The Instant Booking Requirement -- Fair to Hosts?

[Kerry228]

I am not liking the fact that hosts get penalized for not turning on Instant Booking. AirBnB makes the host actually click a button that accepts a lower search result and also that they will be penalized if they need to cancel a reservation if they don't accept Instant Booking.  Even if they do accept Instant Booking, it is made clear that the host has a limit of 3 cancellations or they will be penalized.

What happened to AirBnB backing the host?  This doesn't sound very supportive to me.  I  don't trust that they will support me if I don't feel good about an Instant Book reservation. 

The whole Instant Booking feels very precarious and autocratic, like the host is completely at the mercy of the AirBnB "handler's" discretion.

Please illuminate me on this.  Do they really back you up if you don't feel good about an Instant Booking reservation, or do you have to prove to them that you have a valid reason and regardless, it is still up to their discretion. Am I off base on this?

It's our property -- not AirBnB's.  But I feel more and more that they are treating hosts like it's their property to use with their discretion and they decide whether or not to cancel a reservation that isn't appropriate.  And what happens if something really bad does actually occur?  Anyone have experience with that?

Am I overreacting about this?  I would appreciate your feedback. I don't have anyone to talk to about this and I would appreciate any feedback you have the time to offer and thank you in advance.

[Anonymous]

@Kerry228   It does feel like Airbnb is treating hosts more like livestock and undermining efforts to keep control over their property and listings. And it's no secret that they want to put a lot of pressure onto hosts to use Instant Book.

But I wouldn't describe the consequences of not using it as a "penalty." I think they scare new hosts with the idea that they'll be invisible in Search if they don't succumb to all the pressure points, but in reality their search formula is so weirdly rigged that your individual settings have very little to do with the results. And you should never need to cancel a normal booking if you've used the Request process to properly vet your guests. On rare occasions where something is revealed after accepting a booking that changes the situation (e.g. the group turns out to exceed your occupancy limit or intends to break your House Rules) you are entitled to a penalty-free cancellation, but you have to get an operator on the phone to put it through since there's no protocol for it on the website.

All in all, I think your feelings on how Airbnb treats hosts are quite valid, but you might be overreacting to the Instant Book thing. It's definitely not a requirement, and you can certainly thrive without it. Considering that your nice listings are offering long-term stays, I'd recommend using every tool at your disposal to carefully vet guests and never use Instant Book. But in general I think Airbnb is better suited to short stays than to monthly bookings.

[David8879]

It is your property - not airbnb's. You are the one to make a decision, it is your right not to host if you feel you do not have enough information about your guests or their reviews are bad.

"Only instant book" option is the reason I do not host on booking. 

[Hannah1018]

Hi I'm fairly new to hosting and was like you found to be forced to turn on instant booking. Unfortunately today I've found myself the victim of this penalisation $100 to be exact... 

a guest wanted immediate access and this wasn't possible as the booking had just come through I requested that Airbnb meet the guests needs and cancel my reservation and find alternative. 
airbnb said they cancelled and as I'd had 1 other cancellation and the booking was within 24 hours I would receive not just a $50 but $100 fee( another failure as it had just been booked?) just set up for failure... same day booking should automatically be an inquiry?