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.

[Craig71]

I feel so vindicated by all these anti-instabook posts by hosts (esp SH of which I have been one for some time). It seems completely contrary to the Airbnb concept of sharing your home and community with others. I felt so harassed by Airbnb to add this "feature" that I considered going to another home sharing platform. I love the home sharing concept and have met some wonderful people but at the end of the day it's my home and I want to know who's coming and why. The "why" allows me to create a special experience for my guests (here to surf? wine & dine? which beach etc - I can help) but also nip the bad ones in the bud...no your sorority retreat is not a fit. 

[John2178]

I am often contacted by a potential "Guest" whose profile has no information at all. NOTHING, NADA, ZIP, ZERO etc. Only a first name such as David. I don't know who they are, country etc. And always a brand new profile. Often with weird requests, statements etc.

I tell them to either fill in a reasonable amount of info or look elsewhere. Only one agreed and filled in the details. A very nice person.

JD.

[Jaklin--Aka--Jacqueline-0]

I have been using intant book for a year now, and I'm pretty much booked all the time.  I've had wonderful people staying with me and so I've been very lucky and based on my experience I will continue to use instant book.  I have a 2 night minimum and I would like to change that to a 3 night minimum and hope I continue to be as busy as I'm used to.  I'm nervous making the change but I'm just going to bite the bullet, whatever that means. 

[Gabrielle22]

Why would you change to a three-night minimum? Curious.

[Sarah977]

@Gabrielle22 I've always had a 3 night minimum and it works just fine for me. I'm not interested in cleaning the space for a one or 2 nighter, because I try to keep the private room I list affordable for budget travelers and don't charge a cleaning fee. And I live where people normally come on vacation for a week or two, it's not just somewhere people are passing through for the night.

[Gabrielle22]

I have a two-night minimum but no less than that---as you say, not worth it for a one-night stay. A three-night minimum would have me losing a lot of business---people usually come up for the weekend and need to get back to the city, or come up for a wedding and aren't interested in that extra night.

[Aysha-and-Ren0]

I actually sought out this article to read because i was about to turn on autobook after 2 years of hosting and 1 year of being a  superhost. Now i am not going to after reading the first 2 pages of comments.  This seeming lack of concern for host safety is concerning. I thought that airbnb said that guests MUST have the ID and also MUST agree to adheee to your rules. It seems these are treated as mere suggestions,  and guests dont have to adhere...or even READ these requirements at all. Very disappointing.  And then you get panalized and put even lower in the search if you try it out, dont like it and then turn it off. What kind of $hit is that to do to reliable hosts. I agree with the person that said you can usually trust your instincts about the way the guest initially approaches you in the request. "Are you available today? We need a place at 9" is very different from what we all know to be a more personalized informative inquiry.  We live in the heart of DC, and sometimes people who LIVE in DC are booking airbnbs to do things that they dont want to do in or near their own homes...again...security issues. Just 2 nights ago on a Wednesday i get this request at 8pm... " Is your booking still available? My friend and I need a place to stay....we're out drinking. We want to know what's the latest we can check in?" When i told him/ her ( and we couldnt tell because the name was an obvious incognito-first -name only type name) midnight was absolute latest and they had to be quiet as well other rules, we mutually told each other "never mind". Now, we're pretty open people, and a rowdy drunken sex party at 2am sounds like fun, but just not in our house, with strangers, on a work/school night!  I can only imagine if i had autobook turned on , and these folks stumbled in creating a raucous .

So, thanks fellow hosts for your insights. I will NOT be turning on autobook.

And for Airbnb, if you want us to do "better", sounds like you have to do better and step up your game with this autobook thing.

[Margi4]

Smart move.   I had to turn off my autobooking.,   They don't have anything like they used to where you could see if they had rented before, or how long they had been using airbnb.  the ID part from Airbnbs part is a Joke.  

