Instant Book is on, but doesn't appear as such in searches

[CarlandDiane0]

We grudgingly turned on Instant Book last week because after testing on different browsers, it became clear that Airbnb drives guests toward Instant Book even if they select just one filter in their search.

However, I've been running more tests since (logged out of Airbnb, all cookies erased) and it appears our listing does not come up as an Instant Book listing in searches, even though we've  had it activated for several days.

So to recap: Instant Book is on, but when we search in our town for properties on dates when we know we're available, our listing appears without the lightning bolt icon -- and once "See Instant Book listings" is selected, our listing disappears entirely from search results.

Any ideas on a resolution to this?

Thanks!

Carl and Diane

[Marit-Anne0]

That happens to me as well when I add extra requirements like "positive reviews from other hosts" and government ID.  I removed the

"positive reviews from other hosts" as I feel I have enough experience to welcome newbies and I got a nice little e-mail from airbnb telling me I now have IB activated. Still with the government requirement ID box ticked.  Then in comes a booking from someone without government ID, meaning if I want the ID's I will have to collect them myself or cancel the booking and face the penalties involved.  I think we are being trapped.

[CarlandDiane0]

Thanks @Marit-Anne0

After we turned on IB, we did receive that email from Airbnb. And we had both of those requirements (Govt ID and positive ratings) checked at that time. My initial tests showed that we appeared as an Airbnb property on Mozilla Firefox but not on Microsoft Edge. I figured it was a temporary issue.

But I've now run searches using Mozilla Firefox and MS Edge on Windows and Safari on iPhone, and there's no indication in those listings that we've activated IB. No lightning bolt next to the price, and we don't appear if Instant Book is selected as a filter.

I'll tweet at Airbnb and see what help I can get there.

Thanks again,

Carl and Diane

[Marit-Anne0]

@CarlandDiane0

I also got that message initially, but just as you I could not find my listing with IB on in searches.  When I removed the "only reviewd guests" requirement I did show up in my own searches with IB on, and I got a second message from airbnb that IB was now turned on.

A kind member in China tried with a US vpn and the lightning bolt was there, using a Chinese vpn, it was gone.  A member in Australia could not find my listing at all.  

I have been on airbnb since 2012, positive reviews, superhost, the lot. Suddenly in late October the stats dropped to hardly anything at all.  I really do not understand what is going on.

[CarlandDiane0]

@Marit-Anne0, I just spoke to a case manager from Airbnb. She was wonderful, actually. (I tweeted Airbnb help via direct message, and included my mobile number and listing number, and got a response back in 30 minutes saying a case manager would contact me. 15 minutes later my phone rang.)

She looked into my account and explained that because we have checked "Government-issued ID" and "Recommendations from other hosts" as IB criteria, we won't appear in an Instant Book search conducted by someone who doesn't meet those criteria -- or by someone who isn't logged in, which means Airbnb can't tell if they meet the criteria or not. And since I was conducting tests while not logged in to Airbnb, the system can't confirm that I meet those criteria.

I just ran another test after turning off those two criteria, and yes...we now appear as an IB listing.

Since we're new to IB, we've re-engaged those criteria. It's just a relief to know why we weren't showing up even after turning on IB. Now we know.

Appreciate your feedback and hope you have a wonderful Thursday!

Carl and Diane

[Marit-Anne0]

@CarlandDiane0

Thank you for reporting back - that sounds all logical.  Still does not explain why I got a booking from someone not meeting my criteria - but again that is a different issue, although not a very reassuring one.

[Kelly36]

Thanks for taking the time to post, Carl and Diane.

[Tracy84]

Wow, Carl and Diane, Thanks SO much for that response which makes total sense! I've been going crazy signing in from different computers, changing my IB settings, all sorts but now, I get it. 

Having got it though, I guess I need to really think about my IB settings. As a new host, I'm leery of letting just anyone book but, on the other hand, limiting those who can view my listing to only people signed in and verified with reviews and confirmed ID seems, well, limiting to me getting the most possible views of my listing.

I guess I'm confused. On the one hand, airbnb wants you to allow IB and will reward you for doing so. On the other hand, they punish you by not sharing your listing with everyone if you limit IB'ers with criteria they set.

