Status "not possible" because a request is deemed more important than an inquiry?

[Niki19]

Hi,

I received an inquiry from someone for 4 nights, and I received a request from someone else for an overlapping period for 3 nights. I received the inquiry first, so I was exchanging messages with the person who sent the inquiry. I preferred this person because they wanted to stay more nights. However before I accepted anything, the status of inquiry was changed into "not possible".

Does this mean that whenever you receive a request, any inquiries you already had running automatically become "not possible"? That seems very unfair because if the inquiry comes in first, I want to decide for myself if I want to offer that person the chance to book. I don't want Airbnb to decide that it's "not possible" to host that person.

In this case it would have been better for me to go with the inquiry person because it would mean one extra night. Not that much, but what if the inquiry was for like 2 weeks, and the request was for 2 days? I would be kind of pissed if Airbnb robbed me of the chance to make the 2 week thing work... Any experience / knowledge?

Thanks,

Niki

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

Airbnb does seem to give preferance to Requests over Inquiries - but you can always go in and Decline the request, which should make the reservation possible for the Inquiry.

[Niki19]

Thanks, yes I could decline it, but of course I'm not going to decline something when I'm not sure yet about the other option. That might leave me with nothing at all.

I wanted to give the inquiry some time to turn into a booking, but the request made it impossible because it changed into "not possible". 

What I want is to decide for myself what is possible and what's not, by clicking 'decline' or 'accept'. I don't want Airbnb to decide for me while I'm still waiting for the better option to confirm. Any way around this?

[Linda108 · Accepted solution]

@Niki19  I certainly understand that you want greater control over your reservations.  Just so you see another side to this particular aspect of the platform, it is known that many travelers will be sending inquiries to multiple hosts, some seeking to find the best deal and some just exploring.  If you want to "protect" the inquiring traveler, just pre-approve and let them know they have 24 hours to find out what they need and book or the approval will expire.  The dates are held as unavailable during that time.  I have had several travelers find something else while they are carrying on a conversation with me and not even let me know they booked elsewhere.

From the traveler's perspective, if you are ready to book a reservation you would like to complete that process as quickly as possible so you can continue to make plans.  Air BNB must support both sides.  If you want to gamble that the longer reservation is a better deal for you then as previously suggested you decline the request with a message you feel obligated to finish a communication you are having with another traveler and you will get back to them in 24 hours about availability.   This allows the second guest to seek another listing or wait to hear from you.  Seems fair to me.

[Niki19]

Thanks Linda. I understand but it just seems like a hassle to me to do all this declining and asking people to re-request etc. I just want to keep all options open and decide by myself. That actually seems most fair to me. I'm well aware of travelers inquiring and then never replying to messages but that's not a reason to put an inquiry on "not possible" for me.

[Andrea9]

@Niki19

Airbnb works on a first come, first served principle with bookings more important.

A guest committed to wanting to book is deemed more important.

It is what it is. I think they do it so it's fairer to guests, plus it's a sure booking and sold is sold.

[Niki19]

Well actually that's the thing: sold is not sold in this case. It's sold when I decide it is. I can decline a request if that person seems untrustworthy or whatever. It's sold when I approve a request. As long as I'm talking to several people, nothing is sold. Therefore nothing should be marked "not possible" unless I say so...

[Marit-Anne0]

@Niki19

If I were blessed with such a dilemma I would consider myself lucky 😉 You cannot really have the cake and eat it too.

[Niki19]

In my opinion a simultaneous request and inquiry are not incompatible as long as no 'accept' or 'decline' has been clicked. Of course I can only choose one 'cake' but I want to choose it myself! 🙂 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Niki19

For the moment your opinion does not comply with how the airbnb works - it is a thing you will have to live with.  

[Niki19]

I know, that's the entire reason I started this conversation...

[Sam-and-Adam0]

I'm pretty sure the"not possible" means that your (potential) guest has just booked elsewhere- making their inquiry or request to stay with you "not possible."

On the other hand, I've noticed that if I have more than one guest inquiring about the same date(s), once I confirm one of them as a booking- the rest get marked with "not possible"

... Not that Air is making the call for you- just the reality of 'it's not possible' for that guest for those dates. 

S.

[Niki19]

@Sam-and-Adam0 I don't think that's what it is, it says "Your home is no longer available for this guest". That implies that I've made it impossible for this guest to book my home. I've actually booked 2 places simultaneously as a guest before because I received a message from a host about there being a problem in her home but she hadn't cancelled the reservation yet. So I already placed a new booking for the same dates and this didn't cause any problems. The first host later did cancel the first reservation, but booking two places for the same nights really was possible as a guest...

[Neverbeen0]

Hello everyone,  A guest had sent me an inquiry two months before to book for a period (1-15 Dec) and we had been in conversation. One month later, same guest messaged me through same inquiry, mentioning new dates in their message, saying that they will be travelling Jan 20 - Feb 3. We confirmed the availability and we had been in conversation but guest wanted sometimes to confirm the booking. We had been in converation untill Dec 15 (as per their original inquiry, 15th was last date of their trip period) and after Dec 15, their status shows me "Not possible" but after Dec 15, I haven't heared them back. I kept messaging but no response yet. I am sure they were pretty sure to book our home for Jan 20 - Feb 3. Now, I am wondering whether guest is able to see what I message to them while their message status is showing "Not possible" ? How can I make their status as active as inquiry to make sure that guest is able to see what I meesage? Appreciated your response. 

[Linda108]

@Neverbeen0  First of all, you have 1000 listings?!  You are definitely in a different league from me, but it might be best for you to just call the guest if you ever got a confirmation.  Otherwise, you can contact Air BNB and request their help with contact.