Declining guests

[Lisa1655]

When declining a guest because of no verified photo idea, no profile and no reviews, do you suggest that we send the guest the reason for declining or just decline with no reason?

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Lisa1655 I am not sure what options they give you as it seems to be 'regional'. So unless you have a very specific concern, go for the most 'vague' or 'non-generic' option. You will not be penalised in your viewings by just refusing one booking request. Multiple booking requests can lead to suspension - however having spoken to AirBnB- they have no clear policy on what this means for hosts, nor for guests

[Emilia42]

@Lisa1655

As a guest I would want a reason for a decline. It could be a little insulting otherwise. Maybe then I would submit a government ID and try to book again or work with you to give you what you need to feel comfortable. Remember that everyone has to start somewhere and there are a lot of great guests out there without prior reviews. 

[Rebecca0]

@Lisa1655  I agree with @Emilia42 that it is basic courtesy to give a guest the reason why you're declining.

I must say that it seems a little off that you require a photo when you do not provide one yourself, also only email and phone number as verification.  I would book with you because your place looks nice and I don't really buy into all the "trust" thing.   But many guests wouldn't feel comfortable booking with someone with only a couple of reviews (albeit very nice!) and no verification.

On the flip side, of course, one could argue that a certain type of guest would be delighted to find you precisely because  you do not have these things.  They may think that you're not entirely serious about your business and therefore fair game for all kinds of nonsense.  Just a thought?

[Lisa1655]

Thanks so much Emilia for pointing that out!  I had forgotten to do the ID verification thing myself!  I've done it now.  We have only been renting our house out for one month and I am finding there is quite a learning curve.  Also we don't leave near our rental, and it's my elderly parents' house, so we want to make sure that anyone who rents it takes care of it.  So far we have had 4 happy wonderful guests.  However, we did decline two requests.... one was from a person whose request and profile just didn't make sense (we checked with Airbnb customer service and they agreed it was risky), the other one had negative reviews about leaving the place a mess and also arriving early and staying late without asking in advance.   In any case, thanks again for your comments and reminder.  It's great to have this community!

[Ann72]

Do you want to decline only because of the things you mentioned, or because you also don't like the tone of the messages?

If the messaging is on point, I wouldn't decline before asking them to fill out their profile a little more.  Give them a chance, as @Emilia42 said, because they might not realize how important that is to us. 

[Lisa1655]

The tone of the message was fine.  I didn't realize that you could respond to the message without clicking on Accept/Decline at the same time.  We are only one month into Airbnb and I am finding that there are a number of details we need to learn.  So thank you for your comment!  

[Kath9]

@Lisa1655, yes, I would definitely give a reason - it's just common courtesy. In fact, rather than necessarily declining, I would give them the chance to rectify the problem - explain that you only accept guests with a profile photo and verified ID and ask them to upload these things. If they don't do so within the 24-hour period, then you can decline. Don't forget that you start getting penalised after a certain number of declines. Also, we as hosts can't see profile photos anymore until a booking is confirmed.

Regarding reviews, everyone has to start somewhere so just because someone doesn't have any reviews doesn't mean they will be bad guests.

And I agree with @Rebecca0 that it is a bit ironic to expect people to provide a profile photo when you don't have one yourself!

[Lisa1655]

Thanks Kath for your email!  I didn't realize that I could respond with a message without choosing Accept/Decline.  Now I know so I will do it differently next time.  I am appreciating the knowledge or this community!