Questions caused several calendar days to be blocked.

Questions caused several calendar days to be blocked.

A few days ago another host contacted me via AirBnB to ask me a few questions. The way she did this was by pretending to reserve (not book) three nights from November 27 through 30. As she contacted me those 3 days on my calendar were blocked so other people could not book those. The only way to remove the blocked dates was to actively decline the "booking" even though it was not a real booking. When I told the other host about this she told me that this happened because of the way I have set up my bookings. I disagreed with her. She told me that what she was doing was sending a so-called "inquiry".

So now I am confused. How can I prevent calendar days from being blocked when someone, either a potential guest or a host, sends me an "inquiry". Is there even such a term as an AirBnB Inquiry?

My understanding is that the only way a potential guest, or a host can communicate with a host is by first entering a number of dates one is potentially interested in . Not until one has reserved a number of days can one communicate within the AirBnB system. And while doing so, those dates are then blocked, and not available to other potential guests.

 

Is this correct and/or is there something else I shoudl know.

Thanks in advance.

5 Replies 5
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Hi,

 

An inquiry comes indeed with certain dates (they are fields on the inquiry form , i don't think this fields can be left empty, but never tried it), but as far as i know it does not block your dates on the calender. Other guests can still book (or inquire). But you should at least sent one response within 24 hours, as it effects your respons rate in a negative way if you don't.  If no further action or messaging is necessary,  you can ignore the inquiry and even remove it from the dashboard.

Best regards, Emiel

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

Remember your can 'Reply' to an 'Inquiry', nothing more. Yes do so within 24 hours. There is no commitment at either end; nothing gets blocked this way.

The terminology in Airbnb is: Inquiry (Pre-Approve or simply Reply), Request (Accept or Decline).

Clare0
Level 10
Templeton, CA

@Abrasha-and-Maria0. Let's see if I can clear some things up for you!

 

An Inquiry will not block your dates unless you choose to block them after sending a Pre-Approval or Special Offer.  And, yes, the dates must be available for the guest to use the Contact Host link to send you an Inquiry.  

 

A Reservation Request, on the other hand, does block your dates since with a request Airbnb places an authorization hold on the guest's payment method pending your accepting or declining the reservation. Since authorizations for payment cannot be held indefinitely, Airbnb requires that hosts accept or decline within 24 hours. 

 

From what you describe, the other host sent you a Reservation Request, not an Inquiry.  

 

Here is the difference  between the two: 

 

Inquiry:  Guests can send Inquries to many hosts at the same time.  The guests are essentially window shopping and are asking questions without a commitment to reserve.  Since they are allowed to send multiple Inquiries at the same time, they will receive responses from several hosts, some with a Pre-Approval or Special Offer.  The Pre-Approvals are simply an invitation to proceed with a booking providing they respond within 24 hours and the host has not accepted a Reservation Request or Instant Booking in the meantime.  Simply responding to the Inquiry is all you have to do. 

 

Reservation Request:  These come from guests who are ready to commit to a reservation.  As mentioned before, Airbnb places an authorization hold to be sure they can pay for the requested reservation.  These take priority over Inquiries and will automatically block the dates on your calendar until you accept or decline the booking. 

 

There is an excellent Community Help Guide that describes the difference between an Inquiry and Reservation Request.  Here it is: 

 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Reservation-Inquiry-or-Request-What-s-the-Difference-A-C...

 

If you have more questions, please ask!

 

Clare

Rene-and-Zac0
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Clare0 @Abrasha-and-Maria0 I had a representative from another booking platform use her Airbnb profile to solicit me to sign up with their service. They too said it was the only way they could contact me but it was super shady and I decided I wasn’t going to list with them. 

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Abrasha-and-Maria0   I had a similar recent experience with a host who was looking for a co-host and decided I might fit the bill.  I was a bit annoyed by this communication as I thought I had a legit reservation.  Still, I can understand newbie confusion about contacting a host.  Still I had to decline the request and the auto system registered my decline.