How can I block a guest from booking with me again?

[Christine--Sea-Lion-Prop0]

I had problems with a recent guest's group and do not want them to be able to book our home again.  I have "instant book" turned on, which has generally worked well for me.  I don't want this particular guest to be able to book again, but I don't want to turn "instant book" off for everyone else.

Is there a way of blocking or preventing a certain Airbnb guest from booking my place again?

Thanks, Christine

[Edy1]

Actually this option was  available two year ago and I personally have use it. I have the need for it once again but is not there any more. I called Airb&b thinking that I was looking in the wrong place but they told me that my only option is to no have instant booking. I don’t want to do that but I have no choice.

[Noel581]

same here, please add this option

[EcoVida0]

It's ridiculous that after all this time, this is not an option. Airbnb must understand that we are protecting our properties from those few people that are horrible guests and pose a threat to our assets and/or person.

[Catherine1093]

Hi, any advice welcome please. I had a fellow local superhost book for a one night stay to accommodate some of her extra family. She has stayed with us previously and messed us around a little with cancelling most of the dates on the original booking. We worked around this with no problem. 

Her recent stay was fine and the house was left clean and tidy. However she has left a review giving 4* . Stating the downstairs bathroom was a problem, this is clearly mentioned in the listing and she only stayed in 2019! I think the review  was left purposely to downgrade my feedback score. I do not want her to book again.  Thank you.

[Brenda859]

Airbnb really needs to put the blocking option back in place.  I, too, used it once a couple of years ago.  It gave me peace of mind when I had a very hostile guest.  I would like to use it now, as I just had a guest who filled the space with a huge weed cloud, even setting off the smoke alarms.  Today I am having to wash every cloth item in the unit, as the smell is in everything.  Our entire upstairs also smelled of pot and air fresheners that  the guest used to mask the smell.  Our listing clearly states no smoking, and we also have papers in the unit that specify this request. This guest is a local, and I  fear potential payback if I leave a negative review.  

Airbnb, PLEASE bring back the blocking option.  Hosts need protection!!!!

[Don-and-Kristy0]

I had a guest that tried to trow a party but I told her the people would have to leave. She had them leave. So i was happy and I gave her a good review. Then she turned around and gave me a bad (spiteful and untrue) review, saying: hair in tub hair in beds, house rules to strict... So all I want to do is block her. Hosts have been complaining for a long long time. Whats up with that Airbnb??

[Anthony608]

@Brenda859- I had a very similar situation with a homeless couple staying for about two weeks.  They had arrived a day early and tried to get into the house.  I gave them emergency accommodations in another room with the strict understand they would move into their regular room the following day at 11AM.  When the next morning came,. they were locked in the first room passed out and didn't move over to the new room until 1PM.  They then destroyed the second room, trash everywhere and food literally left dumped on the carpet instead of throwing it away.  On their last day, it took six hours after checkout to get them off the property and, to prevent them from loitering in my neighborhood, I drove their bags to their next AirBNB house (I won't ever do that again).

it was very clear these were local transients and were rotating through several AirBNBs.  They had actually retaliated against another host who left them a bad review so I was very tame in my review, but gave them very low stars and did not recommend them to stay again.  According to their profile, they stayed with one other woman, had similar issues, and there are no further ratings on their profile since then.

[Anais-Bijoux0]

Hi @Brenda859 

I know how you feel. I recently had another smoker, even after loading my Airbnb page and house with ''no smoking'' everywhere. This guest adamantly denied smoking, but said she sprayed the room. How stupid do these guests think we are? If she had to spray the room, she was obviously smoking. She also kept a plastic bag in the wardrobe for the cigarette butts, she also thought that would mask the smell. Other Hosts in this community centre have said that they fine guests who smoke. My last few guests have continuously left taps not just dripping, but running. Also left lights on in rooms when not in use. In Australia, we are mainly a large desert island with many droughts. Sure we have our fair share of rainfall and floods in certain regions, but the dams are rarely full or overflowing with drinking water. Some people don't seem to understand that Australia and the rest of the world's resources are scarce. I'm thinking of also fining for wasting water and electricity too. Some people take advantage - big time! We, also, are the ones who pay the utility bills, etc, not them.

Ciao for now

Anais.Bijoux.Art

[Anthony608]

I had a man who was obviously up to no good.  He had a registered address on his account less than 20 minutes away from where I lived, yet needed my room and was sending *frantic* messages about needing the room for a same day rental.  When I declined, he started sending very rude messages, but not really crossing the line into threats.  I am suspicious of local accounts to begin with, and in this case I am certain he wanted to get into the room for some hidden purpose.  I was able to stop the message by sending a report that he was being offensive and then asking in the report he be blocked (the block button is, as many have said, now permanently gone).

Coincidentally, I just had another incident recently with a woman who told me flat out she only gives 4 star reviews and will never rate my room as a 5 star.  That obviously I can't have, since 4 star reviews are actually bad and can seriously hurt a host.  I am going to select "not recommended" on her latest stay and will see if she is able to re-book.  I think the system at last has it where if you don't recommend someone, they can't stay with you again.

[Anais-Bijoux0]

This has happened to me too.

[Kevin-and-Tamara0]

I also wish there was some sort of remediation when a guest lies in their booking message and you catch them on it.  Two examples: this week, a guest requested to book stating she was coming into town for work.  She responded to my standard pre-screen response inquiring after where she is traveling from that she's actually a local who just needed a break from her roommate.  I called her on the lie and she got VERY upset with me, calling me rude and inappropriate (I stated that her change of story comes across as suspect and asked her to elaborate on why she didn't lead with being a local).  She's probably not going to book with me again, which is fine by me, but I wish I could guarantee it or even flag her as suspicious.  Then today, I had a guest who booked under the assertion they'd been staying with their parents in DC the last few weeks and was looking to extend their visit somewhere private with their girlfriend but cancelled today because their flight was cancelled due to the terrible weather.  Another blatant lie.  I feel pretty strongly that the foundation of home sharing is intrinsically built on a level of trust between hosts and guests.  It definitely feels like the onus is 90% on hosts and we have little to no recourse.

[Anais-Bijoux0]

I know right, how can we flag people who are suspect. Not being able to do this means we can't give an honest review. I mentioned to Airbnb several times about making a block button easily available for Hosts, but they don't seem interested in looking after us. I suggested a block button becoming available after the Q: Would you book .... again? (Yes) (No). If the answer is 'no', it should go straight to a block page and then give reasons why. I agree with the *shouldn't* be able to book if they have a negative overall rating. That would make it somewhat easier to give a valid review.

[Adam1674]

We also would like this feature.

[Inga199]

I would love to do this (block a previous guest from IB). I had a $1,200 booking and after the stay, requested a payment of $12 (1.6%) for occupancy taxes the city increased retroactively. The Guest refused to pay. I would hate to have such a person stay with me again and on principle would like to block this guest from Instant Booking again. Left a bitter taste in my mouth. I operate a small business. The Guest also is a small business owner. I did not engage with the Guest and escalated to Airbnb but I def do not want this guest to set foot on my property - come back to my property. How can I block previous guests from Instant Booking?