When a simple guest question keeps coming up ?

[Vivek143]

Hey Everyone 👋🏻 

I’ve noticed that a lot of guest questions aren’t really about the stay itself. They’re usually things that are already mentioned somewhere in the listing, but guests may not see them until they are actually planning the trip.

One thing I changed recently was keeping a short note with the few questions that come up repeatedly and answering them proactively before arrival. It has reduced some of the back-and-forth, although I’m still trying to find the balance between being helpful and sending guests too much information.

I’m curious how other hosts handle this. Do you keep a standard pre-arrival message with the most common questions, or do you prefer to answer everything individually?

What guest question do you get so often that you eventually changed your communication around it?

[Paula]

Hello @Vivek143, this is a great question, thanks for sharing it here.

I'm reaching out to a few hosts to see if they'd like to share their experience: @Jamie600 @Helen471 @Luz688 and @Anoop16 

Meanwhile: what's the most common question you get from your guests?

[Graeme19]

Vivek, I know exactly where you're coming from.  You really have to assume that they have not read the listing at all.  I usually write a few sentences acknowledging whatever they may have said in their inquiry, followed by some variation of this:

My place is very unique, so I like to have guests sign off on some of the things that make it that way:

1. I live on the property and am in the common area outside of your unit almost all of the time with my dog.

2. In order to get to your room, you'll have to pass through the common area where my dog is off leash. Because problems have arisen from having one dog on leash and another off leash, it's important that your dogs are OK off leash.

3. There are no unregistered/unannounced guests allowed, for all of our collective safety.

4. Initial check-in has to be somewhat planned during sensible hours.

Let me know if you have any questions and we can get you booked.

Hope it's a good fit

[Anoop16]

Hi Vivek

It's always good to mention elaborate details in your listing and of course the house rules to have clarity about your intention about what is expected from the guest. Apart from this do mention what they need to know and do in your arrival and check out details. This helps in most of the questions which generally guests will ask

Then a little bit more you get when they book which I do answer and also tell them to go through house rules which helps.

Hope this helps. Thanks and good hosting. 

[Lorina14]

@Anoop16 

I filled out detailed arrival instructions when I set up my listing and I still found guests didn’t read them or look for them. So I started sending highlights to where to park, how to get in, lockbox/keypad info in my scheduled messages 3 days before, 2 days before the house manual, the day before/of check in another reminder of parking and how to get in and that decreased the number of people contacting me with questions. I refer them to the arrival guide but some guests told me it was hard to find. 

[Anoop16]

Hi @Lorina14 

I find that now Airbnb itself sends certain readymade messages which the guest need to know at the time of arrival and similarly before check out. These sent to host to forward to guests in case anything more is to be added. I hope it's at your end too. Bw these messages are from what you have mentioned in your listings. Just try update the app and see if it helps.

Thanks and have a good day 

[Lorina14]

@Anoop16 I do have the most updated app on my phone and read all messages that Airbnb sends to me as a guest. 

I recently stayed with a host but I find it is not as helpful as needed if the host doesn’t adequately fill out the sections.

Some of my guests also don’t check their emails until the day before or of. I haven’t had any guests complain of our scheduled  messages as we haven’t had any mishaps since we implemented our automated sequencing. 

[Lorina14]

@Vivek143 

I answer the questions as they come up and gently refer them to my listing for more details as it’s all described there.  

The most common questions are about the neighborhood and the distance to certain attractions (so I spent a long time and redid my neighborhood section with distance and approximate times), if I have a (insert amenity), or if there is an early or late checkout (unfortunately often they don’t plan or ask ahead but a day before or the day of).

For commonly asked questions I created specific scheduled messages (not on a schedule to send to all guests but saved) that I can send to them for their specific needs. This has saved me a lot of time retyping things I’ve already done many times before.

People many times don’t read and often times like an easy answer rather than look it up themselves. I have scheduled messages covering the basics (check date/time, where to park, please download the app/turn on notifications and check the arrival section for pictures and step by step directions, my guidebook, and a link to farmers markets, kid friendly activities and a calender of activities in our city).

[Helen471]

@Vivek143 I have included the most basic questions I get asked (how to access the lockbox, where to park, Wifi password) into a "Scheduled Message" that goes out 24-hours before a Guest's arrival. This way, a guest has access to this information in the last message before their arrival ☺️

[Vanessa2864]

I deal with this with a FAQ.

A simple way of answering the questions guests ask most often, without the hassle and without having to say the same thing for the 251st time.

FAQs aren’t there to give guests more information. They’re there so you don’t have to give them the same information again.

There’s no dedicated “FAQ” section on Airbnb. You can still put individual FAQs in your listing description, Arrival Guide, amenities or House Manual.

Or you can make use of the structured information in your listing and let Airbnb answer some of the questions for the guest in the Messages tab, pulling the answers from the relevant sections of your listing.

Which is rather handy when you’ve already answered the same question 250 times.

“How do I get there?”

“Where can I park?”

“Is there Wi-Fi?”