I had a guest instant book for a checkin today. We have a st...
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I had a guest instant book for a checkin today. We have a strict 4pm checkin time & they showed up at 2:15 saying they chose ...
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Along with many other hosts, I resisted and dreaded potential unwanted consequences of Instant Booking. Being in control of that acceptance button gave me a feeling of security in choosing whom to accept and whom not. With all the rumors around about IB getting better placements, less bookings reported across the board by many hosts, etc. I gave the issue a lot of thought and experimented a bit by going in and out of IB.
Here is where I stand now:
1.) Aibnb makes the rules not us hosts, and IB is clearly pushed to the forefront by them. almost comical how they wanted to keep me on IB when I switched back to "regular"hosting, listing all these wonderful advantages of IB, like do I really want to give that up? Bottom line: resisting IB will not go anywhere or benefit us as hosts.
2.) I had 3 guests with IB and there was no difference in their "quality" from guests without IB, so I recognized that I am dealing with my own anxieties about it, not getting "worse" guests than before. It is my listing that attracts, or discourages, the kind of people I want or don't want.
3.) A potential benefit of IB: aside from possibly (not proven though, as my viewing numbers did not change) getting more bookings, there will be less of these frustrating inquiries about my place, only to never hear from these people again: Last time I got such an inquiry, also asking (very nicely) for my address, I immediately wrote back within 5 minutes, reassuring the people that my place is exactly where the circle indicates it on the map, residential but very easy to get to and referred back to my listing and pictures. As soon as I had submitted my response, within seconds I get a notification from Airbnb that these people don't require my assistance any longer. What a waste of one's time those tentative inquiries are quite often, especially if one's listing is very clear and precise.
4.) Overall, the trend is to less and less communication between host and potential guests. Clearly, the "new" expectation is to just book a place...many guests don't have anything in their profile, and in case they do have reviews, how reliable are they? I have seen it often enough that hosts complain here about guests, yet give them glowing reviews. So really, how much can we actually accurately predict a guest's behavior and attitude through the few messages exchanged? Problematic people will probably know how to appear as trustworthy and holding on to that "accept" button most likely gives us a false sense of security, nothing more.
5.) However, to effectively deal with IB, I did put a few extra requirements into my house rules, like requiring a clear profile picture: Airbnb lets people get away with NOT having a clear picture but logos, etc. not good enough in my opinion, so I put it into my rules. I am encouraged that Airbnb clearly states that IB bookings need to comply with my house rules, otherwise I can cancel penalty free. I tend to take them by their word on this! Explaining to them why a certain guest makes me uncomfortable shouldn't be too difficult.
6.) So for now, I am going with IB, testing the waters. But if I run into a bad experience because of it, I certainly will go back tomthe old booking style. As my place is a self contained space away from my personal living space, I know it is much easier for me to try out IB than for hosts who are truly sharing their accomodations.
Thoughts anyone?
