Screening

[undersea]

Question on how experienced innkeepers screen. I reviewed some past threads about screening prospective guests (a few were window screens!)
Trying to come up with a rational approach. I foresee several problems:
1) For OTAs, my own website or other booking options, many of these people will already have booked. Am I really going to start cancelling reservations except for extreme problems? I can already see the negative reviews "Made reservations and then they canceled on me! Avoid!"
2) I don't want to spend 30 minutes with every prospective guest every day, as it is draining. As a current landlord with a couple properties, I find this draining just when an apartment becomes available, screening 6-10 prospects. Dogs? Job? Car? Going to turn it into a meth lab? Criminal background? Past evictions? Staying how long? etc. etc.
Do you include screening questions in your online reservation process?
How to you back out of a reservation without stirring up a hornet's nest?
Do you have do phone/email screens that are really quick without the energy drain?

 

[TheBeachHouse]

No. If they pay with a credit card, they get the room.

 

[Morticia]

You are opening a hotel. You don't screen guests. You screen your TENANTS. That's different.
If you have repeat guests you don't want, then you tell them 'it's not a good fit'.
If someone wants to host a prom party you're 'not a good fit'. If someone gets rude you're 'not a good fit'.
Otherwise, you are opening a PUBLIC place of accommodation.
Now I will let those who screen their guests explain how and why they do it.

 

[Specific]

Wow... You don't screen potential guests (at least new guests), as Morticia said you are opening a PUBLIC place of accommodation. Yes, you will get your fair share of PITAs, and you will have to get use to this.
Now, when it comes to return guests, it is a different story. You can keep a "Do not book" list for PITAs and if they try to book again, then you can reply that they are not a good fit, but very quickly after they reserve. Do not cancel their reservation 2 days prior to their arrival.
If a new guest reserve and then send you a message with all sort of requirements, or letting you know they plan to have a party, or things like this, then you can tell them it is not possible and they should find other accommodations. We once had a guest that, after booking, started asking about using the kitchen, and letting us know she wanted a kale omelet every morning, and other expectations we couldn't meet. We told her so, and told her she would be better off in a self catered tourist appartment, and that we could cancel her reservation without any fees if she wanted to, but we definitively could not catered to all her needs
But it is extremely rare. In all of our years, it probably happened only twice... But we did get our share of PITAs and we just grinned and got through it

 

[EmptyNest]

if you are opening a b and b for the public, you take anyone who pays with cash,or a good credit card. if you re already thinking of doing this, then you may be getting into the wrong business.
yes you can screen through your published policies but that isabout all you can do or you may be facing some problems.

 

[Mac]

Yes, I screen after the reservation is made - for my safety and the safety of other guests. I look them up on their county's ap praisal district and on F B, which gives a tremendous amount of info. Sometimes I even request they like my business page on F B so I can view them. People seem to understand. Never had a problem though. My law enforcement friends agree with this method but they are a suspicious bunch.
Screening is also why I don't like reservation services. I can have a friendly conversation with a future guest and learn a lot that could be used in goo gle searches.
But then I only have three suites to fill. Plus we only work as hard as we want to.
Here's another twist to this question. (Remember, I live in Texas in the country.) Does any innkeeper pack a gun? Keep one under the bed? I have gotten calls about looking the place over before making reservations and realize I am isolated and vulnerable in a big house that might have things or money to steal. When this happens my little pistol slips into my pocket and no one is the wiser. I just feel safer.

 

[gillumhouse]

I do not goo gle nor FB any guest before or after. I do not invade privacy. I am open for guests - period.

 

[Anon Inn]

Yes, I screen after the reservation is made - for my safety and the safety of other guests. I look them up on their county's ap praisal district and on F B, which gives a tremendous amount of info. Sometimes I even request they like my business page on F B so I can view them. People seem to understand. Never had a problem though. My law enforcement friends agree with this method but they are a suspicious bunch.
Screening is also why I don't like reservation services. I can have a friendly conversation with a future guest and learn a lot that could be used in goo gle searches.
But then I only have three suites to fill. Plus we only work as hard as we want to.
Here's another twist to this question. (Remember, I live in Texas in the country.) Does any innkeeper pack a gun? Keep one under the bed? I have gotten calls about looking the place over before making reservations and realize I am isolated and vulnerable in a big house that might have things or money to steal. When this happens my little pistol slips into my pocket and no one is the wiser. I just feel safer..

Hmmm, hadn't considered that. But we do have an excellent relationship with our local law enforcement officers. In a small county not difficult to develop, and if needed i feel confident of a quick response.

