Accepting or declining a booking

[Janice72]

Hi! New host here. I posted two listings and got email notifications from airbnb with the subject heading: "Instant Book Reservation Confirmation". The email instructed me to contact my guests to confirm check-in details or to welcome them. Is there anything else I need to do to accept the booking? And what would I need to do if I wanted to decline the booking? 

On a related note, I did email the guests for both bookings. One guest replied to my email and it sounds like we're on the same page and it's a go. The other guest hasn't responded to my email. Is she required to do so? What if I don't hear back from her? (She just joined airbnb this month and doesn't have any reviews, so I assume this is her first time as a guest.)

Thanks!

Janice

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Janice72 If you allowed instant booking you cannot decline the booking as any guests can book your place without any pre approval from you. They only option that you have now is to cancel that reservation but i wouldnt advice you to do so as this will crush your rank among other listings in your area. You better be ready to accomodate those guests. Concerning emailing your guest i would advice you to give them a call this is faster and more efficient than an email.Good luck!!!

[Janice72]

Thanks for your reply! Curious - do other hosts call their guests routinely? I've been a guest at airbnb and VRBO many times, and have always received emails from my hosts but never phone calls. In fact, I once called a VRBO host with a question and she got really angry with me because she happened to be at work when I called. 

In terms of the instant booking, I did specify no children under 12. My first guest has a one year old, but I made an exception after she and I discussed some ground rules in an email exchange. I assume that I could have denied the reservation on those grounds, yes? How would I have gone about doing that?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Janice72

if your house rules states that you don't accomodate children then your guests shouldn't be able to instant book your place. But sometimes they book for adults only and mention kids just in message. That is not right and you can cancel their booking on that ground. But, don't cancel by yourself or you will be punished, you should contact Airbnb and ask them to cancel or tell your guest to cancel on his behalf.

However, I would advice you to turn off instant booking until you become familiar with how Airbnb works bc I see that you don't understand the basics jet and it could brings you into trouble.

Read this forum (as much as you can) ,FAQ, terms and conditions.... 

[Janice72]

Thanks for the info!