Decline or ignore the inquiry?

[Linda254]

I had a guest change her mind about and inquiry. I asked her to cancel her inquiry,

but she is a airbnb newbie (as am I as a host) and she said she didn't know how to do it.
I don't know how she can do it either.

I don't want to be penalized for decling (which I read in some posts on here).
I responded to her in messages. 

What course of action should I take?  SHould I figure out how she cancels her request and ask her again? Should I decline? 
If I do nothing, will it give me a bad response rate??

Please help! Thanks!!

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Just decline. You will have the option to say why and it won't count against you.  

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/360/can-i-decline-booking-inquires-or-reservation-requests

They should be able to cancel doing this: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/90/how-do-i-cancel-a-reservation-request

[Debra68]

Won't count against you in which way? Your response rate or number if reservations declined is calculated into a percentage rate over a certain amount if time. So say I have an 87% of accepted reservations I decline the "inquiry" not a "request" your percentage of accepted bookings goes down and if your looking to be in the airbnb plus you have to maintain a 95% acceptance rate. I guess it depends on which one you can afford to take a hit on. Im not 100% sure & looking around for more answers. 

[Angielena0]

An inquiry is just a question about your space..you just need to send a message back. - a booking inquiry is different and you can decline without being penalized. It's your home,you choose who stays with you but you do have 24 hours to accept or decline. If you ignore the inquiry it gets blocked on your calendar 

[Andrea9]

@Linda254

What @Angielena0 means to say is that if you don't decline or accept within the 24h the DATES in question will be blocked off on your calendar as penalty for not reacting on time.

[Andrea9]

@Linda254

Another way or trick that works, but you would need to explain to your guest what and why you're doing it is to use the option to send them a 'Special Offer'. Just keep your standard price automatically calculated there or overwrite it with a higher one and submit it. The software registers this as positive reaction and your guest doesn't have to accept, and it automatically runs out after 24h and doesn't block the dates for other bookings.

[Amber487]

Amazing! Thank you! 
This totally worked for me 🙂

[Vadim3]

How to tell a difference between an inquiry and a booking inquiry?

[Debra68]

I believe one is an inquiry the other is a request. This is how it shows here in LA.  booking "request" or booking "inquiry" 

What Im still unsure of is will I be penalized if I dont pre-approve or decline the inquiry.  It makes no sense to me because it is an inquiry not a request to book so why do I have to accept or decline a question? & why would I be penalized? But Ive heard both yes & no. 

[Fred13]

Debra, you do NOT have to 'Accept' or 'Decline' an inquiry (aka a question). You only need to at least ~ acknowledge it~ by just simply 'Reply' to it. Note how the 24-hour clock will go away when you do (upon refreshing your browser that is).  A simple word will do.

[Debra68]

Hi Fred,

Thank-you what your saying makes sense but I called just now...

on my page it says pre-approve or decline. This is for an inquiry to be clear. I just got off the phone with airbnb they said If I do not choose one of those and only respond with a message back it will count as a no-response lowing my rating. 

They said if you decline it wont count against your score if its an "inquiry" but you do have to choose or ask the guest to cancel the inquiry. 

[Richard1104]

not true: I have been going back and forth with a possible guest who says he's allergic to pets and we are PET FRIENDLY and it says so clearly so we suggested he try another property but airbnb is still telling me I have 3 hours to either PRE-APPROVE or DECLINE and I'm really concerned this is going to DING me as we are trying for superhost...

[Angielena0]

Also you should call Airbnb and explain the situation, they will reach out to your wish washy guest and help them cancel it

[Elize4]

Hi guys I'm new to this airbnb game. I'm really struggling. I know this is way of the subject but I'm really pulling my hair out. I've got an issue with not being able to get any booking requests/messages from guests on my smartphone, which means I'm basically tied to my pc sitting waiting and watching my inbox, too scared to move in case I get a inquiry. How do i fix this. I have loaded the airbnb appp on my smartphone as well. I can login, that's about it . What do I do?

How easy things was when Apple and BlackBerry were still fruits? 

I'm not very technology  savvy? Still from the old school.

Help would be appreciated.

Elize

[Elize4]

Hi guys I'm new to this airbnb game. I'm really struggling. I know this is way of the subject but I'm really pulling my hair out. I've got an issue with not being able to get any booking requests/messages from guests on my smartphone, which means I'm basically tied to my pc sitting waiting and watching my inbox, too scared to move in case I get a inquiry. How do i fix this. I have loaded the airbnb appp on my smartphone as well. I can login, that's about it . What do I do?

How easy things was when Apple and BlackBerry were still fruits? 

I'm not very technology  savvy? Still from the old school.

Help would be appreciated.

Elize