Is Instant Book right for you?

[Airbnb]

Instant Book basics

Instant Book is a powerful tool that allows guests to instantly book your home for available dates—alleviating the need for hosts to review and accept each booking request individually. Many hosts report that they earn more money by making the booking process easier for guests, and that they appreciate the convenience this provides. Listings with Instant Book also tend to show up higher in Airbnb search results. “The Instant Book feature has worked very well for us,” says host Antonio of Goa, India. “I keep the calendar updated and many guests book without my intervention.”

Keeping your calendar up-to-date is key to using Instant Book successfully. If you’re not able to do this, you could be surprised by unexpected bookings or end up canceling a reservation due to a scheduling error—an Airbnb no-no that could result in a cancellation fee. To ensure that your Airbnb calendar is always current, it’s a good idea to sync it with whatever calendar you primarily use (iCal, Google, etc). Here’s a tutorial on how to do that.

Tools for extra peace of mind

Some hosts may initially feel hesitant to use Instant Book because they worry that they won’t have much information about potential guests before booking. You can set your preferences to offer Instant Book only to guests who have received positive reviews from other hosts, and/or guests who have government-issued IDs. You can also create a custom greeting and include important questions (for instance, “Who else will be staying with you? What’s the purpose of your trip? Can you confirm you’ve read the House Rules?) that Instant Book guests will see during their booking process. After the booking is confirmed, you can follow up to ask additional questions if needed. “I used to require reservation requests,” says host Kristine from San Francisco, “but once I realized that what I was looking for in guests (positive ratings) could be handled automatically by Airbnb, it actually made more sense for me to use Instant Book to get the benefits of more views and bookings, while maintaining the same level of guest quality I enjoyed by reviewing requests myself.”

Why you might still get booking requests

Even with Instant Book turned on, there are cases where you might receive booking requests from guests. This could happen if you haven’t updated your calendar in a while, or if you’ve recently needed to cancel a reservation. Guests who don’t meet your criteria to book instantly might also send reservation requests. For any requests that do come through, you’ll need to respond by accepting or declining the reservation, or messaging your prospective guests within 24 hours.

Why some hosts don’t use Instant Book

Despite the many benefits of Instant Book, some hosts find that reservation requests work better for them. Annie, a host in Sonoma, California, uses reservation requests because she only offers long-term stays of 30 days or more, to comply with hosting regulations in her area. “I would love to use Instant Book, but there are a lot more logistics to figure out when you’re hosting someone for that long,” she says. “It’s more like having a tenant.”

Nichola, a host in Guelph, Canada, has an environmental sensitivity that requires her to keep her space scent free, so she uses reservation requests to ensure that guests are willing to agree to her very specific house rules. “I get migraines from scented products so I need to make sure my guests are folks who understand scent allergies,” she says.

Another reason to choose booking requests rather than Instant Book might be that your space has specific qualities that you need to make sure guests understand before their stay. Examples might include a private room in a home that includes pets or children, or an extremely rustic space that might be challenging for certain guests. Booking requests can be a good choice for assuring that guests are aware of all the unique aspects of your home before they visit.

Reliability is key for using Instant Book

Whatever decision you make, remember that Airbnb has strict policies around hosts canceling reservations, because reliability is a critical part of being a great host. That said, if you allow guests to instantly book and are uncomfortable with a reservation once it’s made (for instance, because your prospective guests are asking if they can break your house rules), you can cancel a booking without penalty using the online cancellation tool up to three times per calendar year. Just know that canceling a reservation signals that Instant Book may not be a good fit for you right now, so if you do this, Airbnb may send booking requests instead for your next few reservations.

Want to update your settings to turn Instant Book on or off? Here’s how to do it.

[Barb-and-Mark1]

Thanks Sarah, I will use your statement in a template for Any future occurrences.

[Christopher221]

Thanks for that. I've had this issue with cancellations and it's been very difficult to explain that the fee doesn't go to the host. I'll use this statement myself from now on.

[Jackie229]

Interesting. That just happened to me.

[Joan-And-Murray0]

Totally agree with the above comment. It happened to me. I had guests that told me at 9 pm they wouldn't be coming due to car troubles. They wanted a full refund. I talked with airbnb and they suggested to keep good relations with the guests for future bookings I should do a refund. I offered a certain amount, and they replied "if that is all you feel you can give" making me fell pressured to give more back. Not pleased with that. 

[Cathy109]

Hah! “Car troubles”.  I’ll bet. But we feel pressured to fully refund anyway. I had a 7 day booking cancel the day of, saying their grandmother got sick and they couldn’t pay for whatever so needed a refund. We have no way to confirm if the excuses are valid....I trust most of my guests 100%, but the ones that cancel last minute I don’t. 

[Claire735]

“Keep good relations with the guests for future bookings”? Why would you want future bookings from guests that have a history of late cancellation? I don’t buy the car troubles excuse and I would not have offered any refund. 

