Can we block guests from coming again?

[Donald28]

Honestly, there's some guests that I wouldn't want to stay in my airbnb again. They always say... "we'll be back when we are in the area". BUt, some people just aren't a good fit. Especially, the ones who leave bad feedback and less than 5 stars. Why would they want to come back and why would we as hosts want them back to leave us another less than great review? 

Airbnb really pushes hosts to use instant book but that feature leaves hosts with zero ability to prescreen guests. 

Is there a way to block people from instant booking? If there isn't, there should be. 

[Shaminda0]

one guest was over staying and I politely remind him the checkout time.  He left after 1.5Hours and gave me 3 * . I want to block him coming again. 

Better to keep a record of all the bad guests. 

[Jonathan478]

Exactly, I have had a few unpleasant experience this year so far when guests left  really unfair reviews and gave really low ratings. I just wanted to block them because the last thing I want is to have further communication with them. Some people just take everything for granted and would literally complain about everything. And Airbnb has not been very helpful when it comes to removing unfair & untrue reviews. I have been hosting for over 7 years now and I now I just want to give up. I honestly have had enough. I am really let down by those who don't appreciate the efforts you put into creating a comfortable space for them. They would never say Thank you for what you do for them. And Airbnb has not been as helpful as they used to which is very frustrating!!!!

[Sean95]

It appears the content of this thread is no longer correct in late 2021. The option to block a guest while submitting a report has disappeared. 

This help article outlines a procedure for blocking guests but fails at Step 5: https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2020/how-do-i-report-a-message-or-block-someone-on-airbnb

After I click "Submit", the confirmation screen no longer has the button "Block this person".

Furthermore, there are no flags anywhere anymore with ever since the upgraded messaging platform was introduced that included scheduled messages.

Could someone else please have a look and confirm?

I reported this to AirBnB's useless customer service and in typical fashion, all the steps and "help" they attempted to provide was based on old generations of the platform.

**[Image removed - Community Center Guidelines]

[Colleen253]

@Sean95 I can see the flag icon in desktop, but not app. The last time I reported someone, I also did not have the block prompt. That was a few months ago. I realize Airbnb would rather we just take all comers, but honestly, give us an easier option for blocking! It's needed sometimes.

[Sean95]

Ok I finally got to the bottom of it and all this confusion is coming from sloppy UX design.

It IS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE to block guests! However, there are some booby traps in the process.

In order to block a guest FROM A COMPUTER:

1. Go into the conversation with the guest.

2. Locate the PARTICULAR MESSAGE within the conversation that you want to report.

3. Click the flag next to that message and the "What's happening?" window will open.

From this point onwards, select "they're being offensive" and the rest of the process will work.

WHAT NOT TO DO: On the right hand side of your screen, there is a pane called "Reservation Details". If you scroll down within that pane, you will see some clickable items below the financial details. One of these items is "Report this guest". Do NOT click on that. If you do, it opens the exact same window as in step 3 above and presents an identical reporting procedure but once you reach the end, there will be no option to block.

In order to block a guest FROM THE APP:

1. Go into the conversation with the guest.

2. Locate the PARTICULAR MESSAGE within the conversation that you want to report.

3. Tap the message itself.

4. This opens an overlay window that contains a flag.

5. Click on the flag and the "What's happening?" window will open.

From this point onwards, select "they're being offensive" and the rest of the process will work.

WHAT NOT TO DO: Once you are inside a specific conversation with a guest, you will see a button at the top that says "Details". If you click on that, it will open a window that contains the same information as the "Reservation Details" in the pane mentioned in the previous section regarding the procedure from a computer. Do not submit a report from this window, or you will be provided with an identical reporting procedure but once you reach the end, there will be no option to block.

[Colleen253]

@Sean95 Hmmm, I’ve only ever reported and blocked directly from the message stream and the last one I wasn’t able to block. This platform is annoying. 

[Kevin-s0]

I agree!  Thank you for posting this. I feel Airbnb should give more flexibility to hosts like an option to not host even with instant booking as you suggest.;

[Monica1286]

Definitely need a way to block a guest - separate from reporting them as offensive 😞  i had a guest book last november for a week including 4th of july holiday.  June 9th they messaged that they would be canceling as they were planning to stay with family instead.  Then they waited until 48hrs prior to check in to actually cancel - meaning the guest that later booked was for a shorter period.  What if this guest does this again?  I don't want this guest booking my place as a "just in case" 9 months in advance and screwing me over again and again.

[Jennifer1897]

This thread is great. I have a related question if anyone has any insight.

