Low Response Rate Warning

[Jared0]

I am getting the following message:

Low Response Rate

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Based on your responsiveness, your listings may be deactivated soon. Respond to your inquiries and booking requests within 24 hours in order to prevent this. 

The problem is not "not responding" (I always respond), but rather that I get a lot of inquiries which I am forced to decline because they are requesting dates outside of what is avialble on my calednar. We live in the home and typically only rent it out when we have planned travel, so if someone wants the home outside of those dates I cannot accept. Is there any way around having my listing deactivated because I am "not accepting enough reservation requests"?

[Maria-Lurdes0]

How odd - can we assume that your calendar is correctly blocked off to ensure that only guests searching for available dates are getting to you?  It sounds like the issue might be that guests are inquiring under the guise of available dates and then asking for a booking for dates NOT available? 

If that is the case, just pre-approve the inquiry for the 'fake' dates knowing they don't really want those dates.  Maybe I'm missing something?

[Susie0]

You can set your calendar to only allow people visiting within x number of days/ months, then block out all the dates within those months when you don't want people staying. There's definitely a way to do this. 

[Helga0]

@Jared0, beside blocking the dates where you do not wish to rent, decline the requests of blocked dates on a computer, when you hit decline, you can choose the first case, 'dates not available, block them' or the fifth case 'the request is for other dates then indicated in the form'. That seems to happen so often that airbnb created a line specially for that. - I can only show you a screenshot from my French account, but the other lines are 'I don't trust the guest' - 'My flat does not correspond to his needs, kids, animals etc' - 'I wait for a better booking' - 'Spam' - 'Others'. I use the Others case to indicate inapprobriate solicitations and in some cases they get their account deleted. 

If you can't honor a booking as it is not what it pretends to be on the form, you should not suffer from that.