Pre-approval

[Elema14]

Hi. Firstly, I've had quite a number of potential guests requesting pre-approval to book, despite selecting automatic booking in my settings. Why can't guests book automatically? Is there something I'm missing?

Secondly, once I give approval, none of them have ever responded or booked the place despite showing great interest. Is there something in the system causing them not to see my approval or allowing them to go ahead and  book?

Mystified!

[Shelley159]

Hi @Elema14 

There can be a number of reasons for this. First of all, it's possible that you have "good track record" turned on as a requirement. Guests without a good track record, will have to request a booking as it will not go through automatically:

(This is in the Listings tab)

Secondly, if the bookings are fairly last-minute, they may fall inside the "advance notice" period that you've selected, meaning they come through as requests instead of instant bookings:

(This is in the Calendar's Availability tab)

Another possibility is the opposite: if the dates are far away and your availability window is set to only allow bookings a set number of months in advance, any requests for dates beyond your availability window will not come through as instant bookings:

(This is in the Calendar's Availability tab)

Lastly, guests may have chosen to message you instead of booking (they would have entered the dates that they're messaging about, so it will look the same on your side):

If people are asking about the place but not booking, there's unfortunately a chance that they were hoping to scam you (scammers sometimes specifically target new hosts, and scammers will send requests instead of parting with actual money by booking instantly). Never send your contact details, videos of your place, or your full listing address, and keep all communication in the Airbnb message thread (as it sounds like you've correctly been doing). Hopefully there's a flood of genuine bookings coming your way soon!

[Patricia2526]

Hi @Elema14 

Even if you have Instant Book enabled, Airbnb may restrict certain guests from booking instantly if:

• They don’t meet your requirements (e.g., no positive reviews, government ID not verified).
• You have set additional requirements under “Booking settings” (like allowing only guests recommended by other hosts).
• The guest selected dates where the minimum/maximum stay doesn’t match, or where rules differ (e.g., blocked dates that became available again manually).

Potential guests ghosting after Pre-Approval is common..

They’re shopping around multiple listings or changed plans. 

[Elema14]

Thank you for taking the time to respond, Patricia. Thank you for the insights!

[Alex]

Hello @Elema14!

Thank you for sharing your question with the Community! I noticed that some of our most experienced members have already responded in the thread. Were you able to check their answers? I hope you find their insights helpful!

Best, 

Alex