Guest enquiry the day before

[Monika218]

Hi guys,

I was wondering how to handle guest enquiries (not requests) sent the day before the enquired date (it happened to us yesterday and it was actually already after 6pm) -

as they have 24 hours to confirm after you pre-approved them, it pretty much is a waiting game... And the time they legally have to confirm the booking makes it come way into the actual day they enquired about (also makes it impossible to plan and get everything ready in time)...

I mean you can assume when you do not hear back within a couple of hours they most likely booked somewhere else, but you just don´t know for sure!

Any tips? Cancelling the pre-approval after a couple of hours?

Monika

[Gillian19]

@Monika218 Don't pre-approve them. Tell them to submit a booking request if they want to book. Then you don't have to do anything until they decide to commit to your property. I find enquiries rarely convert to a booking so best not to spend amuch time on them!

[Monika218]

Thanks Gillian, I think you are right! Enquiries don´t make much sense to me anyway...

[Sarah977]

@Monika218 I actually get quite a few Inquiries and most of those have turned into bookings, unless the guest is asking for something I don't provide, in which case I let them know that they should look for another place that meets their needs. Usually the guest wants to know something that they didn't find specifically addressed in the listing description (it's impossible to anticipate every question a guest might have) or they just want to get a sense of whether they'd feel comfortable with me as a host, since it's a shared home situation. I don't mind these at all.

But I do have a 3 day advance notice for bookings. This cuts down on stress level of last minute bookings (I have a full time job, so I can't just blow off meetings with clients or jobs I have a deadline on to drop everything and prepare for a guest). I'd rather not be fully booked than stressed out 🙂

And I've read some posts here from hosts who've had last minute bookings in which the guest's payment never went through, so they ended up hosting for free, so that's a consideration around last-minute bookings as well.

[Monika218]

Hi Sarah, thanks for your reply! 🙂 I would not mind them asking for something specific either, but in this case it was just if our place is available - so I guess this was sent out to several hosts... and we have 24 hours in advance booking by request (like you I would not want the stress of last minute or instant booking), that´s why I was actually surprised to get an enquiry after 6pm the day before... is that possibly what you mentioned about last minute bookings where the payment did not go through because it was past the minimum in advance time...?

[Sarah977]

@Monika218  Well, it seems weird to ask if it's available, when they can see that the date is available on your calendar. 

Yes, I think the not getting paid thing was because the guest has 24 hours to have their payment verified and they arrived before that period had passed. Why Airbnb allows this is unfathomable. 

[Victoria567]

Hi there

I do IB and sometimes I get an enquiry to book.

I pre approve but I do NOT block the day which means other folk can jump in and IB.

Well that's my understanding of the process anyway.

[Mel101]

Unless I have concerns or it is evident that my space is unsuitable for the guest, I usually reply with a pre-approval, but I always tick the option to continue to show the date as available. In my response to the enquirer, I make sure to let them know that this does not confirm their booking, and that the next steps are on them. I have about a 60% conversion onthis,but other guests can still book, and it's first come first served.

[Robin4]

@Monika218

Monika, pre-approvals are low value business. Many potential guests who use the pre-approval feature will seek out another 9 hosts in the area before deciding on which one they will accept. 

Although I do at times issue a pre-approval, I very rarely have a pre-approval proceed to a booking!

As @Victoria567 says, do not block your calendar from other bookings, if they are serious they would jump to a reservation as soon as you answered their question.

Guests who want answers to their questions in many instances don't turn out to be good guests to host!

Cheers.......Rob

[Monika218]

Thanks Robin, valid points!! 🙂

that´s what my gut feeling told me - guests who enquire instead of requesting to book did not really choose specifically me and our place but don´t really care where they are staying and I don´t want that!