This is a new one...Airbnb wanting me off Instant Book

[Valerie192]

I have been hosting for over a year and a half, and the very first line of my listing states "Female Guests Only" as I host in my home and do not feel comfortable hosting men. This has worked out well for me for the most part except I do on occasion get booking requests and instant books where a guy has not read even the first line of my listing. I have always succeeded in either nicely asking the guest to please cancel - I do this immediately so usually they do not incur any fees. Or in the event of an instant book that is too close to the stay where a fee would apply, I have called Airbnb on behalf of the guest to ask them to cancel so it is penalty free for both of us.

This morning I received an instant book and since it was for tomorrow, I had to call Airbnb. They told me that I should be taking my listing off Instant Book so I could better screen for appropriate guests. I live right next to LAX so 50% of my bookings are Instant Book - often last minute travelers; plus competition is very high here and accepting IB gives me a bump up in visibility - this would seriously compromise my business.

Lastly, they had the gall to suggest in a follow up email from CS that if I am cancelling guests based on gender after they booked not reading (or ignoring) my requirements, that I might be considered to be engaging in discrimination according to their TOC. When according to their TOC I have the ability to only host guests of my same gender in a shared listing. Talk about a contradiction!

Do I just continue to ride out IB and hope I can fly under the radar?

[Bryan10]

It is discrimination. Just because I have a **bleep** doesn't make me a bad or dangerous guest. You're saying people like me can't stay at your place because of who I am, and that's not right. Perhaps you should switch off IB and see how it goes. 

[Sarah977]

@Bryan10  I'm a single female who hosts a private room in my home. I accept any and all genders and although I get more single female guests than males, all of my male guests have been total gentlemen.

But there have been numerous posts over time on this forum by female home-share hosts who have had male guests touch them inappropriately, try to grab them and kiss them, or continually hit on them even when given unambiguous responses as to this not being appreciated.

And many women have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives, and wouldn't feel comfortable being alone in the house with a male who is a stranger to them.

I don't think it's fair to judge women for having a "females only" designation when they share their home. You aren't a woman and obviously have no idea why a female wouldn't feel comfortable with a male guest. It's not about asssuming that all men are bad and dangerous.

And it is within Airbnbs TOS to state one gender only when home-sharing. You could state "males only" if you wished.

[Valerie192]

Thanks @Sarah977 until and if Airbnb takes away the same gender when home sharing option then I see myself keeping my set up the way it is. I have done home shares as a guest with male hosts and it’s never been an issue but I also have much more visibility into what the host is like (via reviews and such) than we typically do for the vast majority of our guests. 

[Lisa723]

@Bryan10 @Sarah977  ... or "females only" ... 🙂

[Sarah977]

P.s. Bryan- There are many, many men who understand this and don't take it as a personal affront. And many cultures throughout the world where societal norms wouldn't even entertain the thought of a single woman accepting unknown men into her home.

[Elena87]

@Valerie192 

It's not discrimination.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1405/airbnb-s-nondiscrimination-policy--our-commitment-to-inclus....

''Hosts can make a unit available to guests of the host’s gender and not the other, where the host shares living spaces with the guest.''

Looks like you got a customer rep who doesn't master the TOC - ignore the advice, message back with the facts. Consider changing your listing title?

[Valerie192]

Those are both good suggestions I might try that @Elena87 thank you!!

[Cathie19]

Hi @Valerie192. 

You’ve had good advice from @Elena87, and been validated by @Sarah977 : so just keep on doing it your way....

👍🏼

Cathie

[Lisa723]

@Valerie192 in addition to the previous advice: you can also add your women-only rule in your house rules AND your amenity limitations that guests must acknowledge when booking AND in the booking message that guests automatically receive when booking.

[Valerie192]

That is a wonderful idea - just pepper it throughout in the hopes that somewhere along the booking process they happen to see it. 🙂

[Paul154]

@Valerie192 

I would continue offering IB and ride it out.  Sounds like you got  "one of those" CS experiences."

"Female only: in your personal house is legal and non-discrimanatory. It is common sense.

In general, IB supports Airbnb profits and Airbnb likes $$

Good luck. If you do get "caught" you can always try to reinstate IB later.

[Rachel177]

@Valerie192 I had the same comment made to me about switching off instant book when I called CS to cancel a third party booking. I had to educate him on why I had IB on, and that as hosts we were pushed by airbnb to have IB. Just ignore it, there seem to be a lot of new CS agents who have no idea about how airbnb works.

[Valerie192]

Hi @Rachel177 for sure - so much of what they do and say can be contrary. I also had a third party booking this morning (I was sure having a trying day with bookings) but luckily I found out immediately and asked the guy to cancel and instead have his girlfriend set up an account and rebook with me. Which luckily she did, so win win for everyone. I keep the booking, and it's in compliance.

[Inna22]

@Valerie192   Another way of handling  this is to let your guests call customer service going forward.  They booked the place without reading, they should find their own way out of their own mess.  You can then choose to give them full refund if you feel like it. OR  you can refund them $.80 on the dollar – just like the disparity between average man’s and woman’s salary 🙂