Enquiry vs Request

[Nikki243]

Hello,

A potential guest sent an enquiry for 14 nights, informing me she will confirm within 24 hours and I pre-approved.

Meanwhile, another guest sent a request for 4 nights, overlapping some dates.

I wrote to the first guest to inform her I need a reply and a confirmed reservation within a few hours, however, I just realised that the 14 nights are now not available on the Calendar.

If my first potential guest confirms her 14-night stay, I believe it is more fair to accept her, especially after pre-approving and giving her 24 hours to confirm (which expire in 4.5 hours). 

If the first guest confirms her wish to book, should I decline the second guest's request? I wouldn't want this to affect my status.

Is it normal for a request to override a pre-approved enquiry?

Thank you for all the help you can provide as soon as possible, given the urgency.

Kind regards,

Nikki 

[Laura2592]

This may be helpful:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/VIDEO-Inquiry-vs-Request-What-s-the-Difference/m-p/76965...

Maybe we should do a sticky on this question as it gets asked a lot? Or do a post in the "New Hosts" forum? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nikki243 When you pre-approve an inquiry there is (or used to be) an option to hold the dates. As you didn't (couldn't) do this the request has come in with overlapping dates. One thing to bear in mind is that people can and do make multiple inquiries many of which come to nothing.

Until you reject the booking request I guess the dates will not be available for the inquiry. I have no idea if the inquiry guest has been told the dates are no longer available!

[Nikki243]

Thank you for your replies. 

I watched the video - Thank you @Laura2592 

I was aware of the difference, however, I didn't expect a request to override an enquiry, especially a pre-approved one, particularly when instant booking is not offered.

I will now look out for the option to hold the dates, which is not ideal if someone else wants to make an enquiry and the first falls through.

Ideally, the calendar is not blocked until a reservation is confirmed either by the guest OR the host. In this case, the host is at a disadvantage and i find that unfair.

I will inform the second guest of the situation and I will hopefully not lose them both.

Thank you once again for your help and input.

Much appreciated.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nikki243 You say  'Ideally, the calendar is not blocked until a reservation is confirmed either by the guest OR the host. In this case, the host is at a disadvantage and i find that unfair. '

I don't agree. You can unblock your calendar very easily by rejecting the booking request. What you cannot do, quite sensibly, is hold on to the 4 day booking request in the hope that the 14 day inquiry turns into a booking. To do so would be incredibly unfair to the guest who made said booking request. The way you are going you will likely lose both - deservedly so. 

[Nikki243]

We'll have to agree to disagree.

I believe a blocked calendar should only occur when both parties agree & confirm.

You interpreted my statement as one of hope - it was merely out of respect on an agreed 24-hour window.

[Sarah977]

@Nikki243  It isn't advisable to hold dates for an inquiry. You will lose a lot of bookings that way. Inquirers are most often tire-kickers. They'll love you to hold the dates  while they shop around, then they'll book something else and you'll lose the request booking. Plus if you decline the request, that will count against you.

If an inquirer isn't ready to book after you pre-approve, too bad for them. First guest ready to commit and pay gets the dates.

[Nikki243]

Pre-Covid I would have agreed 100%.

Currently, the majority have been through hard times & I generally base my decisions on respect, good vibes, circumstances & time frames.

Occasionally, we all get it wrong & learn.

[Sarah977]

There's also nothing wrong with letting a guest who inquires and sounds serious about wanting to book know that if a request comes in before they actually book (assuming you've pre-approved) that it takes precedence over an as yet unbooked inquiry.

I once got an inquiry from a woman who sounded really cool and a good fit for my home-share. She had a couple of great reviews and we had exchanged a couple of messages and hit it off, joking around a bit about things, had a similar sense of humor.

I didn't hear back from her for 4 or  5 days, so I messaged her back to say no pressure, I just wondered if she still was interested in booking, as the tourist season was heating up and I was starting to get quite a few bookings, so I couldn't guarantee the dates she had wanted would be available much longer.

She wrote back right away, explained that she has a fear of flying (even though she flies somewhere about once a year), so always procrastinates on the plane ticket, but that yes, she still totally wanted to come, so thanks for putting a little fire under her butt. She bought the ticket, and booked my place within half an hour.

She ended up being one of my favorite guests and we still keep in touch.

[Nikki243]

Update:

I asked the first guest to confirm within 4 hours (expiry of the 24 hour window) as I had received a reservation request.

I informed the second guest that I was awaiting confirmation from the first guest &asked if he could kindly wait 4 hours for confirmation - he willingly confirmed he would.

2 hours later, the first guest confirmed she couldn't go ahead with her plans so I immediately accepted the second guest & it turned out to be win-win situation.

I might have risked where others wouldn't have - and that's ok.