New hosts accepting instant bookings from guests with no ratings from hosts. Good idea or not??

[Kevin1322]

Hi, new hosts here. Probably a familiar story, probably falls into the category "its the new guests who do the new hosts the most harm without realising it".

Our first four reviews went swimmingly, 5 stars all the way on everything.

Then the booking from a chap "I'm new on Airbnb".

Firat a Location 4 stars despite saying it was  "Ideal" for exactly what it said about the listing in the title and listing details, and photos of the area, despite public review "great for coast path and local amenities"  Go figure!

Then marks  only3 for cleanliness.  I appreciate people don't all have he same standards, but sadly this wasn't the case, in fact it was because we had dogs.  Apparently the guest hadn't read the listing very thoroughly and was surprised to find dogs on the property in one common area.…. it didn't stop him and his friend booking a second night though.  

So anyway, this dropped us to a 4.8, and buried the previous "spotless" and "great location" tag lines as well, as it was only our fifth review.

Been in business 25 years, almost 20 selling online, so I don't take these things personally, but I'm wondering how much business we may lose if we restrict instant booking to guests who have had recommendations from hosts?

[Susan151]

@Kevin1322 . If I only accepted people who had previous reviews on AirBNB, my booking percentage would drop by over half. New to AirBNB hasn't been an issue for me at all. I do wonder what "yes he was of a "certain age."" means though and how does his age have anything to do with the review or lack of reading?

The forum wisdom would suggest that after someone has booked to send a confirmation message which reiterates that you have dogs in the common rooms so you don't get someone who isn't comfortable with this reality. Guests have 48 hours to cancel with no penalty, assuming they have booked ahead.

[Kevin1322]

Yes, perhaps I am overthinking it. THanks 

We do get short-notice bookings due to our location as we're pretty close to a well used long distance hiking path on the coast. 

I was reading in another post that many hosts found that my own "baby boomer" generation are the most likely to complain, whilst younger travellers tend not to. Sorry, should have explained that.

I certainly can't complain at the number of bookings we have had (days booked) since starting Airbnb. Two out of the six bookings so far this month have been new or have no host reviews.  And we currently have a chap here for the next four days.

[Sarah977]

@Kevin1322  The new guests I've accepted have been lovely- but like I said, I don't use IB, I communicate first.

One has to ask oneself why a new guest who doesn't have the requirements to IB would have a problem with sending a Booking Request. If they really can't be bothered, that to me says something about them right there. They may not be bothered to read the listing description either, or the house rules.

[ONERüF0]

You will see significantly fewer bookings if you turn off instant booking early in a properties launch phase.  Anytime we see a guest that is new to Airbnb we send them a pre-written welcome to Airbnb letter that explains what the platform is about, mutual reviews...our goal of providing 5 star accomodations...etc.  We then followup the day after arrival and ask how things are going, any feedback to help us improve, let us know if you need something otherwise...cheers.  Over communication with new users is an absolute must...but don't cut off revenue flow as a result of what happened...you need more guests now to push the review score up.  

[Chonette0]

Been hosting for 7 years don't have Instant  Booking and I am always busy

[Sarah977]

@Kevin1322  Do you really want guests who haven't been recommended by other hosts? I mean, if you get more of these clueless bad markers, why would you care if you don't get their business? And if they don't meet your Instant Book requirements, they can send a Booking Request instead- then if you see they are new to the platform, you'll have the opportunity to message them before accepting or declining, to ensure that they have thoroughly read the listing description and are aware of the house rules, that you have dogs, etc. And if you se that they have some bad reviews, you can decline them.

I don't use IB myself, never have-I want to communicate with guests before having their bookings accepted. But I think most IB hosts do have several requirements to IB- a few good reviews, profile photos, recommendations, verified ID, There are plenty of guests who have used Airbnb before and are clued-in, good guests. Those, it would seem to me, are the only ones you'll want to be able to IB.

I've accepted several guests who have no reviews and are new, but I determine whether I want to accept them based on their communications- you can tell a lot about people from the way they communicate. A guest who sends a friendly, informative Booking Request or Inquiry is a good sign. The ones who just say "Arriving at noon", as if they assume thir request is a done deal, or who send you a list of their requirements, like "We'll need parking" or " Can you lock up the dogs, I'm allergic." are definite red flags.

[Christina99]

I have IB on, but require a government ID, not that this seems to be a very good deterrent. I also ask why they are booking. If they don't answer I will ask and if I don't receive a good response I will cancel their reservation.

[Alexandra316]

@Kevin1322 Guests need a recommendation from another host to instant book with me. I'm still in two minds about whether or not it makes a difference, though. I host a lot of new Airbnb guests who haven't stayed elsewhere before, and they are mostly fine: my worst hosting experiences have been with guests who had good reviews from other hosts. I've also had bad experiences hosting other hosts, who you would think would know better.

Also bear in mind that if you set the requirement for recommendations from other hosts, guests without a recommendation can still request to book with you: they just can't instant book. I find it does give the opportunity to vet guests a bit more closely, though.

[ONERüF0]

Just keep in mind that you will have fewer views of your listing if you use the "recommendation from other hosts" as your listing will show up in fewer searches when folks click "instant book" properties filter.  Just two cents to keep in mind.  

[Alexandra316]

@ONERüF0 For me, I'm booked pretty much constantly: September 26th will be my first night without a booking in 4 months, so I'm not too worried about it. Market saturation is definitely a factor: if there isn't much competition, being pickier isn't a bad thing.

[ONERüF0]

Alexandra you are a superhost with much experience the person that asked this question is not and that comment was meant for him.  FYI.  

[Kevin1322]

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@ONERüF0@Alexandra316  @Sarah977    @Susan151   you have all been very helpful. Everybody has raised something that I hadn't thought of.  I do appreciate it.

[Alexandra316]

@ONERüF0 Sorry, you replied to my comment, so I assumed you were speaking to me. Tagging the person you're addressing does help clear that up.

I've always had the same requirements, and they've always worked for me. Again, I think that market saturation may be more important than experience.

[Kevin1322]

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@Alexandra316

we are new to it, although my wife has a background in hospitality and catering, and we both had parents in the hotels business, our very modest spare room  in the house has taken us by surprise in the last month, being motorcyclists we also advertise on a motorcycle bookings platform  for touring bikers (a secure garage being desirable, and close to two pubs ticks all the boxes).
Almost by accident we found that walkers (hikers) find our clifftop village with its convenience store and pubs, chip shop and a handful of BnBs is an oasis after a  20 mile slog along the South West Coast Path.
We are liking the walkers as much as the bikers. They arrive in the evening, go to the pub, go to bed and leave early!   The south west coast path in the UK is a "bucket list" hike, and we are right in the middle of it. So bottlenecks for any reason really create a demand for accommodation when it's busy.
It started as looking ahead to help us make ends meet when we retire in five years or so, but I'm beginning to wish I'd bought a bigger place 😉