I know that I, as a new airbnb user, wouldn't have any reviews and certainly wouldn't have shared ID with airbnb but, I also know I'm an excellent guest. Am I missing out on other excellent guests just by limiting IBs to those with reviews and ID? Hmmmmm, definitely something to think about.....

[CarlandDiane0]

@Tracy84, you may find this follow-on post helpful.  I've since been in contact with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and he said he agreed with the second suggestion and indicated they would implement it in some fashion. So that's something.

BTW, check out the last comment to that follow-on post. It's from a woman who many have discovered further nuances to the effect that adding these criteria has on who can or can't book instantly, and who can or can't even see your listing. It seems -- and this may be wrong so I don't know for sure -- that if you require Govt ID and a potential guest doesn't have it, then they can't see your listing. HOWEVER, if you require positive host reviews and the potential guest is a newbie and doesn't have reviews, they can still send a booking request. If Chesky is being upfront with his plans, then eventually even those who don't meet our criteria to IB can still request to book. That would be fantastic.

Since all this came about, we just started accepting Instant Bookings without the added criteria and -- fingers crossed -- so far we've had good luck. They've all been bookings we'd have green-lighted under the old system anyway. Now, we're not in a big tourist town like Vegas, SF, NYC, etc., where you get tons of people from everywhere with God-only-knows-what expectations for a wild time, so maybe I'd feel differently about IB if we were in a different city. And I may change my tune before too long. But for now, we seem to be doing fine.

Thanks and good luck!

Carl and Diane

[Gashirai0]

Hey guys -this thread is super helpful although I am still struggling. So - I have instant book on and no other filters at all (no government ID, no photo filter) - just Airbnb's standard mandatory filter (ie: Airbnb standard requirements Confirmed phone number, email address, payment information, and agreement to House Rules.)

However, I am having exactly the same problem as you guys were having. Nobody can instant book with me and we are excluded from any IB filtered searches. I only discovered this after business was going very well and then suddenly went quiet for some weeks and I could not figure out why. I then investigated, much like you did, only to discover I am being filtered out of IB searches. This was not the case before either - just seems to have happened on its own more recently. 

Not sure what to do - and I seem to have puzzled all airbnb support people I have called about it and still have no resolution 😞

[Dirk75]

Same for me - all my listings were working fine with "Instant Booking" on, appearing in listings...

until a couple off days ago 1 by 1 were disappearing...

Support seems even to struggle reproducing the issue / bugs in their system; even to understand the issue...

I switched all  on/off on/off - nothing helps... being IT-er for 32 years this makes me grrrr....

Anyone knows how to solve it ?

[Pete-and-Bec0]

We had exactly this problem - booked every day for a month, then no bookings at all.

Found that we weren't appearing in searches.

Turned IB off and on again and now we appear in searches and got a new booking within 12 hours.

Turning IB off and then on again made the government ID and Recommendation check boxes disappear (something to watch out for)

[Kurt-and-Kim0]

I feel strongly that the exclusion of Instant Bookings (IB) listings which require a Gov't ID or positive ratings requirements from results isn't fair and leads to a bad experience on both sides, renters and hosts...

I agree with the previous reply that this lack of promotion will drive Hosts to remove the requirements, something they likely aren't comfortable with. Even as a "seasoned" Host, I would likely never turn these off, but that is our choice.

At a minimum, they should display all IB listings when a User isn't logged in because the User (whether logged in or not) may, in fact, have a Gov't ID and positive ratings on their account. Why just show listings that don't have any IB requirements in this situation? Isn't that misleading? If I'm not logged in to Amazon, I still see Prime deals, right?

You also have to ask yourself, how does a potential guest that is interested in IB propoerties know they aren't seeing properties because they didn't provide a Gov't ID when they signed up years ago? Wouldn't it make more sense to show the IB property and let them know they simply need to provide an ID?

[Evgeniy8]

Hi. Instant book doesn’t work in my account. I have no canceletions in all requirements for guests switched off but it’s already two weeks didn’t work... how can I fix it because airbnb is useless 

[Dirk75]

Same issues for me - all my listings were working fine with "Instant Booking" on, appearing in listings...

until a couple off days ago 1 by 1 were disappearing...

Support seems even to struggle reproducing the issue / bugs in their system; even to understand the issue...

I switched all  on/off on/off - nothing helps... being IT-er for 32 years this makes me grrrr....

Anyone knows how to solve it ?