How does a Negative Review block InstantBook?

[Lisa1980]

I have Instant Book on but with the setting that prevents guests with negative reviews from booking instantly. I just had someone with 20 reviews, an average of 5 stars, unable to Instant Book. 

I noticed in reading the reviews that he has a 4.5 rating for cleanliness. Is this what blocked him? Or does it mean that someone might have written a good review but marked him as someone they "would not host again?" 

I truly wish there were ways to make the guest reviews more stringent and transparent.

[Emilia42]

@Lisa1980 In my experience, it is the clicking of "Would not host again" that blocks those guests from instant booking with hosts who require recommendations from other hosts. In the guest world, Airbnb definitely doesn't consider a 4 or 3-star review to be "negative."

[Lisa1980]

Thank you @Emilia42. That's what I was wondering. I try not to host people who have 0 reviews or who for some reason are not allowed to Instant Book so it's good to know that's why they can't.  Often,  there's no way to really give a poor rating to someone who is just difficult or who breaks things so even if they get good reviews, it's good to know that  "won't host again" does have some impact. 

[Sarah977]

@Lisa1980  Just because someone sends a booking request rather than IBing does not necessarily mean they are ineligible to IB nor that they are asking for something outside of your listing parameters. I've had lots of single female guests and many have told me they would never Instant Book becausse they want to communicate with hosts first to get a sense of them, for their own safety and peace of mind. These were great guests with excellent reviews.

[Emilia42]

@Lisa1980 @Sarah977 Instant Booking isn't a choice for guests (a guest can't decide whether their reservation appears as an instant book or a request.) A guest can always send an inquiry to start a conversation. But when it comes time to book a guest who does not meet a host's instant booking requirements is going to get hung up in the process.

[Brian2036]

@Lisa1980 

Unfortunately it’s entirely possible that it was a mistake.

 I nearly did it myself to the guests who just left, who were exemplary in every way.

I was distracted, a cat jostled me, and I nearly hit “would not host again” by accident.

[J-Renato0]

@Lisa1980 

I do not know if it is the case in question.

However, even a guest with 200 hundreds good reviews can not book instanltly some property if the number of nights are greater than the number allowed by the host.

Why does it happen? It depends on your settings.
Lets suppose you your maximum number of nights are 15. However you set that, if someone would like to consult about longer stay, Airbnb will allow the guest to send you a request to book and you have to approve.