Deep confusion about Declining an enquiry

[Harriet33]

I'm new to Air bnb and I've been reading up on the community forums etc about what happens when you decline an enquiry but I'm still really confused...

When you get an enquiry, do you HAVE to Pre-Approve or Decline it? I'm very good at communicating with my enquiries - I get back to them all almost immediately - like within a few minutes - and respond to all their questions and have a good dialogue with them back and forth, but sometimes they don't respond back again to my most recent message.... and then in the meantime, another guest has booked the dates they were enquiring after.  So what happens next - do I then have to Decline the original enquiry based on the fact their requested dates are no longer available? But will doing that penalise me? (I've read that declining too many enquiries can penalise your listing). Remember - it's an enquiry not a booking request.

Also, what if someone enquired if I would drastically reduce my price for the dates they want  - and I didn't want to (for a booking over Christmas 2018 - hello, it's 10 months away, why would I offer Christmas 2018 dates at half-price now?!). Do I then have to Decline them - and potentially get penalised?!

Finally, someone enquired whom I wasn't comfortable with (and asked a stupid question) - no profile picture, just joined Air Bnb February 2018, no verifcations or reviews. Again, if I decline their enquiry, will I be penalised?

What happens if I just ignore them?? They stay in my inbox marked in red, but do I get penalised for this as well?

Worried....

[Matthew285]

@Harriet33, it is a little confusing. You are wise to avoid pressing the "Decline" button; it does have some small effect, which gets worse if you Decline a lot of people.

Luckily, though, for Inquiries you do not have to either Pre-Approve or Decline them to fulfill your obligation as a host (and to keep a 100% Response Rate). Just send back a message via the AirBnB messaging system and the system will note that you did respond.

The Notification about the Inquiry will hang around in your Host Dashboard for about a week; you can ignore it until is goes away on its own.

Of course, the story is different for Reservation Requests. Those you do have to either Accept or Decline within 24 hours to maintain your Response Rate.

[Clara116]

@Harriet33 Hello and don't worry!!! it will all be OK.... so the big thing is and what I have read on Community here many times from those in THE KNOW - when someone asked for a discount - YOU don't want them and good chance they will be a problem for you right away. So You just politely respond and say sorry I do not offer discounts on ALREADY discounted wonderful prices that I offer or something like that.  You don't have to decline just SAY NO ---- and see if they still book. Bet they don't.....Always repeat what their request was when answering back. - Cause you want the message thread to be very clear and sometimes they will not respond and you don't need to decline or anything. If there is No Photo you tell them they must have a photo on their profile - some just can't figure it out and when you say you MUST they figure it out. I am curious what you mean a stupid question??? We have to be careful not to discriminate so a stupid question isn't grounds for rejection I'm afraid. I understand. I have had probably 25 people new to Airbnb as guest with no previous reviews and they were all fabulous and I got to show them how to be great guest and they have left wonderful reviews as well.  I haven't looked at your place yet but, NEVER bend your house rules - if you do folks will want more and more and more. just a word that is also spread on CC and I think those best host know what they are saying.  Happy Hosting, Clara

[Clara116]

 @Harriet33 WOW your places are beyond fabulous -and if you discount more you are totally NUTS! I don't get why you are so cheap - I know in the start we book cheaper but when you have such fabulously mind blowing places - I'd charge a bundle cause YOU want top people - and their is a saying on here "the cheap places get the towel thieves"......I haven't had that but a neighbor has a few times with her much bigger home and so cheap- she wanted to be the cheapest and book every night - NOT good. I will let my place stand empty before I dirt cheap rent it or bring in folks that will totally NOT respect it. Money does seem to make a difference somehow. I don't mean to sound discriminating but this is my experience and what I read, and have seen in action.  If I am ever back in your area I wanna stay in your awesome place. Blessings, Clara

[Sarah977]

@Harriet33  In addition to what the other posters have said, I recently got an inquiry (I don't use Instant Book) from someone who sounded like a guest I would want, but they didn't get back to me right away and in the meantime I got another inquiry or booking request for the same dates.

So I messaged the first potential guest, asking if she still wanted to book, as I had another request for the same dates, but wanted to make sure she had changed her mind before I accepted the new request. The original guest messaged me back right away, thanking me for letting her know, said she had been waffling because she has a fear of flying, but that she did still want to book and did it right away. Then I got back to the second inquiry, thanked them for their interest, and let them know that a guest who had inquired first actually just booked those dates. At no point did I click on Decline.

So there's a lot of different ways you can handle inquiries without any penalties.

[Helen267]

@Harriet33 I'm so glad you asked this - and thanks @Matthew285 for the excellent explanation. I'm facing a similar thing - a potential guest has made an enquiry, but she wants two nights instead of my minimum three for a weekend in high season. A few other details got my nose twitching - looks very young in her photo, member since 2016 but no trips booked or any reviews, maximum occupancy requested (8) but no details of other guests. So I replied nicely 'three night minimum', but now I keep getting messages from Airbnb prompting me to pre-approve or decline. Thanks to @Matthew285 I'll just ignore them until they go away!