As a host on the RVezy platform, effectively managing booking requests and inquiries is crucial for maintaining strong host metrics and ensuring your RV listing remains visible in Search. This guide will help you understand the differences between booking requests and inquiries and how to handle them efficiently.

Booking requests

When a guest sends a booking request, you have 48 hours to take action before the booking expires. We advise you to respond within 24 hours to keep your guest engaged with your listing. You can choose to accept, decline, or send a special offer.

1. Accepting a booking request:
   • Review the booking details, and if you are unsure about the details to confirm with your guest, check out this article for tips on what questions you should ask: What are the best questions to ask the guest? If everything is satisfactory, accept the request.
   • Communicate with your guest promptly, and check all the details to avoid any miscommunication.
   • Once you accept the booking, the guest will need to make a payment to secure the booking.
   • If the guest had already prepaid when they sent their request, the booking will be confirmed right away.
     
     
2. Sending a special offer:
   • You can send a special offer if you need to adjust the booking terms before confirming. This can include changes in pricing, dates, amenities, or delivery.
   • Once the offer is sent, the guest will need to make a payment to confirm and secure the booking.
     
     
3. Declining a request:
   • If you cannot accommodate the booking, decline the request promptly to inform the guest.
   • You should not decline a booking request to edit details. Instead, you or your guest can use the Edit booking tool to make the necessary changes to the booking.

What to do when the guest is not responsive

Handling unresponsive guests can be challenging, but you can navigate these situations efficiently while maintaining your host metrics.

If your acceptance rate is high, you can consider declining the booking request from an unresponsive guest to maintain efficiency. Alternatively, if you're concerned about your acceptance rate, you can accept the booking request but inform the guest that payment should only be made once they have confirmed essential details.

For prepaid booking requests, consider sending a special offer that highlights the details you require to finalize the booking. This allows you to accept the booking and keep good host metrics, without processing their payment.

By implementing these strategies, you can effectively manage unresponsive guests while maintaining strong host metrics and ensuring a positive experience for both you and your guests.

Importance of timely responses

• Avoid expired requests: You should avoid letting your booking requests expire. Expired requests can negatively impact your listing's ranking in search results. Multiple expired requests may even result in your listing being temporarily removed from search results.
• Maintain Visibility: To keep your listing visible and maintain strong host metrics, always respond to booking requests promptly.

Inquiry request

Guests can send you an inquiry by clicking the "Ask a Question" button in your listing. Unlike booking requests, inquiries you receive only expire at the specified trip dates. Here’s how to handle inquiries effectively: 

• Responding to Inquiries: You should respond to inquiries within 24 hours. Prompt responses help foster good relationships, increase the likelihood of bookings, and maintain a strong response rate.
• Preapproving Inquiries: You can preapprove an inquiry by sending a special offer. If the guest makes a payment, it becomes a confirmed booking.
• Declining Inquiries: You can decline inquiries if necessary, but it is not required.

Best Practices for Managing Inquiries

• Engage with Guests: Use inquiries as an opportunity to engage with potential guests and provide detailed information about your listing.
• Consider Preapproval: Preapproving inquiries can streamline the booking process and encourage guests to confirm their stay.

Managing multiple requests

During busy seasons, you might receive multiple booking requests for the same dates. Here’s how to manage these situations effectively:

• Accepting Multiple Requests: You can accept multiple requests for the same dates until a guest confirms their booking by making a payment. This approach allows you to maximize your chances of securing a booking.
• Securing a Booking: The first guest to make a payment will secure the booking. At this point, those dates will be blocked on your calendar, and any other unconfirmed booking with overlapping dates will be automatically declined.
• Impact on Metrics: Bookings automatically declined due to overlapping dates don’t negatively affect your acceptance metric. This ensures that your host metrics remain strong even during high-demand periods.

Conclusion

Efficiently managing booking and inquiry requests is key to maintaining strong host metrics and ensuring your RV listing remains visible. Prioritize responding to booking requests promptly to avoid booking expiration and consider pre-approving inquiries to convert them into bookings.