Just a small complaint but honestly what is going on with Airbnb??? I have been traveling with them

[Sara1271]

for years. Tonight I had an inquiry to a Host about a property. I wanted to know if she had a router. Within 10 minutes there was some kind of 
decline on my account.
I didnt ask to book her property. I then sent an inquriy to bnb customer service. this is the conversation:

Me:  just want to note confusion in the booking process for my inquiry in Stockholm. I feel there must be a language issue because the host did not understand I was just asking a question. That should be more understandable so the host does not respond incorrectly.
Them: 
This is James, one of the Case Managers here in Airbnb. Thank you for reaching out to us. I'm sorry to hear about the confusion. Everything will be noted down here on our end, and if there are questions or clarifications needed, we will reach out to both Guests and Hosts as well.
If you have other questions or concerns, please reach out to us at any time.
Thank you

me: what?
Uh well, actually I would just like the interaction removed from my account. Again, I just asked if the Host had a router. I did not ask for a booking so I was a little shocked when something was noted as a declined. I really don't want to look at stuff like that and it's not proper for what happened. Can you help out?

them: 

Hi Sara,
The declined status only shows on your end. On our end, it just shows as an inquiry. It will not show on other Hosts end as well, nor will it show in your profile in Airbnb,

I think we can do better, I have never had a problem with Airbnb.

[Sandra856]

Hi @Sara1271 🙂

When a host gets an inquiry "an accept and decline" buttom is showed in the message as well.

What most likely happen is that the host received your message and decided she/he couldn't host and declined.

The host probably didn't think he/she did anything wrong. 

Many hosts are new or just don't know have the site is build. A booking request and an inquiry looks almost the same.

The host should have been polite and responded to your message but didn't.

Best, Sandra 

[Sara1271]

Hi, I understand that and I don't want to be overly cranky, however just to say again, we never requested to book with them. We just had a question. I am not sure if the Host understands she sent back a decline somehow on just a question,  but it leaves a negative vibe if you might be thinking about the property.  I just had one small question, that's all and it turned out to be very negative. I just thought someone should know how it looks on this side. 

[Sandra856]

@Sara1271 It will hurt her ranking when she declines. If she had just replied it would not have had an impact on her ranking. She didn't know that so she might be new or just not that experienced. 

[Kelly149]

@Sara1271 but why ask a question if not to book?? That sounds like a waste of time for a host. 

A random question as an inquiry does not strike most hosts well. 

This is how I prefer to get this message:

”hello kelly! The Barn looks so fun! I’m coming to Austin with my friend Shelley for a conference at the Thinkery. We’re from Dallas and work together at a residential design firm. I think the barn would be great for us to relax at the end of each day but I do need to be able to have a direct internet connection for sending files and info back to the rest of the firm at the end of each day. I read that you have WiFi but is there an ability to connect to a Cat5 line?

btw, I also read the House Rules and there are Zero Roosters at the Barn and I’ve stayed at five abb places before. 

Thanks so much for your time, I appreciate the extra info. 

Best, Sara”

see the difference??

[Oad0]

Wish Airbnb would let guests send queries or ask questions freely. Instead, Airbnb takes the guest question wraps it up as potential booking, and asks the host the either “pre-approve” or “decline” WHY? WHY? WHY?

Many queries come from new guests, some have not completed their profile yet. How can a host pre-auth that...

[Ben551]

@Sara1271   I think the host should have given you better communication, however I suspect you are right in that there was a language barrier in the way.  Rest assured nobody else can see that the host declined your inquiry.  @Sandra856  is right, that's how the system works.  An inquiry arrives with a host asking them to "pre-approve" or "decline" an enquiry.

Also please take note that hosts can no longer see anything about you when you send an inquiry.  Airbnb hide your profile photo, so they cannot see it.  They also hide your last name, and even past reviews in some parts of the world (not mine).  For some hosts it is enough to be reluctant, especially if they couldn't read and understand your message (i.e. language).

I hope you give Airbnb another try.  Perhaps look for hosts that clearly state they speak English on their listing (there is a list of languages in a listing, under the host name).  Most hosts (like us) are friendly and helpful, so please don't let one host communication failure put you off.

[Sandra856]

Hi @Ben551 and @Sara1271 

I'm from Scandinavia and people from Sweden speak english quite well. They learn it from they are around 6 years old in school. It is very unlikely that it has something to do with a language barrier. A router is a router in both danish and swedish. Just FYI 🙂

[Ben551]

Hey thanks @Sandra856  I was wondering that!  That's good to know.  Sometimes it's scary what some words mean in other languages by coincidence lol! 

It sounds like it's just a non helpful person.  Hey I wonder if it's a non Swedish host, who happens to be living there?  There are a lot of non-New Zealand hosts (like me) who host in New Zealand.

[Sandra856]

@Ben551 Hahah...yes! Where are you from when you are not from New- Zealand?

And yes of course it could be a non native Swede living in Sweden.

I have friends and also some family who did host 1-2 times a year a couple of years ago and only when they were away on holiday themselves. They have absolutely no idea how airbnb works and they don't feel responsible or act like the hosts we meet in here ("nerdy" hosts like you and me :-D)

I have been a host for a while now and there seems to be a very, very wide range of hosts. 

[Rubén16]

@Sara1271 @Sandra856  @Ben551 

Some of my guests have asked the same question however they say "Just want to confirm that you have WIFI ?" 

Just curious do they call WIFI router in other parts of the world? (I am in the U.S.A.)

If I had a guest ask "do I have a router" my reply would be that there is no router in the cabin however there is WIFI service, ( the physical router itself is in a different building) I would confirm this because the guest might want to connect their device directly into a router, for faster speed....etc..

[Sara1271]

 For me personally, I noticed the Host said they had wifi so my specific inquiry was "do you have a router". To me this implies a router in the house that can connect to the internet by ethernet cables. However for this case, I think she just misread or doesnt understand how the inquiries work.  We were not asking about availability of the house, just do you have a router.   The response felt rude and complicated for such a simple question. No worries, it's part of connecting with other cultures.  Next time I will try to submit my inquiry in the native language to prevent such a concern. 

[Susan151]

@Sara1271 . To me, asking if you have a router is just a weird question.  It would be a red flag for many hosts, especially those that are technically savvy. For security reasons, I don't let anyone near my router and would be quite concerned if a guest wanted access to it. Well, there is no way I would allow a guest to have access to it.

I do have a full ethernet network with drops available to guests in most rooms. This is what AirBNB has on their amenities list as well– ethernet.

[Susan151]

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@Susan151 wrote:

@Sara1271 . This is what AirBNB has on their amenities list as well– ethernet.

---

Actually, AirBNB has "ethernet connection" as the amenity. Unfortunately, it is not available as a filter when you search for a place.

[Sandra856]

@Rubén16  Yes, in scandinavia we call it a WIFI router. In fact we don't have another name for it. 

Swedes are no. 1 in the world when it comes to english as a second language.