Why we decline bookings

We don't host every guest.

I wish we could, but not every guest is a good fit for our stays.

The question we start with is simple.

What is the reason for your stay?

Even a mention of a small party puts us on guard. Small parties become big ones. So we slow down and try to understand what they're planning.

But this cuts both ways.

We also want the people who book to have a wonderful experience. If someone wants a birthday celebration and our place can't give them that, declining is the kind thing to do. A guest who can't do the thing they came for is not a happy guest. That's a stay they regret and a review we regret.

We learned this the hard way. A couple of early mistakes, years ago. We ignored the signs, and it was never a good experience, for us or for our neighbors.

So we say no, almost weekly. And that saved us many times. Our properties, our money, our peace.

The wrong booking doesn't just cost you that one stay. It blocks the dates another guest would have taken. If it turns into damage, the place goes offline for repairs, and that kills the bookings right behind it. Then the review drags down everything that comes after.

One yes to the wrong booking can cost you a month of good ones.

The cheap booking is rarely cheap.

Now, you might be trying to cover your mortgage with rental revenue. Plus a bit on top. But you can do that and still leave room to breathe, instead of pushing to 90%+ with bookings that bring more harm than good.

If you have a property manager, they're naturally incentivized to book as many nights as possible. Rethink that agreement. Find a structure where they aren't motivated to accept bookings with questionable intent.

Even declining bookings almost weekly, here is our trailing 12 month occupancy for 4 active stays in Austin(screen shot from Hostaway):

excluding blocked dates

including blocked dates

We could push it higher. But the last few points of occupancy pull in the riskiest bookings. So we stop there.

We trade a little occupancy for a lot less risk, and we'd make that trade every time.

That's all for today.

Till next week, dear readers.