Do hosts get penalized for declining unqualified guests?

Yan3
Level 10
Hong Kong

Do hosts get penalized for declining unqualified guests?

Dear fellow hosts,

 

I'm sure this question has come up previously, but I'm relatively new to hosting and couldn't find a definitive answer for this.  Anyway, I have a question about pre-approving/declining guests.  Do we get penalized (i.e. lower search rankings) if we decline inquiries from unqualified guests who do not meet house rules?  I have gotten a few requests recently which were just begging to be declined:

 

1.  Booking attempts with number of people more than my place can accommodate for.

2. Inquiries from people who don't read house rules (no pets, no children, etc.)

3. People who attempted to communicate outside of Airbnb before a reservation is made.

4. People who don't respond after their first inquiries.

5. Lowballers asking for deep discounts.

 

I understand that I must respond within 24 hours, but is responding to the initial inquiry enough to avoid getting penalized?  Do we have to press "Decline" for it to be considered a full response?  Does declining an inquiry lower my search rankings?

 

Thanks,

Yan

 

 

43 Replies 43
ZenHomes0
Level 10
Singapore

@Yan3 I can't give you a definitive answer, but I'd just respond to the guest that they're unsuitable. I never really decline because of this uncertainty, and it makes no difference to just respond and leave it as it is. It's like the guest asked you a question and found someone else instead - I don't see how this can affect your search ranking. But clicking decline could be another matter... not too sure. Hope someone else can shed light on this.

Mark-TP0
Level 2
Ramsgate, United Kingdom

Adam.

 

I was hoping Airbnb would shed some light on this subject.

 

Mark


@ZenHomes0 wrote:

@Yan3  I don't see how this can affect your search ranking.

 

 


Airbnb has very sophisticated algorithm they can make anything and everything affect your search ranking.

@ZenHomes0 

 

It impacts your search ranking, because *not concluding the sale*  impacts your conversion rate.

Airbnb tracks the % of all the people who:

- saw your listing 
then
- clicked on your listing
then
- read your details for 43 or however many seconds
then
- created a profile or logged in
then
- inquired or requested to book

How many did you accept, how many did you refuse?  These metrics are the abc basics to any kind of web marketing.  You can be sure they are impacting your search ranking and also influencing who your listing is being shown to (which is a good thing, if you decline they will try not to show you to that profile of guest anymore...).

Ed-and-Hugh0
Level 10
Miami, FL

@Yan3 The occasional decline will not hurt your rankings. If you find that you have to decline for the same reason multiple times, you might treat that as an opportunity to improve the listing to make things more clear to potential guests.

@Ed-and-Hugh0 @Yan3 @Alfredo16 @Angela104 @ZenHomes0

 

I do think Airbnb might penalize for declines. I declined 3 reservations because they have children.  They booked without asking any questions they just mentioned they had children or babies in their message sent with the booking.  I have noticed, after I decline a reservation, that my listing has no views and no reservations!  Coincidence?  Or broad, rough-hewn, undiscerning algorithm at work? Glitch? 

 

I list "no children" always have. I have clicked their new button as well "no children" (but I got even more children reservations for a bit) and I even added no one under 18 years old, as children only covers up to 14 years old and some people think babies are not children!

 

It really is anyone's guess at to what one is penalized for and tough to find out when an algorithm decides the fate of one's listing.

 

 

 

 

 

Mark-TP0
Level 2
Ramsgate, United Kingdom

I fear this has answered the question Airbnb  hasn't.  Demon algorithms at work for people to follow. 

I send a special offer of an amount that I think will cover my risk along with a message saying why I'm doing it.  Then I suggest they retract their request so they don't get hit with the 50% penalty that would be due me since they would be tryhing to cancel within 5 days.

This is a BRILLIANT idea - the best in this thread, and I never thought of this!  We occasionally have a request for a shorter duration than we allow, and I'm always worried about declining for the same reasons as others.  But the idea of responding with the full 7 night rental rate as the offer is an elegant and effective solution.  Thanks!

FYI, I just spent some time on the phone with Airbnb because I couldn't find the "Special Offer" button.  I appears that now, you only get the opportunity to offer a special offer if the guest has "inquired", rather than putting in a firm reservation request.   If they have actually put in a request, you have no choice but to either accept, decline, or try to convince the guest to withdraw the request.   You can decline them and then make a special offer, and Airbnb says that will then negate the Decline, but I'm skeptical  of that - and if the guest does not accept the special offer, you are stuck with a decline, which, again Airbnb will not definitively say will not imact your ratings.  I strongly recommended that they add the special offer option to reservation requests as well (I believe that was there at one point).  If more hosts request this, perhaps they will make this change, though I increasingly believe that they don't care what hosts think - they just want to lubricate transactions so they happen quickly and easily and they get their revenue.

Airbnb pays a huge amount of money to bring guests through the conversion funnel and finally arrive at a booking request.
When a host trashes the investment it took to arrive at that booking or inquiry,  (conversion rate!), for any reason, even if they tell you they are going to run a drug ring out of your house, you will be declining a technically "valid" reservation.  The result of marketing, advertisment, website investment, etc etc that brought that person to you and then you refused.
So yes it's not fair but I am absolutely certain the conversion rate will determine if your property will be visible and promoted or not.

 

This is a huge problem.
Same as you I list "not child friendly" and receive many booking request (so not just inquiries but people have provided credit card and agreed to payment!) 
People just think it 's OK to book with kids are very surprised when we hosts have legitimate reservations.

Guests should get a special pop p message to converse with the host directly about children and babies before booking.

I for one will be now taking an extra security deposit to cover the small breakage and extra cleaning, unplannned late check out impacting the next guest, etc,

that invariably  occur when people with small children arrive.

I have had a number of requests where the guest is "just looking" (do they do that on Airbnb?  Surely they are serious) or they have nort read the clear insttructions.  

 

I write to setting out the situation and they say thanks but don't withdraw the booking request.  Airbnb (as it should) then writes to me pressing for confirmation.  It then writes again suggesting that I really should reply within 24 hours and reminding me that not responding will drive rankings down.

 

The question asked is does declining requests like this (which will never come to anything) affect my rankings.

 

Some people will not be able to or be unwilling to read even a well written listing and it could affect my business and relationship with Airbnb

@Mark-TP0   re: Requests.   Now, I never decline requests, I send a message alone -   Airbnb says in their article a message satisfies their requirement if sent within 24 hours.  In the past I did decline requests (inquiries) and I noticed it affected my listing. Also, a few inquiries even moved to the  'late/no reply' area even though it is plain to see in the message threads that I replied, and  a few times, within 24 hours (in fact within a couple of hours)  and the guests had said they had found elsewhere. 

So sorry, no definite answer on this one either. I am not sure there will ever be one due to Airbnb's constantly 'evolving' algorithms that act like trawl nets on the ocean floor that often include the wrong 'catch'.