Some Curious Questions

[Paras45]

Why is Airbnb showing a different main image? + Guest ID & Listing Insights Questions

Hey Airbnb community!

1 Listing Image Issue 

So, I recently added a cute aesthetic chair to my space (because, you know, vibes matter), uploaded a new photo, and suddenly—BOOM—Airbnb decided to make it my main listing image. Even though I already have a carefully selected cover photo! Does Airbnb auto-prioritize newer uploads, or is there a way to lock in my chosen cover?

(Is it same for everyone ? i stalked my listing!)

2 Guest ID Verification & Booking ID 

I have a booking awaiting guest ID verification. Can I still accept bookings without ID verification, or does Airbnb require it before confirming a stay?

3 Comparing Listing Performance & Dashboard Updates 
I’m looking to track my listing’s engagement. Will Airbnb launch a separate dashboard analysis soon, or is there a way to compare my listing’s response rate already, as i saw someone had a more features then i have ?

Would love some insights from fellow hosts—thanks in advance! 

[Paras45]

@Joelle43  @Rebecca trying to attach a SS but i can't its saying, Maximum flood limit reached.

Also, 

Sorry to bother you, but I see your very experienced and i would appreciate any help, only if it's possible.

I’d like to avoid repeatedly discussing the same dates with guests who inquire and then cancel. To streamline things, I’m thinking of adding a non-refundable option with a 10% discount, but only for June (while keeping my current flexible policy for April and May).

Would it be possible to apply this only for a specific month? I want to ensure I don’t have to keep looping back with the same guests due to cancellations. Hope you understand, and thanks for your help! 😊

[Joelle43 · Accepted solution]

Hello @Paras45 

1. That warning happens when the image you want to upload is too large so you'll need to reduce it to post it here.
2. Afraid Airbnb doesn't allow us to have different cancellation periods according to certain months - I would love this feature too
3. Listing performance dashboard - those of us who use professional tools (available to everyone now) have a more detailed and versatile dashboard.  However, if you are starting out, the algorithm bases its comparisons on previous months, and even last year so if you're new, not enough data has been amassed.
4. Guest ID verification - Paras, you do not want to accept a booking from someone who hasn't given their ID to Airbnb - that's just asking for trouble😉
5. Can you accept another reservation whilst you're waiting for this person to upload the necessary ID?  It depends if this request came through as an enquiry or as a request to book.  Only the latter blocks your calendar so check if it's blocked or not for those dates.  It's a first come first serve principle so if the dates are free but someone with verified ID wants to book and dates are available then they win.  A guest who instant Books or sends a request to book will trump over a guest who sent you an enquiry.
6. The algorithm has changed your cover photo!  Yes this happens unfortunately.  Go onto your Photo Tour and put that unwanted photo into the Additional Photos and pick again the one you want as your cover photo.  Then go back into additional photos and put that photo into the correct room.  Check in guest mode that this has worked!
7. Tell us more about these guests repeatedly asking for the same dates?  Is there a reason for that?  Why are the cancelling do you think?  What's your cancellation policy - flexible?  If so change to moderate (5 days before check-in to cancel) to stop these time wasters
8. You can use Quick replies or scheduled messages that save us a lot of time for questions that are often asked by guests.   These messages are saved in our message board and then we just have to select it and send to the guest.  Here's the link:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2898

Let me know if I missed something!

All  the best
Joëlle

[Paras45]

Thanks a ton mam! @Joelle43 yea different cancellation periods according to certain months would have been great! ya i can't see if i am in someone's wish-list or any other analytics for now.

Actually i had 2-3 cases where guest after enquiring paid and all but their ID was not confirmed for some reason so, anyways as per legal rules i also keep a hardcopy of the ID, and thanks for the hack i deleted and re-uploaded the picture and it worked! yes i use quick replies and moderate cancellation but like  for bookings after a month or so even after going through everything there might be some cancellations so for those booking if i could have this feature of 10% off and non-refundable it would have been great as then i won't have to  go through same dates enquiries! Thanks again for your time.

