Pre-approval & Instabook

[Betsy196]

Ok, brand new to this...  I listed 5 days ago and have bookings back-to-back for 3 months straight starting tomorrow!  My question is:  I pre-approved a stay, but then a few hours later the same dates were booked through the instabook process.  Is that normal?  I'd thought that by holding the dates in pre-approval, that they couldn't be booked...?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Betsy196 when you approve an inquiry you are given the choice of blocking the dates or not. Usually it is not a good idea to block dates as some guests make multiple inquiries.

[Betsy196]

Ok, so when I preapproved the inquiry was there a choice at that point?  Or, is it something I need to change in the settings?  This is probably a moot point if I turn off instabook...?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Betsy196 yes there was, or should have been, a choice when you pre-approved. 

[Sarah977]

@Betsy196  It's not in settings, it's on the inquiry message itself.

But you really shouldn't block dates for an inquiry, no matter how sincere the inquirer appears to be about booking. Most inquiries never follow through to actually book. If you block the dates, you are preventing other bookings from being made by guests who are ready to book and pay.

If you turn off IB, Requests still take precedence over Inquiries. IOW, first to pay gets the booking.

[Swati19]

I am new to ABNB. What I noticed is when you preapprove the inquiry, you will read message below it. It will ask if you want to block these dates for guest. You can say yes by sliding radio button on right side. If you don't then it will go to default setting which it won't block any dates on your calendar. Hence new booking can happen for new guest. Hope it helps!!

[Ann72]

Beautiful place @Betsy196!  Might I suggest that you impose a 2- or 3-night minimum?  It's one step to take in preventing parties.

[Sarah977]

@Betsy196 @Swati19  One thing to be aware of, which most new hosts are not, is that you neither have to pre-approve nor decline an inquiry. Just answering the message within 24 hours is all that's required. So never waste a decline, which lower your stats, on an inquiry. 

A Request is different- you do have to either accept or decline within 24 hours, unless you can convince the guest to withdraw the request if it is inappropriate.

[Lisa723]

@Betsy196 if you listed 5 days ago and have bookings back-to-back for 3 months straight I suggest your price is considerably lower than it could be.

[David8720]

Hi, new host here. Listed yesterday, and have a reservation for tomorrow from a guest with positive reviews! However  I also have a question about booking from someone with zero reviews who joined in 2015.  Not too sure here,  I would like more information about this person...any thoughts here ?  Also, is instant book really a good idea ?

[Sarah977]

@David8720  Wow, you have a really high guest count. Which means you have a listing which is going to attract partiers, so you are going to have to be really vigilant about vetting guests. Also partiers and scammers tend to target new listings, assuming the host is naive- be aware of that. 

Some hosts love Instant Book, and some find that there is so much competition in their area that they feel they have to use it, as IB properties are given higher search rankings.

But IB can be disastrous for new hosts, as you aren't yet aware of how to vet guests, red flags to watch out for,  or even how to use the platform properly.  Personally I would want the opportunity to communicate with guests before accepting a booking, reading their reviews, etc, if I had a property like yours. And I have never used IB myself, as I am a home share host and want to judge for myself if a guest will be a good fit for me and my listing.

And I don't understand this part of your listing description:

"Washer and dryer available with a minimum one week rental. Piano, access to books and board games available with a minimum one week rental." 

How are you going to prevent less than 1 week guests from using these things? Are they locked up? Why would you not allow access to books and board games for less than a week? 

Your description needs work- you haven't actually described the house itself at all. 

And you should put wording in your house rules about no extra guests that are not registered on the booking and no visitors. 

Do you have surveillance cameras? I don't see any mentioned. You will definitely need them. And they need to be disclosed in the listing info. 

[David8720]

@Sarah977 On the washer and dryer, they are locked.  I just feel that during a two night stay this wouldn't be needed? I once lent the house to someone, they showed up with a ton of laundry.  So I proceeded to put locks on.

Piano and books...hmmm. Once someone damaged the piano, and I just don't want people taking my books.  For some reason I feel that on a longer stay people are looking to relax, and will be more careful.  A short stay feels like they are there to party.   So piano and books/games are in cases with locks.

[Sarah977]

@David8720  I agree there's no need for anyone to have to use the washer/dryer for a few night stay, bringing a dufflebag full of dirty laundry as if you are running a laundromat. 

So your own personal stuff, books and such are in the house? I don't think that over a week guests are likely to take more care with those things. So if you don't want them damaged, or books taking a walk,  I wouldn't make them available at all. 

[David8720]

@Sarah977 @Thanks for the input !

[David8720]

Thank you for your input. I turned IB off earlier today.