I am currently hosting a single guy, who while nice, I would never want to host again. He has never shared a space with the a host, and lacks etiquette to put it nicely. He is a complete slob, despite reminders and prompts to clean up after himself, he has taken over every common space and it looks like a tornado hit my house, and he has gotten into my personal food and beverages.  He said today that he is planning to book for the end of the month and I nearly had a heart attack. 

If a guest is still in the midst of their stay, is there a way to block them from booking. I am terrified he will book in the next few days before check out and I will be forced to cancel him. 

[Tatjana6]

I have invented 2 ways to block " nasty guests" -

1. To increase the price

2. to block 2-3 days in the calendar immediately after their booking dates

[Yuqing3]

I knew I wasn't the only one! Thanks @Donald28  for starting this thread and other hosts for sharing your experience. I think I got what I came here for after reading all the comments. However, I just want to vent a little...

I have recently started hosting on Airbnb last year and defaulted the booking to InstantBook. As a globe-trotter, I totally see the incentive. However, it was only on my 3rd guest that I have learned to be more careful in selecting guests. I was so naive to think that other guests would respect a host's place as I would while traveling. The 3rd guest who booked my place last year completely ignored the house rules and our feedback for them during their stay. Their excuse was that they "misinterpreted" the rules. I took up the challenge to meet their demands and tolerated some of their disrespects around the house. Unfortunately I found out too late that I was able to ask Airbnb to intervene and get them to move to another place that is a better fit for them. Not sure if anyone here has ever used that service?

I ended up getting a 3-star and a very unfair and vicious review from these guests despite my effort in helping them and translating for them in searching for third party services as they spoke zero English. I was shocked by their review since they said to us in person that they'll come back again when visiting Canada. Initially I didn't want to click "Report" on them, but after reading all of your helpful comments, I will definitely do now as self-protection. It is just so frustrating sometimes that the host has to pay for a guest's behavior/mistake. At least, no pancakes stuck to the ceiling I guess...

[Janie44]

I had a guest that cooked and left a mess in the kitchen. Even burnt one of my pot holders, found in garbage. She and her boyfriend used all 3 beds and gave me a great review. I gave her less than 5 stars but not sure how many. I did check that I wouldn't host her again. She messaged me today to ask if I rent for a month. I said no. I can only imagine what the place would look like after a month but I don't want to tie it up for that long anyway. My question is does checking the No I wouldn't host her again make it harder for her to instant book my place

in the future? She wasn't a bad person just not very tidy or clean. I hate to give her any trouble.

[Yadira22]

Hi @Janie44 

unfortunately not- 3* overall and hands down to host again keeps them from IB your place. Also apparently unless the guest has a 1* overall rating they are still able to IB. So annoying but you can cancel penalty stating you feel uncomfortable by this booking due to poor ratings. Good luck to you! 🙂

[Elisa533]

A couple days ago I had a guest who only stayed for a couple hours and he brought a woman, they left after stating a lame excuse and I fekt horrible, I live right next to the room with my kids and I simple don't want those kinds of guests. After the review Airbnb asked me if I wanted to host him again and I clicked No of course, thinking the guest would be unable to book or send a request but lo and behold he's requesting to book again. Why can't I just block him?! I'm gonna try desktop, but really this is upsetting and frustrating. I don't even want to answer the request. Think I'll just tell him I require a 2 minimun night stay. Ugh.

[Laurence656]

What about when guests have booked with you and then  withdraw their bookings several times? I would prefer not to have those guests. We all have different reasons why we airbnb, if someone books with me i am expecting To eventually receive that payment but if they are going  to book and cancel more than a couple of time i’d rather they didnt as i prefer guests who are committed 

[Air-Hospitality1]

That worked. Thanks

[John1574]

Thank you @Yadira22 

I just used this tool to block someone. 

Great info.

I would have never found it without your post.

I don't know why it work on Chrome and not on Wiin 10.

[Yadira22]

You are most welcome @Linda-and-Didier0 and @John1574 ! Have a beautiful rest of day 🙂

[Linda-and-Didier0]

This feature is no longer available although some of the CS personnel don’t seem to know this.  Airbnb keeps eroding the control hosts have over their listing.  Probably related to an IPO.  

[Yadira22]

Hi @Linda-and-Didier0 

acutally it is- but hidden. 

You need to do this via google chrome and on a desktop- to have access to the full site.

once there, if you look at the shared message feed with said guest and touch on the flag. This would prompt you to select an option- you can even select inappropriate behaviour but explain for example, guest was nice but communication was difficult and though I hope they continue doing Airbnb I do not wish to host them again... 

the final stage would ask « would you like to block this guest » , select « yes » and you are done! 

I did this last week and worked perfectly.

thanks and good luck to you,

Yadira 🙂