potential guest booking on blocked dates

[Nash-Cottages-LLC0]

We've been hosting for four years and can't recall ever having experienced this situation.

We had a potential guest send a booking request (so the calendar is temporarily blocked for 24 hours until we accept or decline) for 16-18 October. This would be a normal situation, except that we have not yet opened those dates for booking; those three dates are grey on our calendar, which indicates that the dates are blocked. You can see this in the picture below.

So, not sure how the potential guest was even able to submit their request and block our calendar for dates we don't even have open. 

Maybe this happened because today is July 16th and the start date of the possible reservation is October 16. But, even so, October 16th is grey on the calendar, indicating ist blocked. So, it still makes no sense. 

It seems like a recipe for frustration from both the host and guest's point of view a booking can be made (say, for example, if someone has IB turned on) when dates aren't even open. 

1. Has this happened to you?
2. Do you have ideas on how to make sure this doesn't happen in the future? 
3. Is there someone at Airbnb who you think should be tagged on this thread that might be able to ensure this doesn't happen to any of us in the future?

@Lizzie 

Thanks for the assist, fellow hosts!

[Emiel1]

@Nash-Cottages-LLC0 

I assume you refer to dates wich are/should be blocked by the "availibility window" setting ?

If set to 3 months, then there is something strange, as today 14 and 15 october should also be blocked (actually it is 90 days), but they are not !

Did you manually open some dates, including those of the current request ?

(By the way, because of the pending booking request, they are grey also)

[Inna22]

@Nash-Cottages-LLC0 every once in a while I get a booking request for same day check in and I do not take same day reservations so they are blocked. I also have instant book but these come through as a request