Reply to thread: The Value Of Communication

Hello @Geoff7 , Great to hear from you. Me too. If I need to go off platform when guests refuse to respond to critical questions such as when they plan to check in, I send a text message and copy it to the chat. If this does not work, I call them. And if even that fails, I contact Airbnb for help. They are great at this. My real problem is with the 24-hour window between the guest request and my time to accept or decline. I do not use instant booking and not all guests bother to read the listing description. I have found that some are really bad at choosing their accommodation. I must vet my guests to make sure my property fits their needs and expectations. For example, one topic I recently shared in the community is when they wrongly think we are in the city center even though we are located 20 kilometers away. So I ask them for more clarification but they do not respond. I send another message after a couple of hours explaining that I have limited time to decide and need their input, and still there is silence. Closer to the 24-hour deadline with no reply from them, I eventually have to decline. Unfortunately, it happens too often. Interestingly, one minute after they receive the message that their request was declined, they send me a message, sometimes with a hint of disappointment and dissatisfaction that I did not automatically accept their request. Of course at that point I will not accept them. Rarely do I allow them to book again and accept the second time. A guest (and a host) who does not communicate is a sign of not caring. This behavior will continue throughout the stay and I do not need that type of guest. You asked me what I would like to see in the next upgrade. There are lots of things. For example, during the reservation process guests should better understand that when they send a request the host does not have to accept it, that they should be respectful and reply to messages. Airbnb could monitor these moments with AI and automatically send an email and a text message to guests telling them that if they do not reply, the reservation will not be accepted. This is just one suggestion. There are probably many ways to address it. I hope I am not the only one who struggles with this. Do you use instant booking on or off? What do you do when potential guests do not reply to your questions before you hit the accept button?