Why should I have to specify why I'm declining a persons reservation request?

[Bruno610]

Sometimes they have a terrible profile, with bad reviews or no reviews at all. Sometimes they have no verification.

Sometimes its simply that your gut tells you not to accept their request. Why should I give them a specific reason for declining when I just don't feel like accommodating them?

What are some vague or generic responses you guys use for declining guests you just don't feel like hosting? I've used "Sorry those dates are not available" before but then I get "Why are they open in the calendar then?"

I guess I just don't want to be rude.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2020/how-do-i-report-a-message-or-block-someone-on-airbnb

FYI, I've heard that for some reason this block function comes and goes.....but it's always been there when I needed it though. Hope this helps @Debbie0

[Anonymous]

@Bruno610 one piece of advice that I see frequently on the forums, which I happen to disagree with, is "trust your gut instinct." It's not that this is necessarily bad advice - your first instinct might well turn out to be correct - it's just that it's incomplete advice. If something in a request gives us pause, we're ethically obliged to give thoughtful consideration to what the cause of the hesitation truly is, as our unwarranted prejudices also happen to be frequently located in the gut. 

In many cases (incomplete profiles/verifications, or something unclear in the communication) the best approach is to ask follow-up questions before deciding. You might determine from their response that your first "instinct" was wrong, or you might gain clarity on what didn't feel right and determine that the guest is genuinely not an appropriate match for your place. 

If you decide to decline (and I've had to more than 12% of the time myself, apparently) the least you can do is send a gracious explanation to the guest and show some respect for the time they invested in searching and choosing your property. The worst thing you can do is say "Sorry those dates are not available" while they are still open in your calendar. This is offensive to the guests, who will naturally assume they are being discriminated against outright, and may report you to Airbnb for policy violation. Try and show the same professionalism to your declined guests that you do to for your paying ones, and the same respect you would wish for yourself.

[Linda108]

Totally agree with your professional, considerate hosting, Andrew.  Like you, I do not assume the worst but explore a bit more with the guest.  I have seen so many new guests be very confused by this platform and need encouragement to get on board.  I do not automatically decline them.

[Bruno610]

Thanks for the advice

[Sam397]

@ Andrew, you have refused over 12% of your reservation request? Do you mind if I ask what were some of the reasons you refused them?  I don't mean the obvious reasons like they had children or too many people, but were there some people you refused for some red flag like grainy pictures or because they didn't use your name?

[Anonymous]

@Sam0 there are basically two reasons why I have declined:

1) Bugs that come up during Airbnb updates open dates that I had intentionally kept blocked

2) Guests' communication strongly suggests that they don't understand the type of property they're trying to book, and they don't respond to follow-up questions within the 24-hour time window. 

On the latter point - I offer a guestroom in a shared flat, which you can see is repeatedly stated in the listing, but I've still had many occasions where the person booking thought they would get my entire apartment. Sometimes they even get through my filters, and have an awkward surprise at check-in. So now, any indication that they don't know what they're booking is a red flag for me. Questions like "It's OK if I bring other people home from the clubs?" or "Where can I pick up the keys?" are clear signs that someone hasn't read the listing and rules. 

There have also been some outlier declines - for example, a family of 3 attempting to book as 2 people, a request written entirely in a language I don't speak, and one who hoped for a 2 AM check-in.

[John1080]

@Bruno610, if a guest has very little on his profile in terms of information, reviews or a picture, I sometimes deny, but I've managed to accept 97% of my requests. That said, the old adage of "trust your gut" definitely applies and if one feels uncomfortable, with a guest or a situation, he should feel free to deny that request.

My preferred reason for denying a request "other" or "this guest is not a good fit for my property".   A few times, if the person is brand new to AirBnb, I will explain to them that almost all hosts would prefer a complete profile with a picture and information.

Overall, I have found that the best indication of a poor guest, using my gut, is poor communication from the perspective guest from the initial response. Those guests, who do not send appropriate request messages or respond with one-word answers to questions, I have found, are the ones who are irresponsible, messy, and just overall bad guests. Generally, if a person communicates well from the initial contact, even if they are novices to AirBnb, I have found they make great guests. 

[Debbie96]

Well said and very sensible reasoning.   From my own experience, your last paragraph sums up this issue perfectly.   Thank you for sharing your perspective --- some of us need reassurance.  🙂

[Anonymous]

@John1080 I completely agree that the correspondence is the best predictor of what the guest will be like. Not so much the profiles and definitely not the photos.

Guests should also take note that most hosts want to know right up front that you have read their listing thoroughly, understand and appreciate the specific things you're offering. Even though I advocate follow-up questions, of course I appreciate an initial message so complete that I don't need to.

[John1080]

@Debbie96 @Anonymous, yes it's always nice to get a great initial correspondence from a potential guest, where I can tell they have read the listing and the requirements. 

The absolute worst for me is when someone messages me and says something like, "Coming for 2 nights".  But, equally annoying to me is when I send out my 'inquiry response message' listing policies and asking a potential guest to agree, and the person responds with a "Got it" or something similar. 

More recently, I have had a lot of instant bookers and I have found that almost none of them will respond to my 'inquiry response/pre-approval message', which of course at that point becomes not a pre-approval message, but a follow-up message to their instant booking. As annoying as it is for me, so far none of the instant bookers have given me any trouble as far as the state of the place post check-out or anything else really, so I just try to hold my tongue and not bother them - although it is very difficult for me because I value solid communication and hate the unknown of not hearing back. 

[Bruno610]

Thank you this is great advice. I tend to not ask many questions but i'll try to keep an eye out for those kind of responses.

[John1080]

@Bruno610, ideally we shouldn't have to ask too many questions, as the potential guest should provide the necessary information to satisfy us up front, but nonetheless, we know that many people are just really poor communicators.  

On my booking requirements, besides the default options, one can choose such as 'tell me who you're coming with' or 'what brings you to the area', I have also added to my 'welcome message to guests before booking': "Thank you for your interest in la Casa Roja. Please introduce yourself, let me know that the policies work for you and tell me a little about your trip."

I have found about half of people actually do that, while most others at least satisfy my requirements simply by the friendly nature of their request messages. 

[Victoria567]

Hi @Bruno0

Perhaps  your home is not suitable for the guests needs......what’s wrong with that option?

[Sam397]

Wow, I didn't realize turning down a request from a guest because of incomplete profile or lack of reviews was this common. I have had somewhere around 100 guests in the last 10 months and the only reason I refused someone was that they had children or there were too many people. I have had people with no reviews a bunch of times, I've had people who had no profiles or profile pictures, or had pictures of cars, record album covers, baby pictures, I even had somebody whos profile pic was of a bumper sticker on the back of a truck that said "people over 70 make the best swingers". And as I said earlier I have never turned down any of them. And not one of them turned out to be a bad guest. Considering I have had only a few guests that I would say were bad, I will even go as far as to say that a lot of the guest that would have been turned down by some host ended up being a great guest.

[Paul154]

@Bruno0, 

You may be burdened by your Mexican culture. Your culture does not like to say no, you may think it rude. The American/Mexican interface often clashes in this regard.

It's ok to say "No, my home is not a good fit for you. or Sorry, I cannot host you. Thanks for your interest."