Hi All,
Just sharing my experience with instant bookings and why I am hesitant to keep it on. Still unsure.
Upon my listing going live in Dec'19 I got an instant booking without any knowledge about the instant booking feature. The booking 1 night only, a man with a NAKED profile picture which made me very uncomfortable (he had positive reviews). I instantly called up airbnb and reported him. They cancelled the booking penalty free and I updated my listing accordingly so that all requirements for IB as ticked. I was told I get to keep my 3 cancellations.
Since then I have had some great guests with 5 star reviews. So far I have 5.
First penalty free cancellation - Guest visiting under someone else's airbnb account.
My most recent IB guests that have checked out two days ago have left me a review (which I cannot see yet) and I plan to leave them a review at the 11th hour simply because I have a feeling they will give me a bad review for telling them to follow house rules. (They were very messy/dirty and kept going out and leaving lights and heaters on with windows wide open). I plan to leave a review that says " suited to hotel environment" and not recommend them, then respond to their review depending what the outcome is.
I have no idea what I'm going to write.. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Second penalty free cancellation - I explained my reasons to Airbnb and it was accepted.
My reasons are
1 - A very bad review from host. So I did some digging and messaged the host. Apparently he changed his name.
2 - Another alarm bell for me is that on his profile it says he is from US however when I asked him what time his flight arrival is, he said he isn't flying in from anywhere. I think I have a right to know what the purpose of his stay is.
3 - I specifically asked him to confirm if he has read and understood the house rules but he ignored that part
4 - I have asked what time he plans to check in, not answered.
So far that is 2 out of 3 penalty free cancellation strikes. I don't think it's fair that the first one was counted since the guest broke Airbnb policy i.e allowing 3rd party to use someones account. Should I contest this?
With only 1 penalty free cancellation I'm now thinking if I should just switch off IB, probably have less bookings but at least I can be more selective with who comes to my home.
Have any hosts experienced a decline in bookings with IB switched off?
Thank you
Naz