[Ed224]

Not seeing "Manage Listing" 

[Heather187]

The review process used isn't completely reliable or accurate IMO, so being able to automatically filter the positive reviews isn't good enough for me to confidently review a potential guest.  The fact that the last question asks whether I would recommend this guest but also states that the guest won't know my answer is laughable.  If a guest isn't a good one, shouldn't other hosts know that?  I choose not to use the Instant Book feature because I want to ask my guests questions, I want to know what brings them to Ottawa, etc.  Instant Book brings more $$ to Airbnb which isn't a bad thing, but not the way I like to run my business.  

I'd love there to be a feature that highlights my house manual with a mandatory check box (the guest can't make a reservation until they've read the manual), this sort of customer service for us hosts would be a great improvement for my business, Instant Book doesn't help me at all.  

[Denis130]

Puzzled by some information presented and am now more confused than ever.  Maybe I’m still too much a newbie.

1) In first paragraph of “Is Instant Book right for you?” article I see a host favoring Instant Book because, “I keep the calendar updated and guests book without my intervention”.

Airbnb manages my Airbnb online calendar three months out except for days I personally block for personal reasons.  This pro-Instant Book comment seems to infer a guest might show up unannounced if I don’t put their booking. Please clarify.

2) I seem to have had a recent rash of Instant Book generated cancellations I instigated because of guests not providing selfies within a 14 day period of check-in, which is clearly noted in my house rules to provide a level of personal security in knowing who is going to knock on my door at check-in: as well as a method to discourage third party bookings, not covered by Airbnb’s Host Insurance. 

One ended five minutes after check-in when guest discovered I lived in the same house, which is clear to anyone taking the least amount of time looking at my listing.  He obviously had not even read any listing detail, and had wanted privacy with his girl friend. 

This was his second cancellation within a week.  The week prior I cancelled his booking for not providing a selfie.  The booking had a picture of a business card showing the map of Washington State and didn’t have a name associated to booking that I could see. 

One event was a spouse booking on behalf of her husband even though he had his own account, but she never planned staying but in the booking listed her own personal phone number which complicated the security link to August Lock that I use for home access, because her husband’s phone was never reflected in the booking, nor was his name.  Until later messages made disclosure, I fully expected a woman to arrive at my door, not a man.

Since my bookings have dropped off, am not sure if it’s because of too many Instant Book cancellations or just end of summer.

3) Don’t understand implication of .Edan2 comment, “Risk of double booking”.

4) Is what .Ann489 says true, that turning off Instant Book will lower my listing’s search ability?

5) Had always assumed since Airbnb handled all payments it wouldn’t matter whose CC was being used, but .Princess20 suggests “another host” had trouble getting damages payment because card holder, who was never present, declined to pay.  How does this relate to the Airbnb insurance coverage?  Does Instant Book go through a different financial process, than a normal requested booking. 

Help.

[Emilia42]

@Denis130 

1.) Instant book reservations will automatically appear on your calendar. It is the hosts responsibility to manage/update their calendar so that days which cannot be booked are blocked. 

2.) It could be the end of the summer season but your listing will fall in the search rankings if you cancel/decline reservations. 

3.) Double booking has to do with hosts who list on multiple platforms (VRBO, booking.com, ect.) If calendars do not sync quickly or accurately then two guests could book the same days from different booking platforms.  

4.) Yes, hosts who use instant book appear higher in searches. Guests can also filter for instant booking listings as their preference. 

5.) When hosts file a claim it is first sent to the guest who can decide to pay or not pay. If the guest rejects the claim/damage it then goes to Airbnb host guarantee. Airbnb can also choose to reject the claim. The guest does not always pay and Airbnb does not always pay. The host guarantee is not 100% and you should never rely on it.

[Denis130]

Instant Book Marketing seems to have complicated an easy process.  Time to unplug from Instant Book.

[Gabrielle22]

I've been a Super Host for several years---and still don't understand the "Keep your calendar updated." Airbnb puts bookings on my calendar as soon as a guest books. I don't have to do anything. So what is this about keeping my calendar updated??

[Emilia42]

@Gabrielle22, if something is preventing you from hosting on a certain date/timeframe and your calendar is still open, a guest can automatically book the days at anytime. So update/manage your calendar and block off days in which you cannot host so they cannot be instant booked. "Keep you calendar updated."