Post by High Priestess on Aug 3, 2018 15:49:27 GMT
From participation on some different host groups, I've noticed recently that there are actually even some LONG time hosts who, to my shock and surprise, still do not understand the difference between these 3 things -- inquiry, reservation request, instant booking. I am talking hosts who have been hosting for YEARS, and apparently still do not understand the difference between an inquiry and a reservation request. I have encountered two such hosts recently.
To show the kinds of misunderstandings I have noticed out there...One person who has been hosting for many years, recently said, "My inquiries now turn into requests because I have INstant book on". That shows a significant misunderstanding of the process. It's like being an owner of an appliance store and saying, "Everyone who comes into the store to ask a question about a washing machine is now automatically charged $560 for a washing machine." COnsider how terrible it would be for guests and hosts alike if no one could ever ask a host any questions or communicate in any way before they hand over payment information to book your place.
This is a very basic concept and if you're going to be an Airbnb host it really behooves you to know the difference between these 3 things.
Simply put:
These are 3 different things and they cannot magically turn into each other:
(1) An inquiry -- A guest inquires with the host by clicking the "contact host" button on a listing. They do this if they aren't yet sure they want to stay there, want to ask host questions, want to say hi, or introduce themselves, or just consider it polite to communicate first before paying and officially requesting to stay. They do generally need to input dates in order to submit an inquiry, but not always. I've had some inquiries go thru with no dates on them. No payment has been made. Host only needs to respond with a message, but has the option of sending a pre-approval or declining the inquiry. IF a preapproval is sent, guest can automatically book according to the info put into the preapproval. Host ALSO has the option, in this case, of sending a Special offer, with different price, listing, # guests, or any other change.
Now let's look at the different ways a host can respond to an inquiry:
(1a) Guest is asking questions, but may not yet be committed to staying. They may have sent inquiries to several different hosts/listings and still be trying to decide where to stay (realize, by contrast, a guest would NOT send a reservation request to several hosts for the same dates, because that could result in them ending up paying for more than one place for the same dates) Host responds, answering questions, and perhaps asking some of his or her own questions.
(1b) Guest and host communicate, and for each it looks like a go, so host may send the guest a "pre-approval" which means guest can pay and book the place w/o any more action on the part of the host, for 24 hrs from the time the preapproval is issued. Sending a "pre-approval" means that the host is allowing the guest to book with the dates, price, # of guests, and all other info as shown on the inquiry. IF any of that info is wrong, for instance the guest input the wrong dates, or the price is wrong, or # of guests is wrong, DO NOT send the guest a preapproval, or the booking will go thru with that wrong info.
(1c) If the guest needs some of their intended reservation to be altered (eg, info as shown on the inquiry, such as price, the listing, # of guests, dates) then instead of sending the guest a preapproval, host can send a "special offer" where the host inputs all this info manually. Click on "send special offer" to do that. ALternately, the guest can simply submit a reservation request with all that correct info input (they cannot input the price themselves, but can input corrected dates or # of guests and/or choose the listing they want, if host has more than one listing)
(1d) If host decides they don't want this guest, or guest decides they dont' want to stay with this host or at this listing, there is NO NEED TO DECLINE AN INQUIRY. Actually an inquiry never needs to be declined, because it's not an official request. It's just someone asking questions. Host can click "decline" if they want, but they do not have to. They can just send a message to the guest saying they think that this is not a good fit, etc.
(2) A reservation request. A guest makes a reservation request by clicking the "book it" button on the listing and entering payment info. (Note: this is a DIFFERENT button from the "contact host" button!) Guest has entered payment info and is committed to booking the place but needs host approval/accept for the request to go thru. Nothing about the reservation request can be altered by the host, the request comes in with fixed dates, price , # of guests etc. If anything needs to be changed it has to be done after the booking is made, or decline/cancel the request and start over. As soon as the host clicks on "Accept", the guest is charged for the stay.
(3) An instant booking. Guest has entered payment info and booked the place WITHOUT needing the host to approve or accept.
To show the kinds of misunderstandings I have noticed out there...One person who has been hosting for many years, recently said, "My inquiries now turn into requests because I have INstant book on". That shows a significant misunderstanding of the process. It's like being an owner of an appliance store and saying, "Everyone who comes into the store to ask a question about a washing machine is now automatically charged $560 for a washing machine." COnsider how terrible it would be for guests and hosts alike if no one could ever ask a host any questions or communicate in any way before they hand over payment information to book your place.
This is a very basic concept and if you're going to be an Airbnb host it really behooves you to know the difference between these 3 things.
Simply put:
These are 3 different things and they cannot magically turn into each other:
(1) An inquiry -- A guest inquires with the host by clicking the "contact host" button on a listing. They do this if they aren't yet sure they want to stay there, want to ask host questions, want to say hi, or introduce themselves, or just consider it polite to communicate first before paying and officially requesting to stay. They do generally need to input dates in order to submit an inquiry, but not always. I've had some inquiries go thru with no dates on them. No payment has been made. Host only needs to respond with a message, but has the option of sending a pre-approval or declining the inquiry. IF a preapproval is sent, guest can automatically book according to the info put into the preapproval. Host ALSO has the option, in this case, of sending a Special offer, with different price, listing, # guests, or any other change.
Now let's look at the different ways a host can respond to an inquiry:
(1a) Guest is asking questions, but may not yet be committed to staying. They may have sent inquiries to several different hosts/listings and still be trying to decide where to stay (realize, by contrast, a guest would NOT send a reservation request to several hosts for the same dates, because that could result in them ending up paying for more than one place for the same dates) Host responds, answering questions, and perhaps asking some of his or her own questions.
(1b) Guest and host communicate, and for each it looks like a go, so host may send the guest a "pre-approval" which means guest can pay and book the place w/o any more action on the part of the host, for 24 hrs from the time the preapproval is issued. Sending a "pre-approval" means that the host is allowing the guest to book with the dates, price, # of guests, and all other info as shown on the inquiry. IF any of that info is wrong, for instance the guest input the wrong dates, or the price is wrong, or # of guests is wrong, DO NOT send the guest a preapproval, or the booking will go thru with that wrong info.
(1c) If the guest needs some of their intended reservation to be altered (eg, info as shown on the inquiry, such as price, the listing, # of guests, dates) then instead of sending the guest a preapproval, host can send a "special offer" where the host inputs all this info manually. Click on "send special offer" to do that. ALternately, the guest can simply submit a reservation request with all that correct info input (they cannot input the price themselves, but can input corrected dates or # of guests and/or choose the listing they want, if host has more than one listing)
(1d) If host decides they don't want this guest, or guest decides they dont' want to stay with this host or at this listing, there is NO NEED TO DECLINE AN INQUIRY. Actually an inquiry never needs to be declined, because it's not an official request. It's just someone asking questions. Host can click "decline" if they want, but they do not have to. They can just send a message to the guest saying they think that this is not a good fit, etc.
(2) A reservation request. A guest makes a reservation request by clicking the "book it" button on the listing and entering payment info. (Note: this is a DIFFERENT button from the "contact host" button!) Guest has entered payment info and is committed to booking the place but needs host approval/accept for the request to go thru. Nothing about the reservation request can be altered by the host, the request comes in with fixed dates, price , # of guests etc. If anything needs to be changed it has to be done after the booking is made, or decline/cancel the request and start over. As soon as the host clicks on "Accept", the guest is charged for the stay.
(3) An instant booking. Guest has entered payment info and booked the place WITHOUT needing the host to approve or accept.