declining reservation request

[Patrick177]

I have been reading about hosts who are declining requests based on race etc.; one article mentioned that someone at AirBNB raised the possibility of blocking dates out when a reservation is refused.  This concerns me since there are many reasons for declining a request that are not discriminatory.  For me, the main reason has been that I don't want to block out a 3-day reservation for my house next July (9 months away) when I am likely to book the entire month.  Since the staff at AirBNB no longer wants to be contacted about anything, ever, for any reason, from the people who pay their salaries, I thought I would put this out in the community.

[Stephanie6]

Hi @Patrick177, 

There are plenty of valid reasons to decline a reservation and a host should not have declined dates blocked.  Perhaps guests who are frequently declined should be analyzed by airbnb.  It is possible that they ask for a discount or for the host to make an exception to the house rules.  Here are some examples of guest inquiries/requests I have declined:

1. incorrect number of guests

2. bringing a dog

3. plan to have a wedding ceremony/bridal shower/other event

4. ask for early checkin/late checkout that I cannot accomodate

5. ask for a discount

6. third party booking

Brian Chesky is clear in his statement of airbnb's response to the discrimination claims that more properties will be instant bookable....will hosts still be able to cancel instant booked reservations without penalty?  Will those days be blocked?  

"We’ll be implementing a new policy called Open Doors. Starting October 1st, if a Guest anywhere in the world feels like they have been discriminated against in violation of our policy – in trying to book a listing, having a booking canceled, or in any other interaction with a host – we will find that Guest a similar place to stay if one is available on Airbnb, or if not, we will find them an alternative accommodation elsewhere."

[David126]

You do not have to have your bookings available that far in the future.

They seem to be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, also they seem to be concentrating on Hosts not Guests which is weird.

I assume it is mainly a PR excercise.

I see you rent out whole houses, the obvious insirance would be to list them elsewhere as well. VRBO whatever.

[Lauren119]

I have a question on the request side......Yesterday I put in a reservation request for 2 nights in Louisville, KY for the Kentucky Derby.  An hour later I got a message back from the host that they thought they had their listing in "snooze" mode and were still making edits and it would be posted the next day.  With this they declined my request.  I replied and asked if I would get priority since I already submitted a request.  They sent me a message back today saying they had posted the listing again and that they could not make mine priority because they usually get rentals for more nights and they would like to get a longer rental....but........the minimum is 2 nights and that is what I requested.  Is this allowed?!?!?  This seems extremely unfair and if they want a longer rental they should up the minimum nights.

[Patrick177]

Hi Lauren,

Agreed, this sounds unfair--the reason for the decline shouldn't change. But as to the issue of declining short-term requests: My 4BR carries the overhead of full utilities, premium cable & wifi, yard care, snow removal and a mortgage, so I depend on longer term bookings. Although I have a 3-night minimum, I can't accept a 3-night request in December for next June that would preclude the month or more I'm sure to get. So I try to compromise between necessity and fairness, drawing the line at 3-4 months ahead. Hope that makes sense!

Pat