Rude guests even before their arrival, declining inquiry

[Ana1630]

Hi everyone!

Today I received an inquiry, where the guest asked me about the check out time, I kindly informed him that it is at 12:00 pm, after he insisted that he needed more time, I told him that I could give him 1 more hour (since we have to prepare the room for the guests checking in later). But he continued insisting, that he needed the check out time until 2 pm (2 more hours), after some more messages I decided to decline his inquiry, since he started to send aggresive messages. 

But after I declined I started to receive very rageful messages from him, like: "You really know how to give an excellent service", or that it was not okay from my part to decline his inquiry just like that, and since I didn't answer he continued sending more messages. 

That's when I confirmed that I did right declining his inquiry, because he was really a rageful person. I called airbnb and they helped to cancel the immediate reservations, because I was in fear that he would make a reservation through another profile, 15 mins later I received an inquiry, also from Cancún (where the rageful guest was from, which is 20 mins from my house), and I immediately thought that it was from the same people and decided to decline.

Has someone else been through this? 

Right now I am very discouraged, because I really spend my time preparing everything for my guests, but this situations really make me fear that that kind of people arrive to my place. 

PD. I have loved every single one of my guests that have arrived here, they are just simply the best, I am a little bit new, I have been in Airbnb since october. 

[Alexandra316]

@Ana1630Unfortunately, this happened with one of my very first guests who booked through Airbnb. I asked them some questions because they were new to the platform and they were local,  and I was new and nervous: they got angry and abusive. I cancelled by calling Airbnb, and they just rebooked. I cancelled them again, and they re-booked with me on another platform. I reported it to the other platform, and they were removed from there (but not from Airbnb). It has never happened again, and fingers crossed, it never will. 

I think that when you're new to the platform, you get the occasional person who feels they can take advantage. As you build your reviews and experience, you will get more comfortable, and it will get better. I think you were wise to decline the second inquiry, although be aware that unless it's a booking request, you don't need to decline to keep up your response rate: just responding to their message is enough. Many hosts won't host guests who are local unless they have a very good reason for needing a place. There are many bad reasons a local may need a place to stay: they're homeless, looking for a place to have an affair or use drugs/drink, they're into prostitution, etc. Not to say that's always the case, but it can be, and I would ask some questions about why a local needs to stay before accepting them. 

[Ana1630]

Thank you so much for your reply Alexandra! And all of your tips I will definitely do that.

It helped me a lot to see that it has also happened to someone else, because I was really discouraged, they even make me feel like I did something wrong. 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, hopefully it wont happen again, and now I know what questions to ask and what to notice before accepting a request. 

Regards, 

Ana. 

[Alexandra316]

@Ana1630Glad to hear that it helped! You are definitely not alone, and you definitely didn't do anything wrong. Your places are gorgeous, and your reviews so far are great: you're obviously doing lots of things right! There is nothing wrong with saying no if you're not comfortable or if the guest is asking for something above and beyond what you have offered. Listen to your gut and stick to you rules. 

[Ana1630]

Thank you Alexandra! Your places also look really beautiful! 

I will definitely take you advice!

[Susan151]

@Ana1630 . If they were sending inquiries, not a booking request, you don't actually have to either accept or decline their potential reservation. I know that it LOOKS like you need to take action, but the only action that is required is that you respond.

Now a booking request is a different story and though they look similar, the rules are different.

All the best with your hosting!

[Ana1630]

Thanks a lot Susan! I will take that into account in the future. 

Greetings!

[Emilia42]

@Susan151, correct me if I'm wrong, but if @Ana1630declines the inquiry does that not prevent the guest from confirming a reservation? Can a guest still book after an inquiry is declined?

[Susan151]

@Emilia42 You might be right. I try to never decline anything since AirBNB is good at counting. I have also been very lucky that no one who has inquired and needed something that I can't provide has not then booked.

[Alexandra316]

@Emilia42 @Ana1630 @Susan151  If you decline someone's booking request, as long as they meet your booking criteria there is nothing stopping them completing an instant booking. For example, if you have alreaedy declined the reqest but you have instant book available on the property for guests who have a host recommendation, if the guest you declined has a recommendation, they can still instant book. 

[Susan151]

@Emilia42 @Ana1630 

@Alexandra316 . We were talking about inquiries, not requests. This is still true? [I assume that it is.]

[Alexandra316]

@Susan151It doesn't matter if it's an inquiry or a request. If you have instant book set and you decline and they meet your instant booking criteria, they can still book with you. I experienced this personally as a guest, because I was declined by a host due to my dogs, but I saw that I could still complete the booking. I didn't, because I'm not a jerk, but I could have. 

I already covered the difference between an inquiry and a request in my inital response. 

[Emilia42]

@Alexandra316, I find that really unsettling!

[Alexandra316]

@Emilia42 yes, I find it very silly, and I was very surprised by it. I think if you decline, it should be a pretty clear indication that you are not interested in hosting that particular guest. 

No should mean no. 

[Emilia42]

@Susan151, same here. I just respond to inquiries and try to never decline. I usually welcome everyone to book but you have to follow the rules (you can come but without your dog, or I will only check-in 4 guests so you're welcome to come with a party of that size.) Luckily, all those people who don't find it a good fit for them will just let the clock run out.