Guests Who Do Not Read Entire Listings

[Russell68]

What can hosts and Airbnb do to  deal with guests who do not take the time to read and understand entire listings?

Sometimes they go on to cancel, ask for refunds, give bad reviews, blame the host etc.

Hosts spend a lot of time wording and rewording their listings.  Do you find it disappointing that some guests only read headlines, prices and a few other words?

[Emiel1]

@Russell68

These guest should be reported via some mechanism. For example an option to choose when you decline them, so it will affect somehow there rating. Which hopefully forces them to do their job ("read the entire listing !")  the next time before ever sending in a request again.

[Russell68]

Thanks for joining the conversation @Emiel1, I believe Airbnb in the past had a system of flagging guests who do things like this but the system was abandonned.

[Sandra126]

As your listing is unusual in that it doesn't offer a toilet, for instance, and that there may be others in the camper I suggest you do what some hosts practise successfully,  Momo in Hawaii for instance. Add a word or phrase which they must use in their enquiry to you. I think Momo's guests have to quote Willy Wonka or some such. If they don't do that, she knows they have not read the listing and will not book them until she is sure all is understood.

It is possible that your listing description can be edited down a bit tighter, but you only have one bad review that I can see. If your English was limited and you booked on price alone, a surprise awaits chez Russell.

[Lily24]

It seems to me that no matter how accurate and thorough I try to be in my listing description that there are times when guests don't seem to read everything through.  While I understand that guests may be quite harried when making a booking, I wish that more could be done to encourage potential guests to take their time and read the accommodation listing.  If there are any questions or concerns, they should be brought up prior to booking and not perhaps asked in a late night phone call when I've already gone to sleep.  😕

[Suzanne80]

Hello,

I'm a host in Northern California. The end of July I had 2 young women show up. Although the listing clearly states that any guests, more than one, will be charged an extra fee. I had to involve airbnb to resolve this issue, however, IF they had read the entire listing, this would have been avoided!

[Te0]

There is an option under Listing -> Pricing -> Extra charges you can use.

[Julia1]

I have noticed issues with the number of guests but found it was due to the system defaulting to one guest when they book - keep an eye on booking requests tomake sure they are booking for correct number as I ahd to ask a few to redo booking.

[Vic30]

Only been hosting for less than a year, have found myself adding more info when I have had some questions asked of me (after a booking is made in most cases!)- but recently found that even with the info provided, doesn't necessarily stop someone complaining in a review about the absence of something you've covered very clearly in listing! Guess all you can do is keep it tight, and the suggestion to follow Momo's idea (as mentioned by Sandra) seems great- altho still doesn't prevent a bad review, I guess!

I'm also a little (a lot really!!) peeved by AirBnB's technique of the host having to review the guest before being able to see the guest's review- think the hosts should be AirBnB's primary consideration- and even with a 'right of reply', the -unwarranted- damage has been done to the host's rating.

[Karen-And-Randy0]

Vic, we solved some of this by being sure to REPLY publicly to the guest's review, and always in a nice way. For example, someone visiting i the autumn mada comment like" lots of busineeses are closed in this area at this time of year" which was not at all the case. We responded something like, " we are sorry you arrived at a business and found it closed. Autumn is a popular time of year here. It is always good to phone ahead to check the hours of a business, and most of that information is in our notebook." It is a way to put the issue back onto the guest ( sorry you missed reading that we have a _______" ) etc. One AirBnB improvement IS that guests, by agreeing to rent, AGREE they have read and agree to your house rules....so this is where to list any particular idiosyncracies of your rental....then the responsibility is on the guest.

[JoAnn5]

I’m having a recurring situation: my space only works for one person because the space is small and the  bed is too small for two. 

I consistently get requests from couples asking to make an exception. When I say no and they don’t cancel their request, I have to decline which affects my rating. 

When i expressed that I didn’t think it was fair to get dinged, the rep said to be sure to make it clear and easy for them to see. I put it in the title: “cool and compact studio for single person” and sure enough the next inquiry was a couple asking for an exception! Lol! 

It sounds like they are working on this given a recent email I received.  

[Karen-And-Randy0]

Joann, we sometimes have the problem with a 2 person soace when they want to being 3 , or a dog, etc. When declining, an option os now " does not fit house rules", so be sure that your one peraon rule, no pet rule, etc. is listed in the house rules. Then you cannot be dinged or held liable.

[Sandra126]

@JoAnn5, accept the booking. It is for one, so accept for one. Then say ''Just making clear that you have understood that this reservation is for one guest. If you wish to rent a space for two guests, you will have to cancel this booking''

The guest has 48 hours to cancel penalty free. You will not have to decline (your listing will eventually be suspended, not to mention lowered in ranking). I have this all the time. AAARGHGHGHG. Make an exception pleasepleaseplease for my dog/10 extra guests/toddler. I have more declines under my belt than I want, so if it is possible, I accept.

[Paige73]

Sandra, you're a genius! That advice will really help decrease my declines! Thanks

[Paula515]

Complaints about sofa beds:

I have one queen sized bed and two sofa beds. on a smart phone it just says three beds. I had one or two complain in their review about the sofa beds. If they really read the detail it says 1 Q, 2 sofa beds.

Solved:

I began sending an immediate welcome message after I receive a booking where I say, "Just want to be sure you know there are two bedrooms, IQ bed, 1 sofa bed, and i sofa bed in living room. Most people write back saying that id fine. One out of ten cancel and say thanks for pointing that out. Sorry to cancel but our party does not want sofa beds. So everyone is happy.