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.

[Jeremy406]

Really not happy with Instant booking experiences we have had as a new AIRBNB member. We have had drastically reduced rates offered automatically on instant booking where we have had to cancel as it was not worth taking the booking in what was our high season. Also those who had booked had very poor reviews or were booking on behalf of others. 

[Tara107]

Smart idea about no instant book on long term guests. I think I'll change that on my listing

[Emma385]

Instant book guests get 24 hours to cancel without penalty.  Why can't hosts have the same?  

[Neels0]

Definitely a no to instant book.

1). Somehow guests miss the fact that we are a “Naturist/clothes free/nudist venue” and then arrive while other naturist guests are there. So before accepting I want to be sure they understand the rules.

2). Often it happens that we get private bookings and before you can update the calendar you get an instant booking.

So for Bare Necessities it is a definite no.

Best

[Shan19]

Hello all, I am very unhappy with Instant Booking, I had two bookings made in the last month,  first booking came through made by someone for two of her work collages, her ID and profile picture were present but I had no clue what the two colleges looked like and no ID, the second booking was made by a guest who 's comment was that she was excited to meet me, she also had no profile picture, I asked her to provide one and then was told that the booking was for a staff member. I find this very scary to start with and unacceptable . I have since cancelled Instant booking.

[Cathy109]

I had the same things happen and each time I cancelled and ABNB helpdesk helped ensure my settings weren’t affected. They understood my rationale. I explained to the guests that if they corrected the problem I’d be happy to host them. One of them did and they were as great a guest as all my others. 

[Cathy109]

There are many benefits to IB if you keep your setting to govt ID required. The few times I’ve had trouble with a reserving guest not fitting my rules, ABNB has always been helpful in making any changes needed. We need to recognize that IB was started because some hosts were being discriminatory in refusing some requests. I’m all-in with IB because of that. It certainly isn’t perfect but it’s less imperfect than before. 

[Edwina8]

instant book means instant turn up.. which is a problem when your at work.. i had no idea it meant that to i had a guest book at 12.12 pm who was on his way for booking in at 13.00pm.. i was at a funeral.. i could not be home plus he was not going out again so had to have him here all that day and night.. i had to cancel the booking as he would not agree to come in the evening.. Air B&B said i could not have Instant Book if i was unable to take instant booking in no matter what time of day.. seem very unfair to me.. and very strange.

[Melodie-And-John0]

Excellent discussion, there are pros and cons in each direction.  Personally, I find Instant Book to be very good for our bottom line even if it comes with some challenges the first being, every empty space must be book ready all the time.  We actually had one last night (9 PM, right in the middle of watching the crazies on Naked and Afraid get chased by alligators in a swamp!)  that almost rose to the level of rejection, they were first time airbnb bookers that were doing it on their phone, some language barriers also caused them not to completely understand Airbnb or Bearpath Lodging posted policies and house rules and I could have easily just said no when it was obvious that this was going to need some intervention to work out well for all.  The instant messaging widget wasnt working well, their connections were poor ( they were four hours away near the Canadian border) so I just called them direct.  We worked through the confusion and after we were both sure what was going on I went to bed because we also use another great tool "self check in", the rest is history (they are snoozing peacefully in their suite as I write this and in a little while, I will get that email that says, You've been paid!)

My wife and I treat our commitment to our customers and Bearpath lodging like a full time job that can require instant attention any of the 24 hours in a day (and does sometimes).  Instant book certainly adds to that but nothing ventured, nothing gained.  If your looking for some side $$$, Instant book might be more challenge and hassle than you need or want but I think its a valuable tool for most of us who don't really like to see our spaces empty ever,  Safe Travels, Your Hosts, John and Melodie! 

[Barbara1600]

I personally prefer not to use instant book .I am a single older woman and like to know something about a guest before allowing them into my home !!

[Ree4]

Another very valid reason for NOT using instant booking is that our Airbnb lodging is also used by family members. Family comes first!!  They have first dibs in using our mountain cabin, whether for winter or summer stays. So, for example, when the snow falls, family members may want to take a weekend to enjoy the winter fun.  We have never canceled a booking, but REQUESTS are always presented first to family members via text before non-family members' requests are booked.  This may take a little extra time, but it works very well for us!!

Ree Coy, Super Host, Shaver Lake, CA

[Soraya45]

I'm a parent with 3 children under the age of 13. There is no way I'm prepared to put my kids at risk by turning on Instant Book. Airbnb, kindly remember that a lot of your hosts who rent out a room in their homes have kids. No one in their right mind would let a total stranger into their home whom they've not vetted properly, moreso if there are young kids in the home.  I hope Instant Book is not going to become mandatory as if it does, I will sadly have to move over to a different platform.

[Earnill0]

it's a  good idea but am thinking about it..

[Michelle53]

I won't use instant book for several reasons. 

Firstly, I have a per-person additional fee. Guests are very often requesting to book for one person, while travelling with multiple people.  I have to always double check how many guests they are booking for. 

Secondly, I often have issues with people wanting to arrive earlier than stated check-in time. My check-in time is 3pm, clearly stated. I don't know how many times I've had people booking cheap red-eye flights that come in early in the morning,  that want early check in or luggage drop off.   I can't always accommodate that.

Thirdly, I have strict occupancy limits. I'm always being asked if guests can bring more people than allowed.  That would be a definite "no".

That's before I have to consider the requests for a local  person and their "boyfriend" needing one night's stay in the middle of the week that just make me uncomfortable. 

Depending on my calendar, I've had to decline certain requests - cancelling after the fact because people don't read the instructions puts the onus on me, not the guest.

[Trina43]

There should be different options for hosts when guests book for longer stays. My home has been rented this year for 30 day stays, 7 times. We should have the option to request a larger deposit+++  From my experiences this year a host needs to do a weekly walk through. Guests never read the house rules on the booking page. ( I have framed copies inside the house.)

Half the time there are more guests than stated and people traveling for business , treat my home like a hotel. In July my business-guests got the DOWN comforters from the linen closet and had to AC set at 68. 

One size does not fit all. The booking settings need more options per visit. Including arrival times. Do hotels let you place your luggage inside your room before check-in?