[Paras45]

@Joelle43 hi, mam, i hope your doing doing, and i am not disturbing you again 🙂 

so recently encountered a situation that left me a bit confused. My Instant Book is turned on, so I expected bookings to be confirmed automatically. However, I received what looked like a booking request, not an instant booking, which I manually accepted.

To add to the confusion, the guest showed up 2 hours earlier than the standard check-in time. While reviewing the request, I didn’t notice any mention of an early arrival, and now I’m wondering if I missed a detail ?

I might be overworked and possibly overlooked something, but I’d love if someone could explain:

• Can guests add custom timings in requests even under Instant Book?

• How can I better spot these details, especially if they’re hidden or easy to miss?

If anyone could share a screenshot example of where to look in the message or booking screen to catch such changes, that would be really helpful! Thanks, again for answering my many-many questions, i hope i can post here with the need for a new post ?

[Joelle43]

Hello @Paras45 - nice to hear from you again😊

If a guest is new to Airbnb and has never stayed then they cannot use the IB option and need to either use the Request to book or contact host buttons.  If you are not familiar with the difference between the two, here is a guide on the subject:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-guides/GUIDE-Handling-Enquiries-and-Bookings/td-p/1895831

I only have the Request to book activated for my booking and I don't automatically accept guests without getting them first to read my house rules and asking them a few questions.  One or two days before their arrival, I ask them to give me an approximate time of arrival and will always be flexible if my work schedule allows me.

Some guests don't read our descriptions or choose to ignore our check-in times so it's always best to send a message just before to avoid this sort of problem.

Just before signing off, I thought I should check what your listings shows re check-in and guests see that it's OK to arrive from midday.  What time did your guest check-in?

Congratulations by the way on being Guest favourite Paras👏

all the best
Joëlle

[Paras45]

Hi ma'am, I’m from Rishikesh, India, and I have Instant Book (IB) turned on. I noticed that even guests who just created their account are able to use IB without needing to contact or request the host first. (Although I do see the option to turn it off and only allow experienced guests with good ratings to book instantly.)

Thank you so much for congratulating me, i hope you are doing great too thanks a ton for your kind help — I really appreciate it! I’ve had my fair share of experiences, and it does get hectic since most of my bookings are just for 1–2 days. I’m considering setting a 2-night minimum stay so I have a bit of breathing room, especially since I manage everything on my own without any help or assistance.

My question is about early check-in requests (or custom timing request officially via the airbnb app for free) : my standard check-in time is 12 PM, and sometimes guests send early check-in requests. But when I review the request, I’m unable to see what's new here, i misatkenly accepted one reservation and i told you about the guest showing up early happened - so i think since you have IB off mostly so this must be new for you as well mam, whether they’re asking for just 1 hour early or more — it's a bit tricky for me to judge the timing during the review process. 

@Alex Can you help me here if my query is still vague. kindly let me know pls.

[Paras45]

@Joelle43 Your listing is absolutely amazing! The open kitchen with the island is perfect and so aesthetic — just beautiful.

[Joelle43]

Thank you @Paras45 for your kind words😊 That table has a personal story as I ended up polishing and varnishing it myself as the first table that was done by the handyman was so badly done that I thought I would try doing it myself - it couldn't possibly be worse😂  I am very pleased with the result and way better than the first attempt!

Re your question on guests with no reviews being able to IB - Airbnb made a change which means that guests can book IB if they have had one stay with no bad reviews but we don't know what a bad review means for Airbnb so this is a bit of a grey area.  But new guests shouldn't be able to IB.  Read the link below to check out what requirements you  have set:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/484

All the best
Joëlle

[Paras45]

Omg @Joelle43 mam I relate to this so much — I’m currently renovating my space and I’ve literally ended up redoing almost every final detail myself, thinking “there’s no way I can mess it up more than the last guy did” 😂


Honestly, love that you took it into your own hands — the table looks fab and the story behind it makes it even cooler!

Thanks a ton for the info on IB too — that clears things up a lot. It really is such a grey area these days. Appreciate you sharing the link.