Airbnb removed my instant book

[David-Henry0]

I noticed my instant book was off and I contacted Airbnb thru the chat. They said I wasnt active enough but it is hard to believe because I get on the app quite a bit to check my upcoming guests, respond to them, check my calendar and lower my prices for near dates. They say they cannot reverse this and I have to wait for an automatic evaluation 7 days after my last guest. Seems like a big flaw in their system and I do not feel I have been inactive.

Anyone else had this problem?

Thanks in advance

[Colleen253]

@David-Henry0  I'll tell you what's 'hard to believe' and that is almost any Airbnb CS agent. The overwhelming majority of them are simply untrained and will give you just about any answer they can come up with that might make sense. Some of the time (and by some I mean nearly always) their answers don't even match the issue you're talking about.

The only reason I'm aware of for them turning off IB on you, is if you cancel too many of them (the reason you have been given is not something I've seen referenced in any of their literature on it).  But even then, YOU are required to turn it off, they don't do it for you, according to their information on it....

"If you cancel a large number of your instantly booked reservations, you may be required to turn off Instant Book".

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2022/how-do-penaltyfree-cancellations-work-for-instant%C2%A0book-...

Btw, I assume you tried just turning it back on yourself and it didn't work?

[David-Henry0]

Thanks for your reply. I was contacting them because on my settings instant book is turned on. I havent tried turning off, then back on. Does this have any negative effects? I'm somewhat new to hosting and I've needed help a couple times and they havent helped me at all. 1 big problem I have with Airbnb is that I have to request money from a guest for damages before they review me. Makes no sense. Another thing is that on a map, this house next to mine covers mine up but above there aren't any houses listed. I asked if mine could be moved a little bit above and they could not do anything. Do the agents that answer the phone ever help? Or can you get to a manager level on the phone? I only use chat so I'm not on hold for 30 mins or I have other affairs going on.

Thanks again for your reply and sorry for my ranting above. No service will ever be perfect but Airbnb has some big flaws in my opinion.

[David-Henry0]

Also, I forgot to mention, I have never cancelled a reservation.

[Colleen253]

@David-Henry0 If IB is on as far as you can see, how do figure it's deactivated then? Is it because you are not getting any IB reservations? People can still send a request to book, or if you have requirements that they don't meet, they CAN'T IB, and it comes through as a request to book.

Turning IB on and off has no effect whatsoever, other than 'on' and 'off'.

Airbnb CS has never been stellar, but since they recently laid off almost 2000 employees, it's certainly not improved.

[David-Henry0]

I can tell instant book is off if I use incognito mode and filter my house doesnt show up and I've had to approve the past 3 bookings instead of it being done automatically. I don't have harsh requirements to instant book.

[Colleen253]

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Tips-Tutorials/Searching-for-your-Instant-Book-Listing/m-p/38935...

You may be enlightened by the above link. Lots of good info. The factors you mention don't in and of themselves mean IB is deactivated.

@David-Henry0 

[Sarah977]

@David-Henry0  Just because a host uses IB doesn't mean all guests want to IB- that's some myth created by Airbnb. I would never IB a place as a guest myself.

Some guests have questions before they want to commit to a booking, and some may just want to exchange a message with a host to get a feel for the host and to make sure they are the type of host who responds promptly and sounds friendly, legit and professional, especially if they've had some problems with sketchy hosts in the past. 

[Ann72]

@David-Henry0  @Colleen253 is right - searching for your place when you're incognito and filtering by Instant Book won't return your place because you have to be logged in to use IB for hosts who require guests to have recommendations from other hosts (which I do and definitely recommend).  I know because I tried the same thing last year with the same result and figured it out.

You may have had to approve the recent reservation requests because the guests didn't have reviews yet.  Or they may simply have requested before booking because guests have more Covid-related questions right now.

[David-Henry0]

I don't have any requirements for instant book in guest requirements

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David-Henry0 Another reason that a guest request might come in even though instant book is on is if they are requesting a different check in time. The request for this is often hidden well down the email so is easily missed

[Jennifer1421]

@David-Henry0 

It used to be that when I tried to book a property, if IB was on, the verbiage used was "book", whereas if IB was disabled, it would show as "Request". When I try to book your property, I'm given the option to "Reserve". Quite honestly, I don't know whether this means that I could instantly book your place, or not. I'm a bit afraid to carry on with the "agree and continue" portion after hitting the original "reserve", just in case I end up booking. I'm sure your listing is great, but I'm not going to TX any time soon 🙂

Does anyone else here know what "Reserve" actually means?

Leaving my confusion aside, it is possible that ABB has disabled your Instant Book for too many (which sometimes means ONE) declined requests. Have you declined anyone recently?

[Emilia42]

@Jennifer1421 All listings now say "Reserve." It isn't until the last page of the booking process where a guest finds out if a property is an instant book or a request to book.

I just stayed as a guest and it was mighty confusing as my initial message was written as if I was instantly booking the place but then on the next page I had to 'request.' I believe this is why many hosts who don't use instant book are getting messages like "See you soon" or "We will be there by 5pm" when technically the reservation hasn't even been accepted. 

[David-Henry0]

I understand what you're saying but guests can still turn on a filter that only shows instant book houses. I honestly have no idea why mine is turned off. I have a 100% acceptance rate. 2 guests have cancelled on me but it was because of the covid and they could no longer come and do business in my area. I have 5 star ratings and great communication. I try to respond within 5 minutes to anything. Most of time its within 1-2 minutes because I have notifications on my watch.

[Emilia42]

@David-Henry0 

I cannot instantly book your house. So you are right in that it has been disabled. There is no either/or. Guests are given just one button to click. Either guests can instantly book or they are made to send a request. 

This has happened before. Try searching through these posts here:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Instant-Book-feature-technical-glitch/m-p/870645

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Instant-Book-Cancelled-Theory-and-Research/m-p/95007...

Airbnb CS never seems to have correct answers, let along any answers at all.