Pause instant booking?

[Samuel836]

Hello - can anyone tell me is it possible to pause the instant booking setting for a specific booking window? 

My listing is set to allow instant booking, however there is a period coming up where I will be away on a few back to back trips. I would like to require that any guests need to seek explicit approval from me if they are booking in this particular window. This is so I can make sure that multiple bookings aren't made in windows when I won't yet have arrived home to turn the room around, and also so I can discuss whether they might be willing to look after my cat or not mind a family member of mine doing so. 

Thanks for thoughts!

[Anonymous]

@Samuel836   It's either on for the listing's whole calendar or off. So your options would be:

1) Just turn IB off completely until you're back from your trips

2) Create a separate listing for the same property that is non-IB, with availability only for that time window and text that explicitly describes the different circumstances involved with the stay, or

3) For your cats' sake just block those days off altogether.

3 is far and away the best choice, in my opinion.  I don't recommend leaving your pet in the care of a random tourist who's renting your room, and as a new host it's so early in your venture to risk so much going wrong. So instead of trying to cram in more Airbnb bookings, why not look to your social connections for someone you trust to do some catsitting in exchange for a free stay in Edinburgh?