Does it ever hurt to ask?

[Inna22]

I have a guest who has been asking for lots of things I don't and can't offer. I hate saying no to guests. It sets off the wrong tone before they even move in. I have offered her full refund since this is clearly not a good match.

She is now on the second round of asking for same things but with a slightly different angle. When I point it out "I know we have gone over this and I am sorry if I did not make it clear..." she replies "I know we did but never hurts to ask". Well, it does hurt! It hurts my brain to come up with endless PC responses, it hurts me emotionally because I am bracing for a negative review and it hurts my hands to keep typing my answers

[Anonymous]

@Inna22  if you tried to make a Venn diagram of "people who ask for a discount in their original request" and "people who believe it never hurts to ask something unreasonable" you'd be left with only one circle.

Either decline these bookings, or keep a strong stomach for rude demands and bad reviews. 

[Inna22]

@Anonymous I could not agree more. I told her straight forward it was not a good match before she booked. I also stopped replying to her. I was shocked to receive the reservation. 

[Fred13]

Stage 2 is set - treat her with a cordial, but icy demeanor till she walks out the door; she will leave a good review.

[Anonymous]

@Fred13 wouldn't it be awesome if a well deserved icy demeanor somehow guaranteed a great review? I have no idea how mthat would work in reality, but it's a fun thought.

In practice, though, you don't want to give manipulative people an upper hand - they smell blood if they think you're worried about your review.

@Inna22 even if you're totally convinced that Instant Book is a good idea, you know you can always turn it off for a few days when you know someone really crap is about to use it... 

[Inna22]

@Anonymous what a simple but brilliant idea. It never crossed my mind to shut off IB for a couple of days when a message from a guest is blinking "danger". I will absolutely use it

[Fred13]

There are no guarantees in life, but I have yet to meet the person that would even think I am  worried in the least about their particular review, because I am really not. No reason to be since I make sure I do my part, which just happens to always exceed the guest's expectations. The day it doesn't for whatever shortcoming they have, it would be 1/500 and what would it really matter.

[Kelly149]

and if @Inna22 were charging your rates @Fred13 she'd probably be happy to take a little more flack from the guest...

I wonder if that's a possible solution to the unreasonable requesting, discount hounding guest, just call them out on how cheap they're being...

"dear xyz, it seems that you have a case of champagne tastes on a beer budget. Would you like to adjust your requests or your budget?"

[Fred13]

What is funny @Kelly149 that because of our rates ($700-$1100 a day) it encourages us to always be creative, to re-invest and to treat every single guest preciously which we really do since they are paying a king's ransom; yet because it is so profitable it affords not to have to put up with anyone's hustling.

So I guess you could say we are - "The nicest hard-working giving people you will ever meet, but with an attitude". Lol

[Laura2592]

I have this in my online business as well as my Airbnb. There is a certain type of person who is not happy unless they have gotten a "deal"-- whatever that means to them.

This is my response to "it never hurts to ask"--

"Thanks for your interest. Our amenities/price/policies/whatever is/are firmly based on what is possible for us to provide.  Its certainly not unreasonable to want to find a place that has all of what you are looking for but offers a lower nightly price/higher occupancy/different amenities/whatever. Unfortunately that is not something we can provide. I wish you the best in finding the right place for your stay and thanks for checking out our cottage! Its been a pleasure speaking with you and I am sorry we are not a fit for your needs. "

[J-Renato0]

@Inna22 

You can phone Airbnb and ask Airbnb to cancel without any penalty in that case, meaning,  when you do not feel comfortable hosting some guest.

(It is not possible only if you have used these feature too many times.)

[Lisa5829]

I know people who live by the concept "It doesn't hurt to ask". Those are the type of friendships that are exhausting, but they often get what they want.  Meanwhile I try not to ask for anything so there is a lot I probably miss out on.

[Sarah977 · Accepted solution]

@Lisa5829 There's a big difference between not being shy to ask for what you want and asking for what you want after you've already been made aware that your request can't or won't be accommodated.

 In the first case, those who feel intimidated about asking for things that would be beneficial to them, do indeed miss out on things- it's often a matter of self-esteem and feeling like you don't deserve to have whatever it might be, or that you don't want to be perceived as a bother.

In the second case, those people are just entitled, self-absorbed and annoying.

For instance, if I were a guest, I would ask a host if they would be amenable to not using dryer sheets or heavily perfumed detergents on the sheets and towels if I were to make a booking with them, because those chemical scents really bother me. They are free to say no, and then I simply wouldn't book with them.

But if their ad stated that they don't accept pets, I wouldn't then ask them to make a special exception and let me come with my dog.