This is what I wrote to BnB about them foisting instant book on unsuspecting new hosts

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

This is what I wrote to BnB about them foisting instant book on unsuspecting new hosts

 

 

 

Dear BnB

 

As a superhost I wanted to provide you with my views on BnB forcing new hosts to accept instant booking.  It is wholly unacceptable having safety and financial implications for hosts.

 

If new hosts are concerned about financial fines and withholding of superhost status they may feel forced to accept unsuitable guests. As a single female I like to vet my guests carefully to ensure I feel safe and comfortable before confirming a booking and I am sure this is a key factor for others too.

 

I know you say you can use verification and house rules to filter guests but nothing replaces being able to chat back and forth via email to get a sense of a guest and their plans. For me and many others it's not just about house rules, but who our guests are and their plans for their visits. You can't filter this through creating house rules.

 

BnB should be wanting to make sure new hosts have a positive start to their BnB experience - not make it difficult for them by foisting potentially unsuitable guests upon them. Bad for the host and the guest and ultimately for your brand reputation and income.

 

Can you explain why you have introduced this pilot? Why you don't warn new hosts that they will be forced to use Instant Book? And why you didn't carry out research with existing hosts before it was implemented. Finally I would like to know  whether you have plans to expand it.


I am sure that many hosts like myself would never have signed up to BnB if Instant Book was foisted upon us and that you will lose many thousands of superhosts if you try and implement this more widely.

 

I look forward to your early detailed response.

9 Replies 9
Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Spot on - it is not just about breaking the principle of establishing a conversation with someone sharing your home, but it is creating an unacceptable risk for hosts, particularly new hosts.


Such a shame that AirBnB are now just pushing revenue generation as Instant Booking is about creating an impulse buy situation...

Agreed! I would never host if I cannot talk and confirm details. with people. My listing has strict rules and my neighnbordhood does as well. Many times folks tell me flat out they cannot follow the rules. I cannot properly screen guests if I cannot talk to them. After all this is my personal home, I should have a say in who comes and stays. 

Are you saying that new hosts are forced to use Instabook? If so, that is exactly the opposite of what Airbnb told me when I first started. They had to cancel a reservation because I mentioned in my listing that I wanted to have a two night minimum on weekends. A group booked through instabook, and at the time Airbnb didn't have the option to set a minimum for weekends only. A guest instabooked without reading the full description and then wanted to cancel, so Airbnb sent an email to me explaining the cancellation, and recommending that I don't turn instabook on again until I had a lot more experience hosting. New hosts have NO idea what they're in for, and making them use instabook is a terrible idea, IMO.

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Hi Leslie

 

What is happening from what new hosts are reporting is that a proportion (I believe) of new hosts are having their listing set to instant book and aren't able to change it.

 

When they complain BnB customer service tells them that it's no problem because they can create guest rules so they only have to accept the sort of guest they want and that guests will be verified.

 

This doesn't enable these new hosts to use the important tool of getting to know a guest through email correspondence - vital for the majority of new hosts, nor the flexibility to decline those they feel uncomfortable with or who make unreasonable demands but who may meet their 'house rules'.

 

It does seem counter-intuitive and unfair.

 

Helen

i couldnt agree more. I think Im going to leave airbnb beasue its too stressful just getitng an automatic - ths person ISstaying in your house notice! Im going to have to cancel one guest becasue I was meant to be available but on chekcing Im not - if I'd been given the opportunity to check before acceting the booking, that inconvenience and frustration assocaited woudln't have happened.

 

STOP FORCING INSTANT BOOK AIRBNB. If its such a great idea, dont you think people will just select it?! Youre putting new users off, its irritating and mesisng people around. Bad rep for Airbnb. 

