LOSING YOUR SUPERHOST STATUS DUE TO GUEST NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH ON RESERVATION REQUEST!

[Sean409]

URGENT TO ALL HOSTS!

I'm new to this community platform, but wanted to get this news out to all Hosts and Superhosts with properties on Airbnb.

Today, I was going through the listing statistics on the Airbnb dashboard for both of my vacation homes. I noticed that on both of my properties there were "things to work on" with an explanation point next to it. So, my curiosity made me click on the link and read about what Airbnb was requesting that I work on. After going down the list, it seemed that the only remarks that Airbnb had a remark about was the field that states this; "Accepted reservations _ Make guests feel welcome by accepting requests whenever you’re available". I'll start by saying that I do not allow Instant Booking for my properties.

I do require that each guest first be accepted by myself or my wife. We may have questions for the potential guests, so we don't like the Instant Booking. The problem is the common public doesn't just know how to ask a question on the Airbnb travel platform that they've been provided. Rather than just inquiring about the patio furniture, size of TV, cookware, garage size, etc ... They have a habit of actually making a full request for a reservation with specific dates. The potential guest then uses the reservation request to ask me a question. That's a problem for ALL Hosts and especially Superhosts.

The reason for this being a problem is simple.

In the event that the answer you've provided to the potential guest's question is not what they were hoping for, then you won't be booking them. Therefore, the days they've requested (but won't be booking) are held up for 24 hours. The dates are not able to be requested by any other potential guests for that property for 24 hours. ALSO, (this is the big issue), due to the fact that you won't be booking this mere inquiry, Airbnb considers this a denial by the Host. Making your percentage of "Accepted" reservation go down. You as a Host have done nothing wrong.

However, as your percentage decreases, so does your placement of your property on the Airbnb site. ALSO, you have the possibility of losing your Superhost status. I spoke to Airbnb and went up the chain of management. They admitted that this is an issue for any Host, and especially a Superhost. Their only solution was to have the Host ask the inquiring guest to cancel their own reservation request, prior to the 24 hour window provided. As we all know, most Airbnb travelers are rookies on their vacation site shopping. We love all our guests, but most are not tech savvy at all. That's why they made this mistake to begin with.

I don't see asking the inquiring guest to cancel their own reservation request as a logical remedy to the problem. It's a software issue that Airbnb isn't willing to work on unless we as Hosts make such a demand as a community. One of my properties is really new. Less thna 2 months on the Airbnb site. It's near a baseball spring training stadium. I've had lots of "inquiries". Some have been inquiries like I just spoke about. Not accepting such a reservation request, because it was ONLY an inquiry, has caused my "Acceptance" percentage on this new property to go below 60%. I've been told that my Superhost status, stated on both properties, is now at risk. This is a huge issue for all Superhosts. Let's band together and get Airbnb to correct this software statistic glitch that only Airbnb can solve!

Best Regards,

~ Sean

[Mark-TP0]

WOW!  Perhaps I won't start ABB my place in london then....

[Mary90]

On the other hand, I had a guest request to stay who had a cat in his profile photo. When I told him he wouldn't be able to stay because of the cat, he wrote,
"I don't have a cat, that's my former girlfriend's cat and I won't be bringing a cat." Then he brought the cat from hell which shat all over our clothes, rugs, etc and Airbnb only paid cleaning fees, not for damaged curtains which were clawed up to the seven foot mark, nor for the antique rocker they broke, or the cat teeth marks in our good dishes, nor for the claw marks in our doors and other furniture and bedding, nor for the damage to furniture as we removed the plethora of tape this guest...and his "former" girlfriend and the cat from hell put up on our windows and furniture.

Shame on Airbnb for acting like a nasty big company.

[Mark-TP0]

Mary I agree but ABB is just(?) a technology company and we are home owners who have poured sweat and emotion into our properties.  We would like to think ABB and guests would respect this effort.  ABB doesn't make a penny directly out of hosts but it does out of guests.

[Mary90]

I have the exact same problem with Airbnb and have asked them to change the system numerous times. I think don't care and it does impact our ability to keep our ratings up. I want to be a responsive host, not a hotel chain or an absentee landlord.

