Declining resverations

David64
Level 4
Yarmouth, ME

Declining resverations

My unit is listed as having beds for 3 people. There is 1 queen bed and 1 twin bed. I keep getting requests for parties of 4 or more. They say someone will sleep on the couch or a sleeping bag on the floor.  I really do not want that. Is declining these inappropriate requests going to affect my listing?

2 Replies 2
Clare0
Level 10
Templeton, CA

@David64 I have the same problem.  My house has a queen and two twin beds and my maximum is 4 guests.  I don't want people sleeping on the couch either.  On rare occasions when I have all men or all women guests and two of them don't want to double up on the queen bed, I have an airbed to accomodate them at no extra charge.  Perhaps you should amend your listing description to be sure to get accross the message that the your max is 3 people.  I put it in my house rules which I require guests to confirm that they have read and agree to  before I accept a reservation request.  

Question: Is your nightly price per person or the price for up to 3 people in your home?  Perhaps you are getting so many requests because it is unclear. 

As for declining affecting your listing status, some hosts say yes, others no.  It hasn't affected mine and I have acheived Super Host status.  If I am not comfortable with a request, I decline it without regards to possible consequences.  My priority is my peace of mind. 

Hope this helps a bit!

Stephanie6
Level 10
Boulder, CO

@David64, I agree with @Clare0.  My understanding is that airbnb tries to figure out which guests will be a good match for you based on the reservations you accept and decline.  Given that you don't want reservations for more than 3 guests, it should help to decline those requests and maybe your listing will not show up as prominently in search results for 4+ guest requests.  See more info here:

 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/360/am-i-allowed-to-decline-reservation-requests