 

[Mac]

Yes, I screen after the reservation is made - for my safety and the safety of other guests. I look them up on their county's ap praisal district and on F B, which gives a tremendous amount of info. Sometimes I even request they like my business page on F B so I can view them. People seem to understand. Never had a problem though. My law enforcement friends agree with this method but they are a suspicious bunch.
Screening is also why I don't like reservation services. I can have a friendly conversation with a future guest and learn a lot that could be used in goo gle searches.
But then I only have three suites to fill. Plus we only work as hard as we want to.
Here's another twist to this question. (Remember, I live in Texas in the country.) Does any innkeeper pack a gun? Keep one under the bed? I have gotten calls about looking the place over before making reservations and realize I am isolated and vulnerable in a big house that might have things or money to steal. When this happens my little pistol slips into my pocket and no one is the wiser. I just feel safer..

Hmmm, hadn't considered that. But we do have an excellent relationship with our local law enforcement officers. In a small county not difficult to develop, and if needed i feel confident of a quick response.
.

Officers would have to be on a call at the next acreage over or in the woods for me to have a response time under 20 minutes. Hence the concealed carry permit. Gotta love Texas. We perpetrate our own myths.
And as my husband, an IT supervisor at the University, says, "With the computer age, there is no such thing as privacy anymore. And with the creation of a F B page, the expectation of privacy must be nil."

 

[Mary at Bridgewater Inn and Cottage]

I do not goo gle nor FB any guest before or after. I do not invade privacy. I am open for guests - period..

Agree with GillumHouse.... period.

 

[Anon Inn]

Hi Undersea:
Apartment rentals are our main source of income. We have found that overall, the month to month renters and B&B guests are quite a different breed of cat. We do extensive vetting for the apartments, for the B&B, not so much. When Air people book, a brief bio generally comes with. (touch wood, all B&B guests have so far been considerate and a pleasure)
We don't, having just two B&B rooms, use the OTAs. Our 'plague room' is now listed on Air. Has been for three weeks. So far, have gotten a week's booking for both rooms as a result of the guest finding us on Air. the guest did a direct booking from our site for the week (and did not ask for discounts). Our details are not difficult to divine from our Air online description.
For us, the OTAs would be far more work to deal with than it seems worth. and canceling a booking already made seems not quite right, but with a higher number of guest rooms, it might be worth the work.

 

[Anon Inn]

Yes, I screen after the reservation is made - for my safety and the safety of other guests. I look them up on their county's ap praisal district and on F B, which gives a tremendous amount of info. Sometimes I even request they like my business page on F B so I can view them. People seem to understand. Never had a problem though. My law enforcement friends agree with this method but they are a suspicious bunch.
Screening is also why I don't like reservation services. I can have a friendly conversation with a future guest and learn a lot that could be used in goo gle searches.
But then I only have three suites to fill. Plus we only work as hard as we want to.
Here's another twist to this question. (Remember, I live in Texas in the country.) Does any innkeeper pack a gun? Keep one under the bed? I have gotten calls about looking the place over before making reservations and realize I am isolated and vulnerable in a big house that might have things or money to steal. When this happens my little pistol slips into my pocket and no one is the wiser. I just feel safer..

Hmmm, hadn't considered that. But we do have an excellent relationship with our local law enforcement officers. In a small county not difficult to develop, and if needed i feel confident of a quick response.
.

Officers would have to be on a call at the next acreage over or in the woods for me to have a response time under 20 minutes. Hence the concealed carry permit. Gotta love Texas. We perpetrate our own myths.
And as my husband, an IT supervisor at the University, says, "With the computer age, there is no such thing as privacy anymore. And with the creation of a F B page, the expectation of privacy must be nil."
.

LOL, with a business on the web....forget privacy! But one can be judicious about information provided to F B and the like. Nothing personal there. My friends know when Bday and such really is.

 

[2cat_lady]

I do not goo gle nor FB any guest before or after. I do not invade privacy. I am open for guests - period..

I like the colour of everyone's money so I'm not too choosey. So far, no one's requested too much of me, but easy stuff like gluten-free, no pork or if my cats free roam (allergies). As far as anyone long term, those guests are here for business or visiting family in the area. And they're just not hanging around the house to bug me--they're out and about.
Now if I had to rent out the rooms by the month, that might be a little different. But hey! If you want to make a living, it's no worse than doing the 9-5 and dealing with customers all day long.