Quite often people request a stay, but add a question, like, "I am bringing the cat from Hell; that's ok, correct?" (A guest did bring a cat after being told no pets, and Airbnb did not reimburse us for the damage). Or they have different dates or whathave you.

We live in this home, and want a sense of who is coming before they book. Also, our place on the mountain is quite isolated, so we also don't want to rent automatically there.

Also, the instant booking does NOT allow us to require ___# of positive reviews and zero negative reviews, which is also a reasonable request by hosts.

As I wrote, the company doesn't seem to care about this and is trying to streamline booking so they make more money for less work.  I am considering switching to VRBO or just stopping hosting, though I love it.

Peace,

Mary and Sebastian

[Amy38]

My method...reply quickly denying request....dog, extra people whatever.  Wait a few hours, approve guest. They will have moved on and you have demied their request anyway.

[Dee51]

It is an issue that I'm sure Airbnb will correct soon but until then perhaps use your description to direct guests to use the contact host link for questions & away from booking inquiry? Another option is to allow immediate bookings  .. you can cover everything in your house rules and aren't penalized if you decline the inquiries (I do all the time & the 24 hour hold doesnt apply) nor if you cancel someone who books that doesnt meet your requirements stated under house rules. Ideally they will  put 'ask host a question' right next to the booking option to prevent this kind of thing AND make it easier for guests (the contact host link is buried down the page whereas booking option remains at the top) but until they do I find it's best just to fix what you can yourself. I would also write up a note and save it to send out when I decline, instructing them that they need to cancel the request if they dont want to book so the booking window isnt held up by their credit card .... they will be more inclined to do so if theres a hint it could cost them. Good luck!

[Mark-TP0]

It can't be that difficult for a technlogy company to rearrange the layout of web pages - would it??? Of course, rearranging the layout might help host and guest but get in the way of revenue. 

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the conversation here, thanks @Sean409 for starting this. It has been interesting to hear the different ideas on how to address this. 

Personally regarding the Acceptance Rating, I feel based on what has been shared here, there are two main scenarios that we have mentioned here:

1) Declining due to the guests using the 'request to book' rather than 'Contact host' to ask questions which are applicable 

2) Declining due to safety concerns

As these are quite different, I imagine it might easier to think of suggestions on how to address, these seperately. I see @Dee51, for point 1, you have suggested moving the 'contact host' button next to the 'Book' button on a listing.

What do others think? Do you have any ideas quick wins/or bigger ideas? 

Thanks again,
Lizzie

[Mark116]

@Lizzie"Ask the host a question" button would be more clear than 'inquiry' or 'book' and might reduce some of this.  

There should be a way to prevent someone who was declined from making an immediate next request, so people aren't getting dinged by having to decline the same person over and over.

If the decline is because the request falls outside of the parameters of the listing, like x wants to bring an infant to a  no children listing, wants to bring 8 people to a 6 person listing, then it should NOT count as part of the percentage.  These requests are going to be on the platform's own message system, so it should be easy for CS to determine if the request was for something outside the listing offering.

IMO, the threshold for declines should be much lower, like 70%, not 88%, especially since there aren't any solutions to any of the problems outlined in this thread.

[Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0]

you are right, we need an "ASK THE HOST A QUESTION" button

[Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0]

Yes, this is frustrating...I just had two people from the SAME FAMILY making separate “Reservation Requests” asking if we take dogs...we do not accept pets, and it clearly says so in the description of the house, still I had to decline both reservations and my ratings are low now because of this.

[Martine231]

I have had the same problem. I could not figure out why my acceptance rate went down, even though I called Airbnb. This needs to change on the part of Airbnb for Super hosts especially.

[Lydia94]

I totaly agree with you, Airbnb has to fix this problem, for many years my rate was very high and last year

a guest ask to book a room for one month and ask if her husband and baby can join her for one week. My policy is very clear - no children and defently no babys. I only host Doctors and everybody has to study.

I was polite and ask the age of the baby, but no reply - so I as a host get punished. It need to change.