Honoring pricing for an airbnb o just purchased

[Damian396]

Hi there - I have seen a number of posts about taking over an account / co hosting etc when you buy a house already operating as an airbnb.

i was told that it is cleaner for the existing host to cancel their bookings with a link to my duplicate listing. Then the new owner offered to rebook. 

I appreciate there are no guarantees of them rebooking 

i have currently blocked the nights already booked by current owner and snoozed the listing. I have also connected with all bookings (outside of Airbnb). I also set the nightly rate at $4k so nobody would book until k can sort this out. 

Having reached out to all current bookings with the old host they are worried about their vacation in the next 3 weeks to 3 months. 

I would love to get back to the guests tomorrow with a hyperlinks to my listing and clear guidance. So they canplease

can someone provide the steps on how to list / honor pricing?. 

1. how do I get their full existing rate (some are happy to provide it) 

2. how do I apply that rate to my blocked out dates / take off snooze etc so they can browse and book 

thanks 

[Helen3]

This is a terrible position for the original host to put these guests in and you as the new owner. They should have blocked their calendar when they knew they were selling so they didn't accept bookings they knew they couldn't honour .

the original host will need to cancel the guests  bookings so they are free to rebook with you.

only the original owner can send the guests links to your new listing . If I was the guest I would be reluctant to rebook after being messed about.

put your pricing back to what they should be .

these guests can't book with you while your listing is snoozed and neither can anyone else. 

you need to speak to the order original owner to try and sort this out.

[Damian396]

Hi Helen 

Thanks for the reply. This feels like a lot of work and there is no clear guidance. 

as soon as I stop snoozing and list at a fair market price anyone can book and that will impact the guest with existing reservations. I appreciate this is not my fault but it would be great for them and great for me if I could rebook on the same terms.

are there any work arounds?

1. understand their nightly price / total booking cost and offer it 

2. allow them and only them to book those dates without anyone else beating them to it? 

[Helen3]

Sorry you are not correct

Just remove the snooze function having blocked out the dates in your calendar where there are existing bookings @Damian396 

you can set your listing so people have to request to book . In this way you can accept as a priority those with previous bookings. 

I would really discuss this with the previous property owner . 

[Damian396]

I want to ensure I understand this as a first time host

1. I am blocked 

2. I have 'request to book' set
 
3. I can unblock 

4. Then communicate to the guests who had booked with prior owner to my listing 

5, Then they can make an inquiry ? As they are blocked they cant try and book them

Its step 5 and beyond I get a little confused

6. Then I will have to ask the guest to share their pricing 

7. How do I then set custom pricing for these guests at their original rate 

[Helen3]

You are making this far too complicated I've already advised you on the process to take @Damian396 

1. Turn off instant book so any guest needs to make a request to book

2. set your standard pricing 

3. as I've already mentioned  you can't communicate with the previous guests the original host will need to cancel the bookings on their listing and send the guest a link to your listing 

4. if the guests booked with the previous host want to book they send you a booking request and you can then accept it

no need to block out dates/set special pricing

please speak to the original host about this they should be advising you and helping ensure a smooth handover. 

and please have a look at the Airbnb Help centre to help familiarise yourself with how the platform works. 

[Damian396]

Thanks Helen (I think) 

this is quite daunting for a new host. I thought the network was here to help but I will be certain not to ask for your help again 

[Helen3]

Sorry you didn't find my advice helpful when I provided you with a step by step guide as to what to do @Damian396 

and linked you to the Airbnb Help website which has FAQs about all aspects of managing your listing on Airbnb. Reading through this will help you understand how to manage your STR business on Airbnb. Familiarising yourself with this website will help you feel less daunted.

absolutely this community is here for advice . Just because you didn't find my advice useful shouldn't stop you from posting here. There are lots of great experienced hosts here who provide great advice. 

I  suggested you contact the host you bought the property from as only they can contact the guests who booked with them and let them know about the change in ownership.

[Frances3408]

@Damian396. Hi Damian, ok, looking at this another way, you should not guarantee or accept any bookings until you are certain you can take possession of the property-you dont mention how soon that is or if its already occurred? You should not be snoozed if you're ready to take guests, double checked all your Airbnb listing settings and now own the property.

Being live but blocking those dates will mean they can at least make a Request to Book. It sounds like you already have a way to contact them (privacy permissions given?) so once your listing is Live send it to them. You can then message them via the platform, confirm previous prices and then open your Calendar dates but warning them they need to act ASAP if they want those dates.

You can offer Special Pricing under a Request to Book or an Enquiry (see right side of booking screen about half way down) just know what those prices are first. Yes, its possible to receive multiple requests for the same/similar dates and you get to decide who to accept and who to decline. If you dont know what default prices to offer everyone else just compare to your local listings. Do not put too high prices in case you forget to change them afterwards and lose your New Listing advantages.

I can understand you are concerned about losing these bookings as well as offering a smooth transition but the previous owner was supposed to cancel, delist and send your link to them first as Airbnb will not permit duplicate bookings nor assist with any transfer. @Helen3  is correct and an extremely knowledgeable as well as experienced host. 

I hope this helps. Good luck.

[Damian396]

Thank you so much for your detailed response. I am pretty confident we can get new bookings. I just felt bad for those with impending holidays so I wanted to do what ever I could. 

Thanks for the advice - slowly getting through it 

Thanks

Damian