Pre-Approve/Decline System is a nuisance

[Henrique46]

This post is in regard to inquries only, as for a booking most of this doesn't apply.

Not to kick a dead horse, as most posts about pre-approving and decling inquiries are about ones response rate and not the system itself date back to 2016. The information provided is probably outdated as well. 

In case somebody is wondering; my response rate is 100% . ( I don't pre-approve or decline inquiries; more to why later. I just answer them)

I just had to say something in the hope to get a better user experience for both parties. For me personally it really is a nuisance and I don't see the benefit of being "forced" to pre-approve/decline a guest. (the emphasis on forced is because of the bold red letters in my inbox)

Why is this sytem in place they way it is?

It causes unwanted anxiety (up to 24hrs) as the guest still needs book you listing if you choose to pre-approve. (they add their paymeny information and  book your listing)

No inquiries so far were about the availability but rather trivial questions the guest could have answered themselves by looking at the listing a second time. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind answering any question, but pre-approving or declining a guest based on their reading comprehension is probably not the idea behind this system.

Additionally 99% of the inquiries I've recieved so far are for 1 person (as per booking) when in fact more would be staying. (just a hunch based on my listing, but I haven't been wrong so far...)

Isn't it an inconvience to have a guest check and approve the alteration before or after they show up with more people than what we as a host pre-approved them for?  People just want their questions answered (how many people and for how long they wish to stay is usually selected arbitrarily)

Tying iniquiries and potential bookings through a pre-approval just leads to incorrect booking.

It takes an a lot of messages back and forth over an extended period of time (depending on response time on both sides) to get everything sorted.

I think I've given enough reasons why I don't pre-approve. Declining on the other hand, regardless if a response was provided is a rejection and nobody likes that, neither do I wish to dismiss any questions as trivial as they may seem. (since no inquiry was ever about the availability of the listing)

Lastly, I'm not sure what happens if either action is ignored as the help page doesn't provide an answer.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/838/what-is-a-pre-approval

[Sarah977]

@Henrique46   As far as Inquiries go, a response, without clicking on Pre-Approve or Decline, will not be counted against you or affect your response rate, in spite of the annoying prodding from Airbnb. That prodding is just to be ignored, IMO, like their ridiculous price tips.

I look at answering Inquiries as just a part of being in the hosting business.  I don't use Instant Book because I host in my home and also want to get a read on guests before they can book. Some of my guests just use the initial inquiry to introduce themselves and say why they are coming to town, short and sweet, and I think a lot of them want to see what kind of reply they get, to know whether they'd feel comfortable with me as a host, and whether they can count on me to respond in a timely fashion. 

If their Inquiry message sounds like they are decent, nice people (interesting is bonus), who understand what my listing is,  I will respond, saying I'd be pleased to host them, and click on pre-approve. If I get the feeling that they haven't really read my listing info, I'll exchange a message or two with them to sort things out before pre-approving. If they get it that this isn't really a good fit (because I'll make that clear), they just let the inquiry expire without booking. I've never clicked on Decline for an Inquiry.

Then there are those who ask a ton of questions, which they think I have nothing better to do than spend half an hour answering, even though they may not book, or even be polite enough to thank me for, so I'll receive nothing for the time I spent. Those are annoying, but answering them is a part of this business. 

 But I totally agree with you- there's no need for those pre-approve or decline fields on Inquiries. Except that it does save a step for me- if I pre-approve a guest I feel fine about, I don't need to do anything else for them to go ahead and book  (kind of like a pre-host-approved Instant Book). I'd rather they sent the inquiry first, rather than a booking request straight away, as I have to Approve or Decline the Request within 24 hours, whereas I can message back and forth with a guest for an Inquiry without having to stress about making a decision that day if they seem unclear about my listing or I have reservations about them. 

[Michelle-And-Michael0]

Hi @Henrique46 I understand what you mean about the enquiry just being for 1 guest, whereas several might be wanting to stay. This has happened to me, and after hitting the pre-approval button and the guest booking.... I have had to alter the booking to include the other guests! 

Subsequently, I make sure everything is in place and correct now.... Or let the guest know that this is only an enquiry, and if they would like to proceed, they will need to make a booking request with all the relevant details in place. 

[Sally175]

I HATE PRE APPROVE.   I LOSE BOOKINGS BECAUSE IT BLOCKS.   LEASE TAKE IT OFF MY SITE.  THANKS!

[Sarah977]

@Sally175  Pre-approving an inquiry doesn't block any more than a booking request does. If you pre-approve an Inquiry, and someone instant books those dates, the IB will take precedence over the pre-approved Inquiry. In other words, first to complete payment gets the booking.

[Ava30]

I agree wholeheartedly. Contact Host should be just that - Contact Host. No pressure to put in dates for the guest, no pressure to Approve/Decline for the host. I needed to contact a host about a person trying to book my listing and I had to put dates in the "Inquiry" (I put them way out on their calendar so they wouldn't tie up any possible bookings) but it was a nuisance for both of us to deal with just so I could get some information. Glad I did it though, the prospective guest was kind of a nightmare. 

