What's happen when we tick "no" to not host a guest again when we review them?

[Carole-and-Crian0]

Hi there,

I'm quite new to the Airbnb system (my partner and I have started renting around 6months ago) and I was wondering what's happen when we answer "no" to host a guest again when we leave a review?

Is our listing automatically blocked for this guest in the future?

Or is it just a statistic for Airbnb?

We had a lady staying 2 nights (we are mostly made for short stays rentals). She is leaving today but she was very nervous ( she never answer my Airbnb message asking her to let me know when she thinks arriving, and she called me at the end of the day to ask me confirmation that our listing wasn't in town, which I answered no that we are at around 35 min drive from town, as we put it in the listing and on the map. She asked for the address although it's in the direction we give on the listing, and was extremely rude and didn't let me speak, and when I tried to be helpful and explain her where howto find groceries or how to find us by phone she cut short and hang up, saying she was short on time to arrive before night time and that she will use her phone), have mood changes (so nervous and really rude prior arrival( by the way, we have a café so we are used to moody customers but I don't remember ever bein talked that way before just on an first contact), then she was okay when she arrived (thinking the  good energies were here for her), but still looking surprised of the outside kitchenette and other things (which we put in the listing of course), and looks extremely gloomy when we saw her quickly the next day and asked her if everything was okay. She also told me at her arrival that she doesn't  really have access to Airbnb or email through her phone and that it would have been better to text her (but I thought Airbnb don't give us the guests mobile anyway?) And bad luck the salt grinder was run out, luckily I came so I was able to give her salt to fill it ( yes next time I will check the salt and pepper grinders). So we expect her being this kind of fussy customers a bit crazy, never satisfied, a little thing goes wrong and they leave a bad review. So even if she leaves the place okay, I think I would put "no" to host her again but my partner thinks it's okay so really it would depend the kind of review she leaves her, if she leaves one at all. Considering the fact Airbnb doesn't like us to refuse enquiries ( I also don't really know what's happen if we say no to an enquiry when we don't want to host because we don't feel comfortable about the guest), I thought it would be better to prevent this guest coming back again by directly saying "no" in the review. But if I am wrong and she leaves us a good review, then I would feel terrible having misjudged her badly.

This is the first guest we encounter like that ( I know it won't be the last) but overall we really like hosting and the contact we have with guests.

[Anonymous]

@Carole-and-Crian0  The star ratings and thumbs up/down that you leave for guests are not visible to the guest, but they can prevent the guest from using Instant Book on a listing where the host has activated the "Recommended by other hosts" filter. It doesn't block them from sending Inquiries or Requests, but it is OK to decline.

Airbnb has tried various ways to scare hosts out of declining requests, such as setting an Acceptance Rate target in Basic Requirements and putting a nasty warning up if it falls below 88%. But there's not a specific penalty for declining a booking you're uncomfortable with, as long as you don't cite reasons that go against the Anti Discrimination policy. In contrast, the negative consequences of a bad stay are very real - it can be quite hard to recover from property damage, emotional conflict, or a scathing review.

Speaking of reviews - the text you write in the public review should be honest and factual. Any statements that would be invalidated by the reciprocal review being positive probably don't belong in there. I would avoid using words like "rude" or any depictions of the guest's mental state, since it's easy to misread moods and manners, and you don't know what's going on in a stranger's personal life. Instead, focus on what would be relevant to other hosts considering this guest,such as whether they left the property in an acceptable state, represented their group size accurately, and followed the rules. Based on what you described, it sounds like communication difficulties were the main issue. 

[Carole-and-Crian0]

Thank you Andrew, I really appreciate you took the time to write these informations and I will follow your recommendations.

All the best,

Carole

[Sarah977]

@Carole-and-Crian0  If a guest contacts you via an Inquiry, you do not need to either pre-approve or decline it at all. Simply messaging back within 24 hours fulfills your obligation and doesn't affect your stats. It's only a Booking Request that you need to accept or decline within 24 hours.

So if you get an Inquiry that is off-putting- the guest is rude, demanding, or you can see that they didn't bother to read the info you've provided and you don't want them as a guest, just message back in a way as to discourage them while still being polite. "Hi XX- Thank you for your Inquiry. I'm sorry, but we are unable to accept check-ins outside our stated check-in window. (or whatever is a no-go for you. If they are actually being rude, as opposed to maybe just terse, I myself wouldn't hesitate to say "I'm sorry, XX, but I'm not interested in accepting a guest who speaks to me in a disrespectful manner"). It would be best if you look for a different listing which can accomodate your needs."

And to echo what Andrew said, just review your guests honestly, it has nothing to do with how you think they might review you. Other hosts (and you) need to be able to look at guest reviews to see if the guest left the place clean, observed the house rules, communicated well, etc. You are reviewing their suitability as a guest, not writing them a character reference. A guest may be a basicaly nice person, but not a good candidate for renting someone's home, or vice-versa- they could be a person who's difficult for most others to get along with, yet be perfectly acceptable as a guest- left the place clean, followed the rules, communicated arrival time.

[Carole-and-Crian0]

Thank you Sarah, I have read several of your posts and find you always give very useful advice. I particularly like the fact you give examples of what to write!