New Strict (with grace) Period Option - Physical Property Security Concern

[Marie677]

Hi - I was presented with the option to turn on the STRICT (with grace period) option for my listing.  I would be comfortable doing it (because I think it is right for the consumer) and taking the financial risk but I am VERY concerned about protecting my physical location and entry instructions from folks who are NOT confirmed guests.  This is one of the main reasons I choose strict...I figure unscrupulous actors will not risk a financial penalty and instead go after "lower hanging fruit".  I use lock boxes and electronic locks for the ease of check in for my guests.

Can anyone let me know if/when Airbnb displays the property Address and Entry Instructions to folks within this 48 hour free cancellation window?  I am happy to "opt-in" if Airbnb is committing to protecting my physical property by holding back this information for the full 48 hours.

[Helga0]

Well, my bed is on a loft, can’t hide under it. It’s not a suspicion anyway, just a question of probability. I have had a few cancellations, where I had to tell a few neighbors and the concierge to watch out for my place because of a guest. One cancellation after arrival, where airbnb , after speaking to the guest, called me  to propose I change the lock and they cover it.  And that was not even the sex offender ;-))

[Peter618]

@Helga0

I agree with your advice for @Marie677 , good way to handle it.

However the new options condition is not only 2 days, it says:

"For bookings at least 14 days away, allow guests to get a full refund if they cancel within 48 hours of booking.".

That makes perfectly sense to me. It does not limit the host too much and still gives the guest confidence to cancel without penalty for a limited time. For the host it may be an advantage that people would book who would otherwise postpone decision to think over (and then maybe choose another listing when they made up mind).

[Helga0]

@Peter618, I understand, I remember I saw that option. 

I would not choose it myself, as I either rent a shared room, where moderate is good enough, or I rent my whole place and then I have to leave. That means booking non refundable train tickets, take dates in the other location, organise a lot of things. It would drive me nuts to wait with all that for 2 days, watching the train prices raise daily. 

I would feat to atteact especially indecisive guests with such a condition. 

[Michael-and-Dru0]

Helga, how did you set up to make those instructions go in two batches?

[Helga0]

@Michael-and-Dru0, I’m getting a lot of one night guests in one listing, often international travellers on a stopover. The other listings I may use, are variations of my two homes, entire place or half of one. That means a lot of  different instructions in different languages, in Paris, they may arrive from 3 airports, 5 railway stations, 2 overland bus stations, car, even by bike from other countries. It’s impossible to set up a fully automatic procedure. 

The place is inside a gated residence, four sprawling buildings accessed via one entry. Plus it’s in a spot, where google maps is always wrong. You can set up a listing without giving the complete address up to the apartment door - we don’t have door numbers any way. 

The automatic instructions on the booking confirmation tell the guest in two languages how to arrive at the next metro stop from five main arrival points, plus how to use public transport etc. My welcome mail tells them to look it up and print it. 

When I get a booking, I see it usually within seconds and check, if there is the requested info concerning arrival time and flight or train. They get a short personal welcome back, either “Thanks, look up booking confirmation, further  instructions will follow” or “Thanks, when and how do you arrive, need to know the direction you come from to tell you how to arrive”. That keeps them happy, the host exists and will tell them how to come / keeps them busy to send me more before they will get more. 

Every few days, I check the calendar and send arrival instructions. I have most of them in a file, to copy and paste the part in their language and for their situation. 

For the full unit rentals, there needs to be a rental contract, so I do not have these listings on IB and there is usually a bit more correspondence anyway.

(At the moment, all are paused)

it’s not a airbnb automatism, but it’s so routine, I can do it on the computer during other work, on the tablet or on the phone, during breakfast, in the bus...

[Helga0]

@Peter618, just saw your other remark. If you rent several units for STR only, strict after cool off makes sense. It will not happen often and you reduce the unhappy ones that booked without realising they booked. 

[Peter618]

@Helga0

Yes that is exactly my case. One of the first bookings I got was from a woman not reading that I only offer one queen size bed, and she booked right away for her 5 person family to come in 3 weeks. She obviously realized immediately after that this was a big mistake and called me in despair.

I helped her then how she could cancel from her side. Then I got the cancellation message from airbnb saying I would get 50% of the booking amount because of the strict policy, but I could reimburse a amount if I wanted. Of cause I agreed to return all, I would have felt bad to take anything from her.

All this effort and excitement would have been avoided  if the "strict with grace" policy were in effect already.

[Todd-and-Reese0]

@Marie677  We chose to opt in for that 48-hour cancellation, even though we have a strict policy. This is because we still have folks who book our place thinking it is the entire house or failing to notice that we have cats or that we don't take single males. So, we clarify these things in our initial message to them and tell them they have 48 hours to cancel if they made the booking by mistake.

Also, we send check-in instructions the day of arrival and they are not in our listing. That way, if someone books our place and cancels, they don't know where any keys or codes are. As for calenders and availability, anyone with an ABB account can see those. Check off the boxes that are now offered saying the property is under survailance, even if you don't have visible cameras. Also, mention that you live and work on the property or have a caretaker.

[Marie677]

Thanks for the recommendations.  I agree that there are steps you can take to protect yourself  (not including entry instructions until later but that reduces your ability to automate more of your business) but the Address is still available (someone could book and cancel so they can "target" certain properties).  Overall, I think it's the right thing to do for the consumer.  I've definitely been in situations where I could have used this "out" and it would have been extremely helpful.  Perhaps going with the surveillance option or a live/work "verbiage" might be ok but I could be misleading good guests who may WANT an interaction with me that I cannot provide.

I just feel like Airbnb could do ALL hosts a big favor by blocking some very critical details until the 48 hour window has passed.  I also think a lot of other people would "opt in" if the flow of information was different....

[Helga0]

@Marie677 , you should post the suggestion in Host Voice. We can all give it thumbs up there. If it reaches a number of those likes, it is transferred as a suggestion to the airbnb team. It does not seem complicated to program and makes good sense, so you have good gope to see it taken into consideration and hopefully implemented. 

[Marie677]

@helga  thanks for the reco.  I did just that!  I've not been active in the forums in the past so this is all a bit new to me.

Here is the link for those who want to upvote!

[Marko17]

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