Preapproval Dilemmas

I'm writing a more elaborate thread here on some of the common "preapproval dilemmas" that we face, and which can be most confusing to the newer hosts among us. This same post will be found on the "new" Airbnb groups, when they roll out, in a post entitled "Oops! I preapproved two guests for the same date!" Search for it on the new Airbnb groups using hte new search function.

"Oh no", I hear -- there is a tone of urgency in the first sentence -- "What do I do now? I accidentally preapproved two guests for the same dates/overlapping dates?" Or, the question might go, "Oops! I got two inquiries, but I forgot to respond to the first one, and preapproved the second one, and then what do I tell the first one? Do have to tell the first one that I messed up?" Then again, the question might go, " Oh --- help! I got an inquiry this morning for March 4-8th, and I preapproved her. But this afternoon, another guest inquired for March 1 to 12, and I actually would prefer the 2nd guest because they want to stay longer and they have good reviews. What do I do now?"

These are questions I have heard a lot among new hosts.

So, relax, actually everything is okay. One of the most helpful mantras you can learn as a new host when dealing with multiple inquiries, is, "First come first served." Another fun mantra you might want to recite to yourself, is "You snooze you lose." Now these aren't the statements you actually need to say to the inquiring guests -- you might want to give them more explanation -- but they are very helpful for YOU to hear yourself say so that you can understand how to deal successfully with multiple inquiries without getting confused or overwhelmed.


First, understand that there is a difference between a reservation request and an inquiry. The reservation request is a "higher priority. " It's someone coming and saying, " I defintely want to stay at your place" and figuratively waving the cash in their hand (except that the "cash waving " is the fact that they have already submitted their payment details to Airbnb and so they are ready to pay the minute you click on the "accept" button) . The inquiry, by contrast, is someone who isn't yet committed enough to say "I will pay as soon as you click accept and accept me" but is someone who wants to find out more, or wants to know if you like them and will be willing to have them stay at your place, before they agree to pay.

So if you get a reservation request and an inquiry for the same dates, figuratively then you have one person with "cash in hand" and the other without the cash, saying, essentially --- I'm interested, but not interested enough to pay yet. So which one are you going to take? Here's a clue -- as a business person, you want to take the person who is ready to close the deal, over the one who is still thinking about it. Unless you have doubts about the person making the reservation request.

Now if you get more than one inquiry for overlapping dates, you can either choose the one you want and preapprove them and not the other one, or you can preapprove both and, as I like to say, "let The Gods decide." (Aka "tossing the preapproval dice". ) It may be kind of you if you let one or both know that you cannot hold the space until they pay, and that you giving them a preapproval, does NOT mean the space is held for them. I like to emphasize that latter point because there are guests who think that once they get preapproved the space is held for them, and will get angry at you if someone else jumps in and books. "I thought I had 24 hrs to book!" the annoyed reply will read. Avoid this happening, avoid them being disappointed, and clarify in some way, that it is "first come, first served."

If every time you preapprove a guest, you tell them that the preapproval does NOT hold the space for them, then you don't have to worry if their feelings are hurt later because they delayed while someone else paid. "you snooze you lose." If you are located in a prime destination and your place is going like hotcakes, you may have this problem a lot -- but as I say, it isn't really a problem.

If you preapprove someone, and later get a better offer -- a guest who wants to stay longer or you would feel more comfortable with, you can remove the preapproval for the first guest -- but I suggest getting clear first that the second guest is serious about wanting to stay with you rather than being a "tire kicker." You don't have to explain why -- you could say "something came up -- the place may not be available after all. " IF the second guest who you preferred then says they dont' want to stay, you can re-preapprove the first guest, but be careful to avoid upsetting people by jerking them around.

So that's a little discussion on "preapproval dilemmas."