Can we block guests from coming again?

Donald28
Level 10
Lithia Springs, GA

Can we block guests from coming again?

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. 

97 Replies 97
Bill349
Level 2
Boulder City, NV

fortunately with over 50 people staying at my place, i have not had any major issues. ( 2 because of pets which I do not allow any more )..I too do not want the "motel 6" crowd either. The first thing you do is do not follow Airbnb price guide. They will have you renting out your place for $2 a night if you follow their advice. second  if you read my listing  am extremely specific about who I am and the type of person that I want staying at my residence. I state that I do not care who books as long as they are friendly, sociable, respectful & clean. I also state that if you're angry or bitter or having issues do not book. I also state at the top of my listing, please read EVERYTHING before you book. I also have over 80 photos with guest reviewed tags on each photo. I also reply after a booking thanking them for choosing my place and reading everything. now perhaps my location which is near Hoover Dam the Grand canyon Vegas and death Valley is a reason I get a lot of international travelers who are wonderful. Good luck . 

Bill I wanna stay at your place just for the brerakfast! Sounds great!

so agree with you about the airbnb tip price guide.  Very inaccurate.  We also send booking response which asks them to read all rules etc.  Most simply do not read.  We have security monitor and cams outside only.  The four young partiers who just left, were surprised when we showed them the monitor.  They failed to read or follow our rules. They disabled the security cams at some point.  They came back on in time to watch them hose down vomit from our outside chairs at 3 am.  unfortunately, I should have questioned them more before accepting the booking.  

Donald28
Level 10
Lithia Springs, GA

A year after posting this, I wanted to mention that I no longer use instant book and couldn't be happier. I have so much more say in who books and when they arrive. I am no longer caught off guard by last minute instant bookers showing up at my home unnannounced. I can relax and take a nice nap while lounging nude by the pool in my backyard again when I have no guests. I don't have to worry about airbnb instant book guests showing up anymore!   Folks, instant book sucks! 

Francoise113
Level 2
Houston, TX

I was able to block someone today by going to the actual reservation and reporting the profile from the link on that page. 

Janice146
Level 3
Winnipeg, Canada

Does anyone know what happens when you block someone on there end. I just had a guest stay for the second time. They say nice things leave a nice written review and 5 stars in all categories but 4 stars over all. They did this both times they stayed. It’s not worth it for me. I don’t want them back.  They are nice people though. I don’t want it to be obvious that they were blocked.  

@Janice146  Do you explain to your guests how a 4* review affects hosts? Because if you don't, you can't fault the guests- Airbnb tells guests that 4*s means Good, they think they are leaving a good review, they have no idea that a 4* overall can lead you to lose Superhost or even get delisted. If you explain it to them and they still leave 4*s, that's another story. 

But I would never block a guest who was simply unaware. And they don't get aware unless hosts explain it. It's not their fault that Airbnb leads them to believe they're giving a good star rating. Most guests, especially someone who wants to come back, have no desire to harm the host.

 One of the first guests I explained the rating system from the host's end to, was a super great gal who had stayed at lots of Airbnbs. She said "OMG, seriously? I feel terrible now- I gave my last two stays a 4* Overall, and the places were fine and the hosts were nice, I'd definitely stay there again, I had no idea! Why does Airbnb lie to guests?  They tell us 4* means good, then they punish you guys for it?"

I need to find a graceful way to educate people. Or add a blurb in my guest book or something. It feels like I’m just begging for 5 stars. Which I guess I am...  feels tacky, but until they figure out how to fix this system, the. I guess that is what we need to do. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to write back. 

Betsy60
Level 3
Johnstown, NY

Just don't use Instant Booking no matter how much Airbnb pushes it...life was so much better (and booking-controllable) when I ignored their pleas to turn IB back on. And the world didn't come to an end!

@Betsy60  I've never used IB from the start of hosting almost 3 years ago. And I've had consistently great guests.

Me too Sarah...also, if you forget to block an important date, like stupid me for my first grandchild’s due date, it’s just an inquiry. You accept or politely decline. No big deal, no getting nervous about it. (Sorry, can’t seem to turn off bold text)

@Betsy60 I am not sure how much you can do without turning Instant Booking on because what you get is a first name with a few reviews when a booking request comes.

 

I have Instant Booking on. When there is a guest with bad reviews, it automatically send me a request for approval instead of automatically approve. Then, I don't have to go through the hassle to message the guests back and forth. Some guests may not have Airbnb app access all the time.

@Alice595  Never used IB and I don't consider messaging back and forth with guests to be a "hassle". I consider it part of my hosting business and it gives me a good idea about what to expect in terms of what kind of person and guest this will be. I've read so many stories here about guests who managed to comply with the IB criteria the host had set and then turned out to be horrible guests. 

How do you arrange getting a request for approval when  you have instant book on??

Pete69
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

Have you really put InstantBook to the test? Are you really missing out on business or that much business? 

 

I gave up on InstantBook on day one when I had a guest book with their wife's Airbnb account. She wasn't going to be staying and her place of residence was  thousands of miles from the husband's place of residence. It was a total headache trying to get that all straightened out with Airbnb.