Unfair penalty for failing to accept/decline

[Emma43]

Does anyone else feel extremely hard done by due to Air BnB's new policy of penalising hosts when prospective guests fail to provide sufficient information on which to be able to accept or decline a reservation request?

As a 'superhost' I am very much on top of responding to enquiries (even those from people with no intention of booking just asking about things like where I got the wallpaper in my drawing room!).

I am not a commercial AirBnB-er; I offer up my home on an occasional basis. This means that in order to accept an enquiry I need too consider arrangements for myself, my family and my dog. It also means that I reserve the right to consider the individual making an enquiry and how they intend to use my home. I thought that was the whole point of AirBnB.

Yesterday I responded to an enquiry, well within the 24 hour window asking for further info - the individual had no reviews, had only just joined Air BnB and their enquiry simply stated 'business'. Rather than a flat decline I offered the opportunity for the potential guest to provide information on which I could consider her request.

I am as much a customer of Air BnB as a potential guest - they make money out of both of us and promote themselves as a 'community'.

Yet they opt to penalise their source of revenue undermining the very principles on which we, the 'AirBnB Community' operate, further they threaten further sanctions if I stray again - no mention of penalties for guests who are rude enough to provide no information in the first instance nor respond to a very polite and reasonable enquiry from a prospective host.

Just me or wholly unfair?

And of course all compounded by the fact that making contact with thme to query or challenge is virtually impossible.

[Kelly0]

Hi Emma,

I think the policy is correct and let me tell you why. I am a SuperHost in Washington, DC with 230+ reviews. We have a 1-bedroom apartment but my ad says it can sleep 6. Wow! I have lots of families cutting their costs so it works great for them. To sleep 6, it requires a fold-out sofa and a blow-up mattress. It's very, very tight. Almost uncomfortable, I'd say. However, I've had many families tell me it's worth it to be able to afford to visit DC.

Therefore, I have to ensure that every guest understands the sleeping situation. It's in my copy-and-text response. I will never accept a reservation unless the guest basically states in the message thread that they understand.

This means that while I rely very quickly, some guests simply don't get back to me in time. As the 24-hour window closes, I follow-up a second time asking if there are questions. And if the guest still doesn't confirm they understand the sleeping situation, I decline. If they come back and say they understand afterward, then I just ask them to process a second request. No biggie, really. My advice is don't feel stressed out about accepting someone. If you can't tell that they'll be okay with your dog (for example), give them up to the end of their 24 hours and decline (but explain why).

Just my thoughts!

Thanks,



Kelly

[Karen173]

Hi Kelly

We likewise live in DC and enjoy renting our english basement apartment occasionally when relatives are not visiting.  We have found that around April and July (start of intern season) we often get requests by interns.  Rather than choosing a shared room or an apartment that is more in line with their budget some of them attempt to negotiate very hard on the fee.  The emails are generally worded leading me to believe they are negiotiating with a large number of hosts at the same time.  They proposed to have 4 freshmen college students to share the apartment, they had a new account on Airbnb (no reviews) and their only verification was an email address and phone number; in two circumstances a third party was negiotiating on their behalf.  Since they were unwilling to provide reasonable references I declined their request.  They were persistent asking several times and I had to decline them several times.  

After several of these aggressive requests, I noticed the number of views on the listing dropped significantly.  In an attempt to figure out what was going on I noticed that when we were logged in our listing was visible, but when I searched from a friends account, with exactly the same settings the listing was not visible; even when I zoomed in so that only our block was visible.  The fee graph showed that our listing was in the system, but it didn't show up on the map or the list.  When I would log back in, and hit refresh, there is was again.

So I guess my question is have you ever heard of listings not being displayed after declining several inquiries?

Karen

[Paula175]

Hi Karen!

we had the same issue. I think this is unfair and not transparent. I am a total fan of Airbnb, love it, but this is disappointing and I am experiencing it right now. The worst part is it being able to contact someone.  I think the revenues should allow them to afford a help line as they did before.

[Rado4]

Hi Karen,

I'm not sure if the situation you discribed is related to multiple declines, furthermore it is been more than 2 years ago, and Airbnb constantly changes/improves their system, but I am experiencing the same map/search behaviour for a listing even now, without ever declining a request.

