Accepting Booking Requests: A Journey to Your First Five-Star Review

Hey host, we’re glad you’re here!

As you continue to work towards that first five-star review, it’s important to understand best practices around booking requests on Peerspace.

Remember the importance of responsiveness in landing bookings? Accepting or declining a booking request is equally as important as promptly replying to an inquiry, so be sure to do one or the other as soon as possible. If you do nothing within the first 48 hours, the request will expire. Expired bookings negatively impact your response time and visibility in search results, so steer clear of these!

While we hope you feel confident accepting a booking request right away, we understand that there may be additional factors you need to confirm first, especially if the booking details aren’t quite right or you haven’t spoken with the guest before.

When this happens, use the following best practices to work through those final kinks and accept the booking with confidence.

Communicate early and often with pre-written message templates

• Explore the Peerspace Message Library: You only have 48 hours to make a decision, so time is of the essence when accepting a booking. Pre-written message templates can help you communicate both quickly and effectively. Whether you’ve spoken with the guest before or not, use our Message Library as a launching pad to fuel the right conversations.
  
• Host tip: Have a template ready to send to guests when you accept their request. This personalized touch will set the stage for a successful booking and show them how much you care.

Set and exceed expectations by asking the right questions

• 21 questions every host should ask: Asking the right questions is key to setting and exceeding expectations with guests, especially if you haven’t spoken with this guest before. Think about your non-negotiables and be sure to cover these upfront. If you have any lingering doubts, re-confirm details you may have already discussed. Having a paper trail in Peerspace messaging is key for both parties to have peace of mind.
  
• Host tip: Peerspace hosts understand that if they cancel a confirmed booking, there may be penalties. Avoid cancellations by taking the time now to make sure this booking is the right fit.

Offer a custom price to add services or edit booking details

• Make your space the one-stop-shop: If your guest mentioned a need for A/V equipment, security, or something else you offer on-site, use this opportunity to upsell additional services with the custom offer feature. Remember to factor in Peerspace’s service fee on the final booking total.
  
• Host tip: Booking details not quite right? Use the custom offer feature to edit the attendee count, date, time, or price of the guest’s request by re-visiting the original one in your inbox.

As you try out these tips and continue the conversation, there is one golden rule to always keep in mind. If you expect the remaining details to take more than 48 hours to confirm or you haven’t heard from your guest in a while, decline the booking request until all loose ends are tied up rather than letting it expire (remember, expired bookings ding your response time!). Once details are confirmed, the guest can always submit a new one.

While this list isn’t exhaustive, adopting these best practices now will better prepare you for your hosting journey on Peerspace. Trust us, your future self will be glad to did!