Even during the booking request (note: not when it is only an inquiry) the dates are already reserved and will be permanently reserved after confirmation.
@Sue2068 Yes the dates are blocked as soon as the request process begins. You’ll see on your calendar it might be a different colour during that stage and once it’s confirmed and the guest has paid, it changes colour.
likewise if a guest cancels those dates automatically unblock.
you can manually block dates yourself, if you don’t want bookings on certain days.