When do you send a pre-approval?

[Alexandra316]

I had a situation today that made me wonder when other people are sending pre-approvals to potential guests. 

We had an inquiry for a week booking in April: they asked some questions about the layout of the flat. I answered their questions, and they seemed fine, so I said if you'd like to book with us, we'd be happy to have you as our guest, encouraged them to contact us if there were other questions,  and sent them a pre-approval. I've done this before numerous times: sometimes people proceed with the booking, and sometimes they don't. In this case, I recieved a notification about an hour later that the person had completed their booking. So far, so normal. 

About 20 minutes later, I received an angry, somewhat aggressive message from the guest because "we" had charged their credit card and they asked how to cancel. I said that there is a cancellation button on the reservation, but I would recommend calling Airbnb to explain the situation to avoid paying the service fee (apparently Airbnb is no longer offering the 48-hour penalty-free cancellations? I didn't know that until today). They ignored my instructions and went ahead an cancelled by themselves. They then proceeded to message me a few more times saying how unfair the situation was and demanding that I should refund them. I just explained that all billing is dealt with by Airbnb and we had no ability to charge their credit card without their authority, or to refund the service fee. Most of the messages focused on how unfair we were for pre-approving them when they had just asked a question. I don't feel like I did a bad thing: other hosts have done the same for me when I'm a guest, and if the answer doesn't work, I just say thanks and don't book. 

So when do you send pre-approvals: only when your potential guest has specifically asked for one,  or do you send it and leave it for the guest to make their mind up?

[Robin4]

@Emilia42

No that's different  Emilia, that has always been there and has nothing to do with the 'safety net' 48 hour cancellation window which has been a big feature this past year. 

Each time I see a new help guide come up I screenshot it now because if you simply save the link (of which I have hundreds) each time you access that link you will get the current ruling, not neseccarily what the ruling was when you last accessed and saved it!

Cheers.....Rob

[Alexandra316]

@Sarah977 @Robin4 @Emilia42 the 48 hour free cancellation is still mentioned here: 

https://www.airbnb.ca/home/cancellation_policies#moderate

Under my moderate policy, it says they should have had an opportunity to cancel without penalty, so it seems that this guide may not be up to date. 

[Emilia42]

@Alexandra, @Sarah, @Robin, I did read on here once that, in theory, a guest/host could confirm a booking, get each other’s contact information, swindle a better deal outside of Airbnb, then cancel within the 48 hours for a full refund. So I can see why Airbnb may regret their decision of this policy. Although, I do appreciate it for how Alexandra put it: a get out of jail free card, which I have used once or twice.

[Susan151]

The 48 hour cancelation was there last Friday when a guest booked and then his mother was not happy about the stairs. Odd that this has been changed.

[Inna22]

@Alexandra316 @Susan151 @Robin4 A guest cancelled today, about an hour after booking, and got all money back. I have a strict policy. So it is there. 

[Kath9]

@Alexandra316, these guests sound totally clueless. I send a preapproval straight away if I'm happy to accept a guest - then it is up to them whether or not to proceed with the booking. This is in no way your responsibility and I wouldn't waste another second thinking about it. Just be thankful that such annoying and aggressive people aren't actually staying in your home!

[Alexandra316]

@Kath9 Thanks Kath: that's always been my thinking too, and I don't understand why these people made such a fuss. Very glad that they cancelled, yes!

[De-Sawah0]

May i ask regarding the pre-approval matter. I've received few inquires and i set a pre-approval to them. Is it necessary for me to set the pre-approval for each inquires or do i just reply their inquires without pre-aprroval instead? because i've clicked pre-approval each inquires but it seems to be expired instead without any reply or respond from the guest whom have made inquires to De'sawah Tambatuon Guesthouse?

[Sarah977]

@De-Sawah0  You don't have to either pre-approve or decline an Inquiry- messaging back within 24 hours fulfills your response obligation. Yes, the inquiry will expire if the guest doesn't act on it, whether you have pre-approved or not. Many guests have just sent out several Inquiries to several places, and may not respond- it's a normal thing. It would be nice if they messaged back, thanking you for resonding, but many people seem to have forgotten something called basic manners. 

[De-Sawah0]

@Sarah977  Thank you for your explanation for my better understanding regarding this matter.. Its so helpful.. Thank You. 😊