Booking "request" from a guest who should have been able to instant book. What am I missing?

[Kia272]

So, this has happened a couple of times: A guest with multiple "rave" reviews and all verifications, ID, etc. (meets my criteria for IB) submits a booking request instead of instant booking. 

The first time this happened I was a bit confused. The guest looked good and had over 30 good reviews. I asked him what was up with that and he never responded, so I let it go. 

This time I just got another request. The guest has multiple reviews- he seems to be sensitive to noise and has left other reservations early for various reasons- bit still has over 16 reviews with a 5* average. 

Could this have anything to do with a host indicating they "would not host again?"

It's confusing to me. It seems to me that there is something preventing him from instant booking. 

Thanks for any info. Kia

[Karla533]

@Amanda1775 @Kia272   Amanda, in my experience the answer is no. I must click "approve" once I receive the message when IB is activated and a message is required. As soon as I do this, the booking is confirmed.

Right now I have IB on because I have a cancellation for Memorial Day weekend and I for sure want to fill it. But as soon as that's filled, I will turn off Instant Book.

[Amanda1775]

@Karla533 

So adding a pre-booking message requirement is a way to turn off instant booking without toggling the instant booking button to off?!

Wish I had known this. I declined a booking thinking that the guest couldn't instant book because another host said no to hosting again! Yikes!

[Sarah977]

@Amanda1775  You can't just decline booking requests because they send a request instead of IBing.

[Amanda1775]

@Sarah977 

I'm not sure what you mean. I'm under the assumption that a booking request would instantly book if all host requirements are met. In other words, the guest wasn't asking any questions with the booking request. 

I declined for other reasons also, but the first red flag was that the guest should have been able to instant book rather than having to send a booking request. Although the guest had 5 stars, a couple of reviews were questionable. Not sure why some hosts award 5 stars and then decimate the guest in the written review? I would think it would be the other way around since guests can't see their stars (at least how ABB functions today).

As a guest, is it possible to send a booking request if the guest *can* instant book? Wouldn't they have to send an inquiry instead?

[Kia272]

@Amanda1775  I'm a bit confused by your comment above. No- requiring a pre-booking message is one of the requirements you can set along with IB. I don't think it works independently of that. 

If you don't have IB on they kind of have to include a message. Right? 

[Amanda1775]

@Kia272 

I do have instant booking on, but I've received a few booking requests from guests that appeared to have met all of the requirements to book instantly. Not sure why those reservations didn't book instantly. 

What I don't want is to have to approve instant bookings because I have a pre-booking message requirement. This is what I thought @Karla533  was saying, but maybe I misunderstood!

[Helen744]

@Helen 744, I use instant book all the time but now also require a message with the booking . Which is often verry brief, like 'Hi I like your house'. so I work from there often not the best position but there is no other button at the time of this booking coming in . On site there is a button for overall general setting  of IB on or not. We need IB because we are still not back to full capacity .People have some type of loophole I suspect to book without proper approved ID. Email address plus phone number, unverified, plus some proof of age card or lower form of ID . So I suspect Airbnb are letting less than verified people thru and then leaving it to the host to verify other ID. They generally flag these guests as a warning . H It could be low age  ,no proper id ,no reviews or maybe a bad review that we do not see or just a value judgement of suss

[Helen744]

@Helen744, I always have instant booking on but include a message because sometimes people are not quite with it . Its to start that very necessary dialogue.H

[Karla533]

@Amanda1775  Not quite. Instantly when you read the message and approve, the person is booked. You are given precious little information about the prospective guest.

Re: rejecting a booking because a guest couldn't IB -- as mentioned, we have only hypotheses about why a guest might not be able to book instantly. But we do not know the reason. It could even be a website glitch.

My take is, the vast majority of guests are perfectly fine guests so it's OK to book them the majority of the time.

[Karla533]

@Amanda1775   You got it right, I seem to have to approve IB when IB is set to require a message--that has been my experience. HOWEVER--things are not uniform on the ABB website. For example, sometimes I am invited to respond to a review and sometimes I am not invited.

We don't officially know why a guest who has met all requirements for IB cannot IB.

So your mileage may vary.

Like other major platforms of Web II (FB, twitter, tiktok, etc) there are updates that occur that change our experience with the platform.

[Amanda1775]

@Karla533 

Thanks! I just turned off the pre-booking message requirement for now because most guests that instant book and have positive feedback/host recommendations send a message without a prompt.

[Genaro18]

I respect that your experience is what you attest to. 

I only comment because the percentage of different marketing strategized listings that situation would worsen for - they should not - repeat NOT turn the pre-booking message off under any circumstances.

That's a LIFELINE of coverage of information for many who forget how to update and use it. 

[Genaro18]

I really appreciate all different marketing stragegized listings answering this post - but -  one size does not fit all here - 

I think quick book, quick cancel, quick action situations could be disastrously affected by turning "pre-booking message" off.

and if some folks reading this don't know what we are talking about? (like the 6 hosts who hired me to solve problems, none of them had noticed what itwas"

If you might not be using it - TURN IT ON. What could it possibly hurt to

REMIND FOLKS THE BIG  issues BEFORE they pay!

The Pre Booking message saves our butts EVERY DAY

[Genaro18]

Well said.

We are all theorizing, and I am glad to see the "Community Center" Forum come alive with real-time problems and not be simply be a "complain about the bad guests website"

Breaking your smart observations down:

[[I seem to have to approve IB when IB is set to require a message--that has been my experience]] = yes it was also mine, but not working that way currently

[[ things are not uniform on the ABB website. ]]

well, after I few minutes I gave up on a snappy comeback. That is so seriously true, it's not a joking matter, and it's getting worse, fast. 

[[ We don't officially know why a guest who has met all requirements for IB cannot IB. ]]

ANYONE who has anything offer on this one - please do. It's true, OF COURSE, for me and the 7 hosts I work with. 

WHEN Instant Book is YOUR BUSINESS AT 3AM letting people from the airport have REFUGE in a storm? THIS NEEDS TO WORK AS PROMISED. and it IS NOT ANYMORE. 

[Colleen253]

@Kia272 One possibility is that the guest is choosing not to instant book (if they have the choice….I don’t actually know if that’s an option). I’m sure some experienced guests know that hosts have some amount of leeway to cancel IB penalty free. They may wish to avoid the possibility of a surprise cancellation.