Can we block guests from coming again?

[Donald28]

Honestly, there's some guests that I wouldn't want to stay in my airbnb again. They always say... "we'll be back when we are in the area". BUt, some people just aren't a good fit. Especially, the ones who leave bad feedback and less than 5 stars. Why would they want to come back and why would we as hosts want them back to leave us another less than great review? 

Airbnb really pushes hosts to use instant book but that feature leaves hosts with zero ability to prescreen guests. 

Is there a way to block people from instant booking? If there isn't, there should be. 

[Alexandra316]

@Donald28 Unfortunately, the only way to prevent someone from booking with you is by reporting them. See https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2020/how-do-i-report-a-message-or-block-someone-on-airbnb for details on how to do that.

[Donald28]

Thanks but the way this reads is that even if you block a guest from essaging you, they can still use instantbook and book your place. Does everyone else read it that way. 

"If you block someone, they won’t be able to send you messages, send you a reservation request, or accept a reservation request from you."

It sounds like I'll be leaving a lot more 3's in my reviews of the people I don't care to host again. 

[Alexandra316]

@Donald28 I think it's the way you're reading it. They can't book with you if you flag them: they are essentially "dead to you".

[Myra-Desiree0]

Yes, I agree! Instant book is a no go for me. They cancelled, we charged a fee and want it back. That diesn’t Work for me 

[Sharon807]

We had a very nice guest stay with us but he was really noisy (coughing and moving around his room all night) I couldn’t sleep. This is the only time I’ve had this issue. I don’t want to give him a bad review but I don’t want to host him again. He is a bad fit for our space. We really need a way to be able to block unsuitable guests without giving them a bad review. He could be a wonderful guest for another space!

[Marzena4]

In fact, if you score them low and give thumbs down, they won't be able to book your place again, @Donald28 and @Alexandra316

[Alexandra316]

@Marzena4 I didn't realize that. Souce for that info?

[Marzena4]

Other hosts here or Airbnb rules - can't remember.

[Donald28]

ARE YOU SURE? Where does it say that? Anyway, I've only ever given one guest a thumbs down but there are at least 10 guests I'd rather not host again. 

[Ben205]

@Donald28Interesting discussion. To help other hosts, you really need to 'thumbs down' bad guests. Otherwise, the review system doesn't work. We could all do with not having to host those guests!

[Ann489]

@Donald28I think if you give them a thumbs down they'd be less than inclined to book you again anyway...so I wouldn't worry.  A long time ago, there was a "block" feature--just another useful tool that Airbnb in its infinite wisdom has done away with, sigh.  😉

Also, I have a list of all the ex-guests I'd rather not host again...so far, none of them have tried to book again, but if any ever did, I'd cancel them.  😛

[Sherry346]

I wish everything you said I could get confirmation for. You are Level 10, so I'd like to proceed with it as fact - but I've got plenty of evidence to the contrary, and with policies changing all the time, and zero consistency, and Ambassadors providing conflicting information from one support agent to the next, bailing out on messaging, ro-bot transferring your cases to others not informed - I am going to start living on these community forum message boards to survive what I have named "the de-volution of Airbnb" . 7 years now, and was thrilled. Superhost for quite a while - helping other listings - not always the owner - In 2020? I can no longer wrap my head around the inability to understand how anything works anymore.

[Sarah977]

FYI- The levels listed here are only a metric associated with users' level of participation in this forum- how often you post here, how many thumbs up your posts get. It has nothing whatsoever to level of expertise, how long someone has been hosting and has nothing to do with hosting accounts. If you posted here 5 times a day for a week, you'd probably be at Level 10, even if everything you said was wrong. It doesn't mean anything- it's just a social media thing.

You're wise to say you're going to start living here- there's so many changes and glitches that hosts alert each other to, as well as good advice from others on how to handle this or that situation, or just for moral support.

@Sherry346

[Andrea4648]

I just got screwed over on my reservation for thanksgiving weekend. The guests checked in, didn’t contact me about anything, stayed two nights (of 5) and then I suddenly get a message from Airbnb support saying they have checked out and been refunded the other nights and cleaning fee due to my property having mold and cleanliness issues. I don’t have either... I can’t find a phone number to call and talk to a person at Airbnb to dispute, I’m out almost $400 (a significant amount to my personal finances), I still have to clean and sanitize my home they were in for 2 nights. I live in the desert, and am unaware of any mold or cleanliness issues anywhere in my home. Anyone know how I can talk to a person? The number I called says it’s no longer in service and to look online for a US number, but when I try it just continually cycles me in scripted replies from support.