Post by High Priestess on Jan 19, 2016 15:16:38 GMT
See this Forbes article:
www.forbes.com/sites/sethporges/2016/01/18/dear-would-be-airbnb-guests-heres-why-hosts-keep-turning-you-down/#2715e4857a0b34de42824309
Dear Would-Be Airbnb Guests: Here's Why Hosts Keep Turning You Down
As a longtime Airbnb host, I’ve turned down my share of potential guests. I’ve also spoken to a number of would-be users who have been frustrated with their inability to find a place to stay on the site. It seems that, no matter how many hosts they message, nobody is willing to rent them a room.
I hear you guys, and I’m here to set you straight as to why. Thing is, what many first-time Airbnb guests don’t quite get is that the site has as much in common with OkCupid as it does Expedia EXPE +1.92%. In order to book a room, a host (unless they happen to have the “Instant Book” feature turned on) has to manually accept your stay. That is, a host has to look at your profile and messages and quickly determine that: “Yes, this is somebody I feel comfortable having in my home.”
And like an online dating site, how you present yourself—be it in your profile or the messages you send—makes a huge difference when it comes to other users’ willingness to let you into their lives. If hosts are turning you down, or simply ignoring your messages altogether, here’s what you’re doing wrong, and how to fix it.
You Have An Empty Or Incomplete Profile
Does your profile have a real picture, or did you put up a fuzzy photo of your dog? Does it tell us anything about you and your interests or personality, or is it blank?
Your Message Seems Copy-Pasted
Does your intro message feel like something copy-pasted to a dozen other hosts, or did you take the time to personalize it to me and my listing?
Still stuck? Here’s a cheat sheet for how to write a good Airbnb message: Introduce yourself, clarify what dates you are looking to travel, give the purpose of your visit (Is it to visit family? Attend a conference? Go to a wedding?), and cite something specific from the listing that appealed to you (the decor, location, a specific amenity… anything that shows us you actually read the listing). Then end the message by (and this is absolutely key) asking if the dates are available and if you can stay. The act of asking—as opposed to demanding the dates or trying to push a booking through without permission—shows that you respect the host and their home, and will go miles towards getting you a successful booking.
You Asked For A Discount
Many guests think that, hey, it can’t hurt to ask for a deal. Right? I’m here to tell you that, yes, it can hurt. Pop over to one of the Web’s many Airbnb host-centric message boards and you’ll find that many, if not most, experienced hosts not only won’t negotiate on price, but also won’t book guests who ask. Even at full price.
Why? There’s a perception in the Airbnb host community (and one that comes from experience, I might add) that guests who ask for discounts tend to be high-maintenance, nitpicky, and are more likely to leave negative reviews or complain about their stay.
To see what I mean, I’m just going to quote from a recent post on the airhostsforum.com message board:
“You must decline negotiators. They are throwing out red flags by disrespecting you. From experience we can tell you that accepting negotiators will bring you the worst guests. People who have no compunctions about bullying you and are looking for all they can get for the lowest price. I would rather have it sit empty than kow-tow to that type of guest… They just want to win, and think about it….is that the kind of person you really want in your home?”
You Asked A Ton Of Unnecessary Questions
Before you ask your host any questions about their listing, you really should read the full thing first to see if it’s answered within (spoiler alert: it probably is). Worse, asking too many questions may actually cause a host to decline your stay.
Airbnb hosting can be time consuming, and it can be rather aggravating answering the same questions again and again. There’s also a (totally accurate, I might add) perception amongst experienced Airbnb hosts that guests who dutifully read the entire listing are the best guests, are most likely to have their expectations fully met (hey, they know what they’re getting into!), and leave the best reviews.
You Left Nitpicky Reviews On Past Stays
Sure, the reviews left for guests by past hosts are important, but the dirty little secret is that they aren’t nearly as important as the reviews you yourself have left on hosts you’ve stayed with. Hosts live in constant fear of the dreaded Bad Review. So you better believe we check what reviews a guest has left for previous hosts they’ve stayed with. If these reviews come off as unfair (“the sheets were the wrong color,” “it was raining the entire time,” “they didn’t provide a service that was neither advertised nor asked for”), a host is apt to assume you’ll be a needy guest who will leave a bad review, even if the host goes above and beyond to keep you happy.
As reddit user ASayWhat put it:
“I look at the reviews they have left for other hosts and check for things like nitpicky complaints about their being a smudge on the baseboard, scratchy toilet paper, etc. and/or a mismatch between what they said happened and what the host said. Some guests leave a really nasty review for hosts when other guests haven’t and that is telling. These people are hard to please and don’t mind sharing petty thoughts in public. I can do without them personally.”
