Host recommendation required?

[James2743]

I've just triggered the 'Host recommendation required' tab and am looking for some information about how it works.

First some background.

I've been running for about a year and a half now and had 5* across the board both on here and other booking sites. But recently I've picked up a couple of 4*. The first was from someone who wanted me to break my house rules and let them leave their 2 dogs unattended in the property on the hottest day of the year and the second from someone who complained about us not having a shaving plug (when there is an adaptor in the cupboard) and our shower not being strong enough (?).

Coincidentally both guests have left my property in its worst condition. Dog scratches on the walls, blocked shower traps (think one shaved the dog in our walk in shower), chewed cushions and general mess, etc, etc.

Also they were both first timers with Airbnb, so no reviews.

So that's what has caused me to press the 'Host recommendation required' button. I don't mind first timers but I'm not going to risk the 'better suited to a hotel' crowd messing with my ratings.

Now I get a statement of...

Instant Book on - Guests who meet your requirements can book instantly. Others will need to send a reservation request
Host recommendation required

So my question is. Can a guest without reviews try to book my place? If a guest without reviews tries to book will they have to send me a request? If they do what's the next step? How do I say I'm not accepting someone who might be better suited in a hotel?

[Anonymous]

@James2743  Anyone with an Airbnb account will still be able to send you a request, regardless of whether they have negative or no reviews. Your settings only affect who can bypass the request phase and use Instant Book.

I don't think it would be fair to draw any conclusions about a guest's suitability based solely on the fact that they lack prior reviews. The next step after receiving a request you're not sure about is to ask some follow-up questions and decide based on the quality of the communication.

[James2743]

I've got no problem with people with no reviews, they can still book without reviews on other OTA's.

What I have the issue with is the people with no reviews combined with the Airbnb review system. I wouldn't have either of them back again and have ticked that box so that no other Airbnb host will have to received a lower score from these people.

However just to be clear a person with no reviews on Airbnb can still request a booking, but it is then up to me to vet them.

How do other hosts do this and how do I turn them down if I don't feel happy about them?

[Anonymous]

@James2743  Honestly, in my experience all of the very worst guests have been positively reviewed by their previous hosts. So unfortunately, reviews aren't ideal as a vetting tool.

Your vetting questions might be things like what their purpose of their trip is, why they chose your listing and destination, or you might just check that they read your whole listing and rules, entered all people and pets into the booking correctly, and are comfortable with any special things you need to disclose. The main point of the exercise is to check that the guests communicate respectfully, convey some appreciation for the special things you have to offer, and have appropriate expectations. If they don't earn your confidence, you can hit the Decline button. Just take care that your explanation doesn't come across as discriminatory (e.g. nationality, race, disability, family status, etc.) 

[Huma0]

@James2743 

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@James2743 wrote:

However just to be clear a person with no reviews on Airbnb can still request a booking, but it is then up to me to vet them.

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Yes, that is correct. If you enable that filter, than guests without reviews will need to send you a booking request that you accept or decline.

However, Airbnb are very vague about what 'recommended by hosts' means. I used to think it meant that if a previous host had clicked 'would not host again' than they would not be able to IB with me. However, others have said that this only stops them instant booking with that particular host, not future ones, and the 'recommended' is based on the guests' star rating. If it's the latter, then how low does the rating need to be for the guest to be considered not recommended?

I tried to find some info on the Airbnb Help centre that clarified this, but couldn't. It seems to be deliberately vague.

I agree with @Anonymous that the communication with the guest is often more important than the reviews. With guests who do have reviews, it's also worth reading the reviews they left for their past hosts (or checking if they bothered to leave reviews at all). Sadly, we do not get to see the star ratings they left for hosts.