 

I care about who I let into my home - and make sure guests know this. If a guest can't bother to introduce themself and explain the purpose of their trip to me, they don't deserve to stay in my home. They can go stay in a hotel. 

[John1080]

@Jessica-and-Henry0, that's right. I can almost always tell through initial contact what kind of guest a particular person will be and if they cannot even take a moment to introduce themselves, they truly are better suited for a hotel.

[Linda-And-Richard0]

Guests that offer no up front information seem to be all too frequent.  Those get a quick response from me asking for number of guests, reason for trip to the area and so on.  Worst are those with some photo of a dog something other than themselves as their profile photo. 

[Jackie277]

I have just had to cancel a booking for reasons being discussed.   My guests opening sentence was "How far is it to the centre".   If she had read the listing that question was answered in the first sentence. There was no introduction, nothing about her or who else would be coming or why they were coming.  Nothing about looking forward to the trip or thanking me for letting her stay.   I sent two messages with updates on the listing and one asking for more information about the guest.  I gave it 24 hrs but did not recieve a reply, so I cancelled the booking.  The guest claimed EB&B had not sent her any messages.    I felt very uncomfortable about the lack of friendliness, manners and information.