Aloha all,
I was delighted to see the modifications Airbnb made to the pre booking questions & greeting. Allowing more scope for personalised questions seemed like a great idea.
I actually logged in using a friends account to see exactly what prospective guests see, since my account advises guests MUST acknowledge reading this little package. The questions and greeting appear as a speech bubble, and the guest must indeed send some sort of message to the host before they can continue with the booking. This is a great step but seems to do little to get guests to read or follow the questions.
I ask my guests what time they plan to arrive and if they have read the listing description and House Rules. Simple stuff that doesn't take long and helps make sure we are all on the same page in terms of what's expected and what to expect. Since the modifications came in I have had a total of ZERO guests that have done what's asked of them.
I reposted the questions for one guest because they said they were never shown them. The guest then sent the questions back to me as a message and still didn't bother answering them. I declined the booking request.
I also find it disappointing that so many people are happy to so quickly lie and say they have read the information when I know they have not. (I include a suggestion in all my listings and advise guests if they ask me about this suggestion they will be rewarded with FREE chocolate biscuits) Needles to say no one asks about the suggestions because no one has bothered reading the listing they just told me they read.
I can already hear people asking why I care either way? Well after 5 years hosting, I have found that when my guests understand what's expected and what the House Rules are, I have very few problems and the property is left in a clean and tidy condition. The guests that say "yes, yes, yes" to reading the information they ignored are generally the ones that leave rubbish, check out late, smoke inside etc, and are also the ones most offended when they are asked to pay for extra clean or deodorising. One of these guests actually sent the message: "no body told me I had to read the House Rules!! How was I supposed to know they applied to me!"
I want to hear how other hosts get guests to read the information, particularly those hosts offering a private room in their home.
Brett