Airbnb favors Instant Book listings by making "instant book" the default setting when guests search

[David631]

When you do a search for a place to stay in a city and put in the dates, by default, it only shows you the listings that are "instant book".  That means none of the other listings are showing at all, so all of my listings are not being shown to potential renters.   People who have never used airbnb, will not know how to change the filter, so won't be able to see the broader range of listings.  Thus, it seems airbnb is favoring hosts with instant booking, which I believe to be unfair. 

Also, I believe hosts that get to know their guests prior to their booking provide guests better customer service.  They also do their neighbors a favor, by more carefully vetting guests through pre-booking conversations and ensuring guests understand the rules. Please change this unfair policy of favoring instant book listings over other listings that require host contact.

[Monica4]

I used to have my guest house listed with Booking.com but found it too inconvenient because guests could book my place right away. It is one of the reasons why I have the house on the Airbnb platform. My listing is the only "entire place" house in my area so it is sought after by locals.

Perhaps it is because the default is set to "Instant Book" for searches, but I have found a decrease in the number of inquiries through Airbnb. My latest bookings are through enquiries via VBRO (Homeaway), and I have never had a booking through them before. One couldn't find my place on Airbnb (I am supposing now it's because of the Instant Book filter being on) and the other did not want to go through the verification process. Both are people who have family here and already knew about my place. It is my "niche market" since there is no tourism in my area.

My only suggestion to all of you, because it is working for me, is to list on other platforms. Putting all of your eggs in one basket is never a good thing. Once you are established you will get bookings from word-of-mouth....but until then list your place with as many platforms as you can. You can sync your calendars with most of them.

[Dede0]

@David631 and other hosts -- While I, too, disagree with Instant Book being forced on some/most new listings, and will never choose to use IB myself (we reluctantly tried it for a month and didn't get a single booking), it is absolutely untrue that IB listings are being given preference over non-IB listings. My own listing is proof of that; we appear quite high (sometimes even first) in searches for our area. All this talk about non-IB listings not appearing is nothing more than hysterical, self-supported BS. Forced IB is bad, yes. But don't blame IB if your listing isn't as high in search results as you'd like it to be.

[Monica4]

@Dede0 I think the reason that you find "Instant Book" is "of" in your area of search is that it is not consistent throughout the area of the platform. Some places you look will have it set on "on", and others are set on "off". Why this is I have no idea - perhaps a test by Airbnb?

[JohnandLana0]

Everyone should boycott instant booking..It doesn't allow vetting or  communication . .It defeats the whole sharing idea . Turns your home into a hotel room where you have to share your home with whoever, whenever . ..A horrible  idea. ..

[Dede0]

@JohnandLana0 I dislike Instant Book as much as anyone, and I strongly recommend that hosts avoid using it. However, as you might know by now, many newer hosts have had it forced on them and can't turn it off. So they can't "boycott" it.

[JohnandLana0]

I know very little about everchanging Airbnb policy, but thanks to this forum, which is new to me, I am finding I like Airbnb policy less and less..I have been a loyal guest and host for 6 years..I feel Airbnb has changed and not for the better ...IB is not in any hosts interest and is antithetical to the fundamental construct---- that hosts and guests could have mutual communication and vetting..

[Kelly36]

I totally agree!

[Dede0]

@Monica4 It might be the case that AirBnB *is* using different default settings (IB on/off as a search filter) for different searchers or even for different geographic locations. However, in my case, it is always Off by default. This is true regardless of browser, regardless of computer, and even in the iPhone app. I can even set it to ON, run a search, and then clear my browser's search history and all cookies, close the browser, then restart it, and IB as a search filter again defaults to OFF.

I also want to say again that my particular listing, which does NOT use IB, is always quite high in search results (using a cookie-free and history free-browser when not logged in, in order to replicate random guest searches). In fact, it's occasionally even in the #1 position for the entire Austin area (over a million people, and zillions of AirBnB listings). and even more often if the search is limited to our zipcode (which happens to be one of the more desireable in Austin for travelers, and contains several hundred AirBnB listings). My point there isn't to show off, but to suggest that even if AirBnB does sometimes place non-IB listings slightly lower in the search results, the effect is either very, very small, or can be overcome by other factors. Such as consistently high ratings, consistent high booking levels (makes AirBnB more money), consistently prompt host responses, high request acceptance level, low or non-existent cancellations, and so on.

Many times when a host asks for help because they're not getting as many bookings or inquiries as they used to or think they should, I find that if I go look at their listing, they have either weak descriptions, massively over-long or poorly composed descriptions, or a poorly-checked set of amenities. The latter can get a listing filtered out from the git-go. For example, people who don't check off the box for "Hangers" -- how hard is that to remedy? Or people who check off WiFi but don't check off Internet. Or people who don't check off "Laptop friendly workspace" when their photos clearly show a table and a chair. Or don't supply an iron, or a hair dryer, and so on.

[Dede0]

Adding a bit more... We experimented with IB for about a month after a friend who's also a host said that it was working okay for him (he's since dropped out of IB). In the entire month we kept the IB setting, we got a request from only ONE Instant Book guest. (We open our listing 4 months in advance, and we consistently stay 95% booked.) We didn't see any increase or acceleration in bookings from having IB turned on, so, given the "risks", we simply turned it off.

[Ange2]

@Dede0   I received an email from Airbnb that said, and this  is a copy and paste

"Benefits of being an Instant Book host,  Higher-ranked in search
Your listing will be ranked higher in search results."

I think if you are in an area that has fewer listings you are probably okay not doing IB,  but in a big city that is popular it will have a huge negative impact on the listing.

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

I believe having the IB feature turned on is a factor in the ranking, but certainly not the only factor. Other factors that raise a ranking are the number of good reviews, superhost stauts, response time to inquiries/requests, volume., etc. Searches in our area show both IB places and non-IB places. It appears to me, if the traveller defines their search to their preferences, the ABNB platform accurately presents places that will meet their need and some non-IB places even appear before some IB places.

We use IB and like it. We have conversations with all of our IB guests prior to their arrival and I google the name to find out more information too. If red flags come up or a guest doesn't honor our rules, we can cancel the booking without penalty. We haven't had to do that. Some of our IB guests have been the best!

[Diana103]

I was just leaving a review for a guest.  Why bother even leaving reviews if they can't be used?? IB nullifies the usefulness of them.  Only after the fact will you see how guests treating the last persons home!!!  IB is a Bad idea unless your a broker listing other people's homes and not your own:(

[Ange2]

@Diana103   You can choose to only accept people with good reviews but I don't know what that means,  is it based on a 'Thumbs Up' or a star rating. I doubt Airbnb read every review to see the details and the written review often belies the rating and thumb up awarded.

[Diana103]

Hi Ange,  is there a way I can only allow instant booking for people with good reviews??  The whole reason I Don't want to use instant bookings is because I want to know a bit about them and their plans.  Thanks!

[Ange2]

@Diana103   Me too, but I decided to do an experiment to see if it actually makes any difference or not. In the past it has caused more pain than any increase in bookings.   

There are some controls for only accepting people with good reviews, ID, recommendations etc.   I am not sure how well it works as I have seen some complaints of it not working, but I am testing it now.  The guests are supposed to agree to your House Rules or you can cancel them so make sure they are clear and inclusive(but there is a limit on cancellations, followed by penalties,  the rules are not clear and everyone advises to call Airbnb before doing anything). But I have no idea how anything is monitored  or if there is an "I accept" button they have to click.

I have found no area where all the steps for a guest to go through to  IB are laid out.  If someone has them please post. Thank you.

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