Louise0
Level 10
New South Wales, Australia

Well .....     Given that any Host can (allegedly) cancel a booking with no penalty if a guest breaks a House Rule, perhaps it might be prudent to make your first House Rule  'Do NOT book using Instant Book' ?   😉

 

Jana23
Level 3
Prague, Czech Republic

Hi everyone,

 

I've just found out about this outrageous experiment today. I recently referred my friend to Airbnb and helped her set up her extra apartment for hosting. She created a new account, set up a new listing but wasn't able to deactivate Instant Booking. This is really annoying because I ensured her, with my 3+ years of hosting experience and Superhost status, that she'll be able to choose who to host. I had no idea about this crazy experiment. Now I feel embarassed and responsible for her situation - she invested a lot of money into the apartment and was expecting returns soon, but she doesn't want to use instant bookings. So now, effectively, she's loosing money having the listing on hold. I hope Airbnb fixes this soon!

 

Regarding Instant Book - as a female who rents a spare bedroom I have never used instant bookings and I never will. I want full control over who I share my apartment with and I want to feel comfortable at home. Some comments suggested that this might have been introduced by airbnb as an antidiscrimination measure. But in m opinion, Airbnb is not a public service and if a host chooses to discriminate, they should be free to do so! I do accept over 90% of inquiries but for the rest, yes, I sometimes do discriminate. It's my home and my choice who stays here, comparable to the choices like who I'm friends with, what clients I take on as a freelancer, or what flatmate you choose if you rent longterm. For instance, as my boyfriend is often away on business trips, I do not feel comfortable with hosting single male travellers (with some exceptions, when they seem really nice or have great reviews). I also stopped hosting elderly people because my apartment building has a lot of stairs and I've had issues with elderly guests struggling with luggage and even making my neigbours carry them up! Other times, I simply don't want to accept guests because their arrival time doesn't suit me, or I don't like the tone of their message. There are a plenty of reasons why a host should be able to filter out their guests.

 

So, please, if you are as outraged as I am, post a comment to https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback.

 

We need to stop this before it affects our accounts too.

 

Jana

Jana23
Level 3
Prague, Czech Republic

Hi again,

 

a quick follow-up: We tried to create another account and a listing, and it appears to be without the mandatory instant booking. We haven't finialized the setup yet, but at the moment the listing preview shows a "request to book" button instead of "instant book" button. This would confirm the theory that this is an AB testing experiment and only a percentage of new guests get the new policy.

 

If you're new and want to avoid the test, try creating new accounts until you get a good one. You can use fake emails like IWillKeepCreatingAccounts@UntilIGetOneWithoutInstantBook.com to send Airbnb a message 🙂 You can create a new listing without a verified email and check which button the preview shows. Once you've got a good account, you can change the email to your real one and set it up properly.

 

This is a stupid solution but surely not as stupid as as their experiment.

I like the rule #1 idea:  We love hosting guests, but please ask first.  We do not accept Instant Book. 

 

If they don't read the rule and Instant Book anyway, hosts can cancel them for being unsuitable or uncomfortable guests.  But hosts should not be placed in this situation against their wishes.  A better, more gracious choice would be to protect new hosts by giving them the OPTION to use Instant Book after 3 months.  New hosts need the experience with guest communication, and they need the contrast to evaluate Instant Book.

 

What host has not amended their rules with insight gained through experience? 

 

I tried Instant Book.  It created problems as statistically more of those guests did not read the rules, and treated my home like a motel.  Instant Book gives the impression to some that they can arrive when they want, and behave in the common areas as though they had exclusive private use rather than shared use. 

 

So, once the booking came through, I made it a point to call or email the guest right away.  A friendly call to make sure the place was suitable.  If not, I would ask THEM to cancel the booking.  I had several people cancel that way, and they THANKED me for it.  They had not read the listing or the rules and thought they had rented a self-contained home all to themselves for a wildly low price!  They booked because they liked the photos.

 

Of course, this all takes or wastes time.

 

What I really hate is that I love Airbnb, but I can no longer advocate for the system as being shared and without stranger danger if Instant Book is forced on hosts.  With this situation, Airbnb is putting its hosts in a very difficult position in relation to the community as well as the guest/host relationship.

 

I wrote a long letter to Airbnb, but there was no reply. 

 

--Lisa in So Cal, and a superhost.