Instant Book Problem

[Neil702]

It seems like this may be a long running problem for lots of hosts but here goes...

We have 2 properties listed with Airbnb. Both have instant book enabled but in the listings they both appear as 'request to book'. So, if any potential guests apply the 'instant book' filter to their search results both our places disappear.

We've never cancelled a booking, we have Superhost status, full 5 star reviews and 'guests choice'. We don't have any pre-booking conditions enabled (good feedback etc).

Airbnb support either don't know what the problem is or don't want to say and as a result have not offered any resolution for the last 2 weeks. In the meantime we've had no Airbnb bookings for weeks.

Anyone else in the same boat? Any solutions out there??

[Alicia753]

Hi @Neil702 it sounds like there's an issue with the settings of your Airbnb listings. To resolve the problem where your properties are showing as 'request to book' instead of 'instant book', even though you have enabled instant book. You may try following these steps. 

Check Instant Book Settings: Look for the 'Booking settings' or a similar section. In this section, you should find the 'Instant Book' option. Ensure that it is turned on for your listing.

Review Other Settings: Sometimes other settings can conflict with Instant Book. For example, if you have set requirements for guests that are too strict, or if there are certain restrictions in place (like minimum advance notice or maximum length of stay), it might override the Instant Book setting.

Save Changes: After making sure that Instant Book is enabled and there are no conflicting settings, save your changes.

If the problem persists, reach out to Airbnb support for assistance. They can provide more specific guidance and help resolve technical issues or if they can help submit a bug if there is any.

Remember that changes might not reflect immediately on the website; it can take a little time for updates to propagate. Also, ensure that your browser or app is up to date, as outdated versions can sometimes cause display issues.

[Neil702]

This isn't the problem.

All the listing settings are fine. In fact they are the same for both of our listings and haven't been changed since they both did show as 'instant book'.

Curiously, on Saturday we took a booking (via 'request to book') on one property and that same day it returned to 'instant book' status. After several weeks of not showing as IB don't believe in such a coincidence so I have to assume this is either a glitch in Airbnb's system or a deliberate policy by them, reason unknown...

Airbnb support have, so far, been pretty useless. They are evasive (almost unwilling to accept there is a problem), have missed several scheduled call backs to discuss/screen share and when we eventually spoke to them again yesterday they couldn't find a record of the previous cases we've raised about this. No meaningful support at all so far.

[Neil702]

And today... Our latest guest has checked out and now that property (which was showing as IB) now is not again.

This is no coincidence! System bug???

[Laura976]

Sounds like system bug to me!  Have you tried posting in the hosts circle and tagging the moderators?  That seems to help folks who are stuck with unresolved issues. 
Best of luck to you!

[Neil702]

I'll give it a try, thanks. How do I know who the moderators are?

[Paula]

Hello @Neil702,

Thank you for sharing this with our community. It indeed looks unusual. I wanted to let you know that I have passed your case to the technical team. I will also be forwarding all the screenshots and additional information provided by our amazing Hosts @Emilia42 and @Joan2709. I will get back to you if I receive any updates from them. I would suggest also sharing all these additional details with the support team.

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce the community managers team: @Bhumika, @Quincy, @Breanna, @Sophia, and myself. Although we are not part of the support team, we are here to help whenever we can.

All the best.

[Neil702]

Thanks Paula. We've already raised cases with support about this but the front line advisors have (so far) seemed unable to recognise the problem. Hope you have more luck!

In a way I'm reassured to find that it also affects other hosts/listings as hopefully that will force a more speedy resolution for everyone.

I'll look forward to an update!

Thanks

Neil

[Paula]

Hello @Neil702, we have noted from the tech team that this appears to be a known issue. The reported feedback has been forwarded to the relevant team.

[Neil702]

Thanks Paula, good that they are aware of it.

Perhaps it would be useful if the frontline support teams were briefed on 'known issues' like this then it could have saved us and them a great deal of time with to and fro calls/emails about it in the last few weeks.

[Joan2709]

Hi @Paula 

I did some further testing on this and it appears that with the Pre-Booking Message selected and Guest uses the IB filter, the property does NOT appear in search results.

When I remove the pre-booking message, the listing DOES appear in search results with the Instant Book Filter selected.

This is definitely a system bug. I have opened a ticket with CS, but since this affects many Hosts, could you forward this to the appropriate team at Airbnb?

FWIW, the new release only has a text field for the pre-booking message, whereas the previous software had a slider to turn ON. Perhaps the software is excluding listings from search results if the pre-booking message is used?

@Rebecca , @Bhumika , @Neil702 , @Emilia42 , @Alicia753 , @Laura976 

[Paula]

Hello @Joan2709,

Thank you so much for this additional information. I am forwarding it to the technical team right now.

Regards,

[Joan2709]

@Neil702 

Luv your 2 properties!

Hmmm...this is very strange. I just went in as a guest on both your properties and it showed that I could instant book and make a reservation (not request to book).

Guest Searches

Remember, if a guest is logged in on Airbnb and you have selected the optional instant book option of no negative reviews (or If a guest doesn't have any reviews; new to Airbnb), then the property will not show up in search results for them if they choose Instant Book as a filter (I believe). This could be what is happening. Check and see if you have optional instant book settings ON:

The way to verify this is try searching as a guest, without being logged in to your profile (do an incognito search not logged in). See if the properties appear with the instant book filter ON/OFF. They should appear. You could have someone (a friend) who doesn't have any past bookings on Airbnb, but has an Airbnb account, do a search. If they select instant book as a filter, but don't have any reviews (new) then the properties should not appear (supposedly - Airbnb had a problem with this feature for awhile).

You should receive a request to book on any guests that don't have reviews. You get a request to book with the callout below appearing:

Some other things to try:

     1. Try toggling Instant Book OFF, then back ON on a     

         computer/laptop

     2. Try toggling Instant Book OFF, then back ON on your mobile

          phone

Let us know here if you are able to resolve it as other Hosts might be having a similar issue.

[Neil702]

Instant book is on, good track record is off. Without the IB filter selected I see both of our properties on the map (see in the background below) , with IB filter on this changes to 'No places available' (see also below) and if I click that button the map no longer shows our 2 places.

Searching incognito or from my host account produces the exact same result, as it did when one of the properties was showing as IB.

We've already tried the toggling on and off thing on mobile and desktop with no change.

What's significant here is that the IB status has changed with no intervention from us or change of settings in the listing. Most interesting is that 'The Hayloft' returned to IB over the weekend whilst we had a live booking and then reverted to not IB today when they checked out.

If you get a different result (i.e. you still see our 2 places with the IB filter on), can you screenshot it for me please?

[Emilia42]

@Neil702 I can instant book both of your listings. And your listing appears on the map with the instant book filter selected ONLY IF you have dates selected.