[Victoria567]

Perhaps these concern should should be sent to top management of air bnb?

was given this link to share by an air bnb operative this morning about some concerns I have

Feedback forum:
https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

Share this link with any and all Hosts that have anything they want to say so that we can make sure that our community is as happy as we can make them.

[Sally221]

Hi all, 

It took me a bit to figure out it was not a good idea to preapprove an inquiry as it ties me up whilst a guest is still on the fence about booking. These days, I chat but don't preapprove. I would've been happy to host the Cal family making inquiries if they'd been a party of 4 (it was ambiguous) but while they were still deciding, or had gone elsewhere, an Australian family scooped up the date.  As Sarah said- it's like the price tips or the view to bookings ratio; mine was 500+ views to 12 bookings but the 12 were more than enough- I block some days each month for r& r  (rest & refurbishment) and ignore the admonishment to unblock them. Some of those views were my kid wanting to read the lovely things folks were saying about her mama 'cause she was homesick, anyway. 

Newbie that I was, I told family members not to check out the listing to avoid making my views to bookings ratio worse. Now I know better. Do your own research & set your own prices, respond quickly to inquiries but don't preapprove (unless you feel truly comfortable & Sure) don't be afraid to block out dates and don't worry about your bookings to views ratio. Trust your instincts, ask questions, Sally

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Henrique46 - Hope this helps clear up your questions:

(1) Inquiries are there to allow guests to ask questions before committing to a booking.  There was a time, when these were 2 separate processes and it required the guest to go back and start again with a "request".  As hosts and guests, this was cumbersome and, frequently, resulted in the guest not booking with the right host who even answered their question so the need to allow the process to organically move forward was born. 

(2) There was a time when we had a 3rd option to an inquiry - it was called "ignore".  It was a way for hosts to simply say the inquiry wasn't going to result in a booking based on the questions.  As you might suspect, there were a lot of "ignores" when really they should have been "declines".  This muddies the ability to track and do analysis on booking rates.  Plus, people were using "ignore" to profile and eliminate guests without reason - also not a good idea.  This was before Instant Book when a host had to respond to every inquiry/request manually. 

(3) There was a push from hosts to require there be dates associated with an inquiry because, if you are a high-volume host, the inquiries come frequently "are you available this date?".  Ask the host with the tree-house in Atlanta that was featured in multiple mags - upwards of 300 inquiries a week! We frequently get asked this question - it is probably the #1 question after "are you close to....?".  Both are ridiculous since this information is easily available on our listing, so we created "saved messages"  to generally answer and then we "pre-approve".  This pre-approval is annoying to guests - it should be - because their question was a waste of time and you KNOW they sent multiples of this same dumb question to many hosts because they were lazy. 

(4) Inquiries are used to understand response TIME, in addition to response RATE.  These are 2 different concepts - one is the time it takes you to get back to a guest by message and the other is to measure how often you respond.  Both are valuable measurements and both are used - one is on your profile and one is used for Superhost Status.  

(5) The "decline/pre-approve" request is to get the host to "close the deal".  It is Airbnb's way of getting the host to ask for the booking.  Some hosts can barely ask a guest to quiet down when they are in their homes let alone ask to close a sale.  Because that's what an inquiry is.... it is the beginning of a sale not unlike walking onto a used car lot and seeing what's available.  To get from inquiry to reservation can be a long road and Airbnb is in the selling business.  They only make money when there are reservations made, so they want to close on every sales opportunity. 

(6) If getting the wrong number of people at booking is an issue, make sure you ask the question - "Will you be traveling alone?"  

[Susana185]

The answer is making a simple matter very complicated. Messaging is important and it is not so terrible to settle on 24 hours if you decline or pre-approval.

When the feedback guest-host is right it can be done and that is it, but when the future guest doesn´t respond questions, as much as the host, for a good hosting then you can not pre-approve or decline.

I found the way to this obligation in the third option: a guest that has disappeared, letting the host in the middle of nowhere and having to pre-approve or decline, can be served the special offer a lot more expensive. 

Regards

[Susana185]

I found the way to this obligation in the third option: a guest that has disappeared, letting the host in the middle of nowhere and having to pre-approve or decline, can be served the special offer a lot more expensive. 

Regards

[Rachel-And-Ethan0]

You mean send a special offer with very high price, as a way to use a positive response for declining?

[Lygia0]

This has been my biggest beef with Airbnb, the strict and punitive 24 response program.  I must interview, by email conversations, my possible guests to find out if we are a match or not.   I have had two recent guests who were not---and they sour the experience fro everyone.  Getting enough time to converse with these folks before the 24 limit is often tough or impossible. 

   Today I have someone who contacted me for a totally random reason, nothing to do with staying with us and I find I cannot Adeline them--- no decline buttons come up---and so I will be punished for this, even though the person who contacted me through airbnb has asked me to decline them!

   I also lost a very lucrative guest ( wanted to stay 5+ days) this week because we could not talk directly by phone.  somehow this also should be fixed.  L