In addition I noticed some discrepancies in the price per nigh on the map, in the search results grid, and the listing itself, which is unexlainable.  I even oipened a ticket with Airbnb, the things got fixed eventually, but I did not get any explanation.

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

@Emma43 I don't really think it's a big deal. If you don't have enough information to accept the reservation, you can decline letting the guest know to please attempt again when they have provided the information. This happens all the time, and is not something to make a big deal out of. Also, if you find this happening frequently, consider adding wording in your listing to make it clear what information guests should provide in their initial inquiry. You might also consider whether you really need as much information as you think you do.

[Clare0]

@Emma43 Was this about a reservation inquiry?  I've heard of a new penalty for failing to Pre-Approve or Decline which would be something new for Airbnb.  Can you tell me?

[Caroline85]

YOU ARE PENALIZED IF YOU DECLINE!!

Airbnb has changed the page so people who are inquiring, click book. This is great if they are experienced guests and do want a reservation, but if they are making an inquiry it is a great problem, as the Host only has 24 hours to accept or decline the reservation. I have spent hours walking guests through this and they then end up not completing the reservation. Today I had a student not show for an inspection for his parents - said he wanted 2 periods, I took the day off work to show him and he says he has changed his mind at the inspection time. If I had accepted his booking as Airbnb forces me to do - then he tries to cancel - there is a whole issue.

Others who book, don't provide information of the makeup of their party and again as a Host we have to accept or decline (and then are penalized) without information is very tough.

You have 24 hours to accept the booking even if the guest does not reply with the needed details. If you decline for lack of information you are penalized as a Host.

Also there are issues with notifications not coming through. Airbnb said I was the only one with the issue. Airbnb said they would not advise if they have fixed the problem. Given Airbnb make money by Hosts accepting bookings, it is a large issue. Text message are critical and should not be taken away.

Seems the shift is way away from Hosts and entirely in the guest favor...

[Kelly0]

I decline a fair number of my reservations because I need guests to agree to the peculiarity of my space (and I'm a SuperHost). They need to agree that the apartment is below our house (and we have three kids so it's not quiet) and that if they have enough people in their group, they need to use the blow-up mattress. 

So yes, if I don't get confirmation that the guest agrees and understands, I decline.

My recommendation is that you decline when you need to. I don't think you're penalized all that much, truthfully.

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

@Caroline85 This community forum is most useful when replies are accurate. Many new users learn how the system works from what they read here. Stating that "you are penalized if you decline" is obviously not true, and can confuse users.

[Caroline85]

Ed and Hugh

I have had extensive dicsussions with Superhost Airbnb Staff, who made it very clear that there are penalties for declining bookings. Perhaps call them yourself and see if you are told what I was told both on the telephone and in writing - that they do penalize hosts for declining bookings.

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

@Caroline85 Here is the exact wording from the Help area:

"Declining an individual reservation request won't negatively impact your listing's placement in search results—however, if you decline many or most reservation requests, your search result placement may be negatively impacted."

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/259/what-should-i-do-if-i-m-uncomfortable-hosting-someone

So the occasional decline won't negatively impact your listing's placement. It's only those that frequently decline that have to worry. New hosts can be nervous enough without being sent into a panic at the thought that a single decline is going to have a negative impact on them.

[Francine2]

I disagree with this assessment. New Hosts need to know the truth about the system they are signing up for. It is not easy to read every word of the 'fine print'.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Caroline85

Certainly true that declining multiple (I believe though were are talking about 10 or more) in a row means you move further down the listings (and you may get one of those finger-wagging emails). But you don't get a financial penalty. AirBnB wish to maximise their fee income so declining can push guests to other sites....it can also mean that tardy hosts just arent keeping calendars up to date.

The problem is on their basic platform, a decline is a decline, even if the guest is clearly unsuited to the accommodation (eg has a pet, a child, more people that it will host etc..)

[Liz4]

Absolutely Caroline. I have gone through the same, very frustrating situation, over the past three months and received the same information as you - you are penalised. Unfortunately, that is where the information stops. There has been no assistance as to how to recitfy the situation and approve my ranking/search visisbility (other than to accept every booking but of course I am getting 1-2 requests a month vs 20-30 now due to appearing so infrequently in search rankings). Support staff have also told me that the situation is with the technical team, who are uncontactable, and the customer service team can therefor help no further. Unbelievably disappointing service and non transparent policies.