You Ask Us To Do Things That Aren’t Offered In The Listing
If the listing doesn’t mention anything about picking you up from the airport or running errands for you, please don’t treat the host like a concierge and ask them to do it. Honestly, you should probably just read this post by Silicon Valley-area Reddit user GailaMonster about her experience with a guest who asked her to pick him up from the airport at 11pm.
www.forbes.com/sites/sethporges/2016/01/18/dear-would-be-airbnb-guests-heres-why-hosts-keep-turning-you-down/#2715e4857a0b34de42824309
Dear Would-Be Airbnb Guests: Here's Why Hosts Keep Turning You Down
As a longtime Airbnb host, I’ve turned down my share of potential guests. I’ve also spoken to a number of would-be users who have been frustrated with their inability to find a place to stay on the site. It seems that, no matter how many hosts they message, nobody is willing to rent them a room.
I hear you guys, and I’m here to set you straight as to why. Thing is, what many first-time Airbnb guests don’t quite get is that the site has as much in common with OkCupid as it does Expedia EXPE +1.92%. In order to book a room, a host (unless they happen to have the “Instant Book” feature turned on) has to manually accept your stay. That is, a host has to look at your profile and messages and quickly determine that: “Yes, this is somebody I feel comfortable having in my home.”
And like an online dating site, how you present yourself—be it in your profile or the messages you send—makes a huge difference when it comes to other users’ willingness to let you into their lives. If hosts are turning you down, or simply ignoring your messages altogether, here’s what you’re doing wrong, and how to fix it.
You Have An Empty Or Incomplete Profile
Does your profile have a real picture, or did you put up a fuzzy photo of your dog? Does it tell us anything about you and your interests or personality, or is it blank?
Your Message Seems Copy-Pasted
Does your intro message feel like something copy-pasted to a dozen other hosts, or did you take the time to personalize it to me and my listing?
Still stuck? Here’s a cheat sheet for how to write a good Airbnb message: Introduce yourself, clarify what dates you are looking to travel, give the purpose of your visit (Is it to visit family? Attend a conference? Go to a wedding?), and cite something specific from the listing that appealed to you (the decor, location, a specific amenity… anything that shows us you actually read the listing). Then end the message by (and this is absolutely key) asking if the dates are available and if you can stay. The act of asking—as opposed to demanding the dates or trying to push a booking through without permission—shows that you respect the host and their home, and will go miles towards getting you a successful booking.
You Asked For A Discount
Many guests think that, hey, it can’t hurt to ask for a deal. Right? I’m here to tell you that, yes, it can hurt. Pop over to one of the Web’s many Airbnb host-centric message boards and you’ll find that many, if not most, experienced hosts not only won’t negotiate on price, but also won’t book guests who ask. Even at full price.
Why? There’s a perception in the Airbnb host community (and one that comes from experience, I might add) that guests who ask for discounts tend to be high-maintenance, nitpicky, and are more likely to leave negative reviews or complain about their stay.
To see what I mean, I’m just going to quote from a recent post on the airhostsforum.com message board:
“You must decline negotiators. They are throwing out red flags by disrespecting you. From experience we can tell you that accepting negotiators will bring you the worst guests. People who have no compunctions about bullying you and are looking for all they can get for the lowest price. I would rather have it sit empty than kow-tow to that type of guest… They just want to win, and think about it….is that the kind of person you really want in your home?”
You Asked A Ton Of Unnecessary Questions
Before you ask your host any questions about their listing, you really should read the full thing first to see if it’s answered within (spoiler alert: it probably is). Worse, asking too many questions may actually cause a host to decline your stay.
Airbnb hosting can be time consuming, and it can be rather aggravating answering the same questions again and again. There’s also a (totally accurate, I might add) perception amongst experienced Airbnb hosts that guests who dutifully read the entire listing are the best guests, are most likely to have their expectations fully met (hey, they know what they’re getting into!), and leave the best reviews.
You Left Nitpicky Reviews On Past Stays
Sure, the reviews left for guests by past hosts are important, but the dirty little secret is that they aren’t nearly as important as the reviews you yourself have left on hosts you’ve stayed with. Hosts live in constant fear of the dreaded Bad Review. So you better believe we check what reviews a guest has left for previous hosts they’ve stayed with. If these reviews come off as unfair (“the sheets were the wrong color,” “it was raining the entire time,” “they didn’t provide a service that was neither advertised nor asked for”), a host is apt to assume you’ll be a needy guest who will leave a bad review, even if the host goes above and beyond to keep you happy.
As reddit user ASayWhat put it:
“I look at the reviews they have left for other hosts and check for things like nitpicky complaints about their being a smudge on the baseboard, scratchy toilet paper, etc. and/or a mismatch between what they said happened and what the host said. Some guests leave a really nasty review for hosts when other guests haven’t and that is telling. These people are hard to please and don’t mind sharing petty thoughts in public. I can do without them personally.”
You Ask Us To Do Things That Aren’t Offered In The Listing
If the listing doesn’t mention anything about picking you up from the airport or running errands for you, please don’t treat the host like a concierge and ask them to do it. Honestly, you should probably just read this post by Silicon Valley-area Reddit user GailaMonster about her experience with a guest who asked her to pick him up from the airport at 11pm.