 

[undersea]

I have seen a number of past posts, about some owners who are trying to ascertain pets, party size, and other things, thus the question.
As I am moving towards opening within a few months, I was not really sure what people were trying to say, other than eyeballing a reservation looking for red flags. It is my hope that the website, social media, rezkey, OTAs and other booking sites will allow people to get most of the information they need for my place, reserve a space, get automatic reminders, as much as possible. Yes, there will be some necessary answering phone or emails or texts for lingering questions. But the whole point of the internet is to automate some aspects.
I am trying to minimize the drudge aspects (although some are inescapable) and focus on the positive aspects. My target is a stunning experience on a budget, giving people an escape, a one of a kind experience. It will not be a cookie cutter inn. I know I have not gotten into some of my planned particulars, but it should be a rich, unique collection of services.

 

[Morticia]

Yes, I screen after the reservation is made - for my safety and the safety of other guests. I look them up on their county's ap praisal district and on F B, which gives a tremendous amount of info. Sometimes I even request they like my business page on F B so I can view them. People seem to understand. Never had a problem though. My law enforcement friends agree with this method but they are a suspicious bunch.
Screening is also why I don't like reservation services. I can have a friendly conversation with a future guest and learn a lot that could be used in goo gle searches.
But then I only have three suites to fill. Plus we only work as hard as we want to.
Here's another twist to this question. (Remember, I live in Texas in the country.) Does any innkeeper pack a gun? Keep one under the bed? I have gotten calls about looking the place over before making reservations and realize I am isolated and vulnerable in a big house that might have things or money to steal. When this happens my little pistol slips into my pocket and no one is the wiser. I just feel safer..

Have only checked on 2-3 guests with seemingly familiar names in 10 years. I don't live in the middle of nowhere and I do have a gun. Do I carry? Not on your Nellie.

 

[GoodScout]

Two strategies:
1) Try and use your pricing as a tool. I find that pricing is a the best screening mechanism. The higher the price point you can charge, the better. A high price point weeds out the guests you really don't want in the firs place.
2) Require a credit card, either for a deposit or to "hold the reservation." If they don't have a credit card, you don't want them as a guest.

 

[undersea]

Two strategies:
1) Try and use your pricing as a tool. I find that pricing is a the best screening mechanism. The higher the price point you can charge, the better. A high price point weeds out the guests you really don't want in the firs place.
2) Require a credit card, either for a deposit or to "hold the reservation." If they don't have a credit card, you don't want them as a guest..

"you don't want them as a guest". Credit Card - That is probably true. I used to have two basic requirements for tenants (apartments). A job and a car. That told me someone trusted them with a job, and the state trusted them with a license. Those two alone weeded out a lot of issues.
I also learned that people fresh off a divorce were good to avoid. There was often a reason they got divorced, and they often brought a lot of anger with them, especially if they did not get the kids. Alcohol/drug problems, rage, suspicion, etc...

 

[happykeeper]

Well, there is active screening and there is passive screening. I have recommended Attracting The Perfect Customer, a book about synchronicity in the past. This is a form of screening that can happen right now, months before you open.

 

[OnTheShore]

I do not goo gle nor FB any guest before or after. I do not invade privacy. I am open for guests - period..

Agree with GillumHouse.... period.
.

I respect your positions, and we don't make it a habit of "stalking" our guests on the internet, but I do want to suggest that the whole point of a person creating a profile on some of these social media sites is for it to be seen. Many people want to be found.
This is especially the case with LinkedIn, which is largely about advertising yourself (in a professional capacity, of course). As to Facebook, one can set various levels of privacy on their profile, sharing as much or as little with the broader world as the different settings allow. Of course if you want to be really, really private, don't set up a social media profile.
So no, we don't screen our regular guests. We do, however, check out our wedding couples...

 

[innovermyhead]

I have never looked up a guest on FB or any other social media site but I do try to screen in the sense that we are not a "party place" and some businesses that have lodging and also floating (as canoeing is known in MO) definitely cater to a rowdier crowd. I think it's only fair to try and get a feel for what the guest is looking for and let them know if we might not be a match. I don't want to take a reservation that will only end up making the rowdy guest, my non-rowdy repeat guest and me really unhappy. I was 20 something once (although there are plenty of rowdy folks much older than 20...) and I'll gladly steer you to a location with late night hours if that's a better fit.
Hopefully our website conveys this and gets skipped over by those that are looking for a different atmosphere. Sometimes I worry that we might look too boring but I guess better that than the alternative.