[Melissa766]

They also, do not collect the refundable damage deposit if you have it set up. Which I think is ridiculous if they offer that feature they should collect it. Like vrbo does. I helped one of my bookings cancel their reservation and my rating dropped because of this. They want you to be good hosts but if you hell someone out you get penalized fir it.

Melissa Gumm 

[Judith11]

I agree with Sarah in Sayulita.

Having been a host for going on ten years, I would like Airbnb to remember that without hosts, there are no guests!  

In 9+ years, I have cancelled only two parties.  Two.  In nine years.  I find the cancellation policy for hosts punitive and disrespectful.  There are good reasons if I cancel.  I don't cancel, as a matter of course.  But should I have to, Airbnb takes away Superhost status for a year is it? and what else?  Posts a flag on my profile that I've cancelled?  For two incidences in ten years?  

And the times lately, 2018 and 2019, when I have had problems with guests doing squirrely things like reserving for 3 and showing up with 7, I have had to spend hours getting Airbnb to back me up, and I think that is not right.  

I agree with Sarah -- we're not hotels, many of us have just one space to offer, and it's not possible to "just get another booking" in a few hours or a couple of days.  Especially in whatever our peak seasons are.  

I've been really happy with Airbnb, but I would like them to be as host-friendly as they are guest-friendly.  I now feel there's a difference between "them" and "me."  I used to say "we," but it does not seem to be "us" so much as "they and them." 

Judith,

[Neil-and-Ellen0]

They are “Guest Friendly” because they HAVE TO BE to compete out there in the world market. We are partners of sorts with Airbnb in a business that they started and run, not us. Running a business doesn’t mean you have to be “Partner Friendly” (though this Forum is just that), but Businesslike. That’s IT. 

As as a side note, as Homeshare hosts, we have avoided literally EVERY one of the recurring complaints and problems with guests that seem to occur mostly in whole-house rental situations, by being here full-time. And, it also avoids the majority of negative feedback from communities pushing back against STRs. 

Oh, wait, that’s how Airbnb was originally envisioned and implemented. 

Hmmmmm

[JD5]

  Always stick with a "Strict" cancellation policy and when Airbnb calls you to refund the guest's money DO NOT DO IT! It is your policy and only you stand to lose.

I fell for this several times until recently when the guest wanted to cancel last minute. I said "no" and they ended up coming after all.

  A previous guest found a sneaky way to get out of coming and paying. They called Airbnb, wanted to change their date last minute, I stupidly agreed. Airbnb did not clear my calendar so anyone else could book. The guest rescheduled far enough in advance so they could cancel without penalty. I got screwed.

  Another guest claimed there was a fire in the area and they were afraid to come. Airbnb canceled 1 day before reservation. The fire was over 600 miles away! I even sent a map and air quality info to guest and Airbnb to no avail. What's funny is that the guest's home was closer to where the fire was than mine by 200 miles!

  The Airbnb service is in the Phillipines and they truly do not care about hosts. You have to be your own advocate. They keep urging me to lighten up my cancellation policy, but I say no. I have heard that they intend get rid of "strict" policies in the future. If they do, make some noise!

[Lynne168]

If they get rid of strict, I will leave.  

[Connie94]

I also had somebody work the system to get out of paying cancellation fees. She said her flight was canceled and couldn't make it till the next day. I allowed them to update her reservation and refund the one night. Then she said the next flight was canceled and had to cancel the full booking, so instead of 3 nights being canceled, I was only reimbursed for 2. I have a moderate cancellation policy and since it was the day of the booking, all 3 nights should have been paid out. I am no longer so helpful.

[Claire735]

I think there should be an option to set a temporary cancellation policy, as you already can do for minimum nights. For example, I host in Edinburgh and normally set a flexible cancellation policy. During August there is a near month-long festival, guests tend to book months in advance and I’d like the option to set a strict cancellation policy for that time of the year.

[Patricia-and-Frank0]

I hope everyone realizes that host are the lowest item on the totem pole for Airbnb. We need to cover our you know what's and do the best within their rules. So many of these comments and examples are happening all too often. Unverified accounts, no IDs, punishment for well founded cancellations and also no alteration or removal of bogus reviews. How many of you have experienced the Airbnb freeloader that never intended on paying for their stay?

[Lauren338]

Just had a guest that I have to think was only trying to extort a refund.  Only stayed 2 nights.  I did not hear from her at all during her stay but AFTER she was home and BEFORE she submitted her review she sent me a list of complaints.  At most of which could have been handled in a 2 minute phone call or text at the beginning of her stay.  I apologized and pointed out that I would have been happy to help her with her concerns if she had contacted me during her stay.  I did not offer to refund her any money.  I got a 2 star review.  And in the written review she stated that I was defensive and that "it would have taken up too much of her precious time" to contact me for help.  *sigh*