Keeping up with your response rate

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Keeping up with your response rate

Response Rate.jpg

 

Hello everyone,

 

When you are busy hosting, keeping on-top of all the different tasks you have to do can often be a bit of a juggling act. One important part of hosting is responding promptly to new booking requests and enquiries from guests, who love the look of your home and are eager to hear if they can stay.

 

It is understandable, that your guests wants to hear from you as soon as possible so they can plan their visit, however as a busy host there are often many reasons why it isn’t always that easy.

 

What are you tips for keeping your Response Rate high? Do you dedicate a certain amount of time each day to reply to messages or do you have handcrafted templates to speed up your reply process?

 

We look forward to hearing your tips!

 

Thanks,
Lizzie


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

40 Replies 40
Joy-And-Alan0
Level 2
Massachusetts, United States

I have been able to schedule specific times in am and pm to get back to guests, which works well for me. However, we are going to Cuba for a week and will have very limited access to internet. We can ask a family member to monitor daily while we are away. Does anyone have other suggestions?

Yes @Joy-And-Alan0,  please share with us on your adventure in Cuba!

Joy-And-Alan0
Level 2
Massachusetts, United States

We’d be happy to. Really looking forward to it!

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Hi @Joy-And-Alan0

 

You can 'snooze' your listing while you are away so people won't see your listing. (see Airbnb Help Centre for how to do this).

 

And then you only have to deal with existing guest messages.

Joy-And-Alan0
Level 2
Massachusetts, United States

Thanks, Helen. I appreciate the suggestion.

 

We are new to hosting on Airbnb (lots of views but only 2 bookings) and would hate to lose potential guests by “snoozing” even for a week. Because we are in a summer rental area that is hard to get to (an island only accessible by plane or boat- and reservations booked for car ferry months ahead) this is the time that I think bookings for the “season” might start coming in.

 

Maybe my reluctance is unwarranted?

That is a good idea @Helen3.

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

  My 'Response Rate' oftentimes plunges into the 'pits' (below 50%), what knocks me off Superhost every once in a while (like this quarter), because - I get 40-50 inquiries/questions a day, and address questions from existing booked guests first and they always ask some looong logistical questions.

   I need a secretary!

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Wow @Fred13, I think you do need a secretary, you must have hardly any time to even think. 🙂 

 

Do you find that a lot of the questions you get are very similar?


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

   Because of the logistics, just about every booking is different and thus 'custom' to some extend (getting to the town via 5 different ways, diving or snorkeling, what to bring and not to island, etc). Adding amount of guests on ther eve of actual arrival is another cause, since I encourage guests to be conservative in numbers and 'Alter' reservation at the end.  Media exposure adds to it (always mentioning Airbnb) since causes some upheaval for weeks, with the usual 'Please add me to waiting list', at least those I cookie cut.

   Not complaining, but the Airbnb 'computer' must be bewildered by now why my Response Rates behaves like a wild yoyo. 😄

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Wow, that's amazing.

 

If you are getting so much interest, it's likely to indicate you have priced your listing much too low @Fred13, so do have a look at this and consider a price increase.

 

Actually just looked at your place and would definitely suggest it's too cheap. I would take advantage of the interest you have through being part of Airbnb's ad, and put your prices up.

 

 

@Helen3You are bsolutely right; unfortunately Airbnb turned out to be for me a 'gift' and a 'curse', they advertised it so much they locked me at the 'old' prices for 2 years quickly. Price has jumped  by $100 this year, $200 next and and $300 in 2020, in comparison. In turn, I keep adding to the island, at the same rate.

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

 

 

I am a little confused @Fred13. How can them advertising your place lock you into a price? Surely they don't advertise the price of your place.

 

As hosts we can change our prices whenever we like. Just increase yours to what you think it is worth !!!

@Helen3, the island was the opening act in 2016 Airbnb's campaign 'Like This, Live There';

( http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/ad-day-airbnb-pitches-you-fantasy-rental-home-right-out-jungle... ) it sold out the island for the next two years within a week at $295 (2016)/$395 (2017). By Fall 2016 the island was 2x what it was, but it was stuck with the same base prices until this past January (2018); the fees for extra guests was the only way to make up the 'difference', somewhat.

 

 

 

 

@Fred13 maybe snooze would be a good option for you too Fred. Your existing reservations would still be able to communicate with you, but you could snooze/unsnooze so that you have set times that you know you'll be answering questions and other times you'll not be beholden to the clock. You're already booked so far out that missing a few random questions may not matter. The benefits of keeping up the response rate may outweigh the days you're on snooze. Your listing could even have a text that says, 'we're online for inquiries Wednesdays & Saturdays...'

I know there are hosts here who snooze during business hours so that code enforecement doesn't find them.