Booking confirmation is granted in less than 24 hrs

[Brenton0]

I have a new listing and have received some bookings that we are happy with.  When I received a booking notice at 5pm yesterday for a guest that I wanted to do a bit more checking on, as I was uncomforatble with the information provided, I thought I had 24 hrs to do this.  However the booking confirmation came through at midnight, only 7 hrs after my first notice and no practical time to review.  I had also received a airbnb reminder at 11 pm (6 hrs after initial notice) that I had 18 hrs to confirm, this appears in line with rules.   The confirmation then came through 1 hour later.   So I do not understand now why I will receive penalties if I cancel when it is still within the 24 hrs notice period.

Can ayone explain this apparent discrepancy or is there something I have missed?  

[Clare0]

@Brenton0 I checked your listing and you have Instant Book turned on.  With Instant Book anyone can make a reservation without your review or approval ahead of time. Seems like this guest just went ahead and booked. 

You can try to turn off Instant Book (some new listings have it set as a default and host are unable to change it) by going to Manage Listing > Calendar and More then on the left hand menu click on Booking.  Under who can book instantly, click on "no one..."

Also, you will see other IB choices that you may employ if you are not able to turn IB off.  Be sure to check your Availability settings as well, specifically how far in advance in days a guest can book so you are not caught off guard. 

Hope this helps!

[Brenton0]

Thanks Clare. I have found the IB field and am considering options.  What I am still confused about though is, I received an email from airbnb at 11pm stating that I had 18 hours left to confirm, then, 1 hour later I recieved an email that it had been confirmed.   

[Clare0]

@Brenton0 Yes that is confusing.  When a listing has Instant Book turned on, guests only have two options:  Send an Inquiry or Instant Book a reservation.  There isn't a way to send a reservation request when a listing has Instant Book. 

Perhaps this guest sent an Inquiry? You still have a 24 hour clock to reply. 

[Brenton0]

No.   Unfortunately I had to cancel the booking, this was done approx 17 hours after initial request.   Airbnb has now blocked the property for the period that had been requested.   So my question is;  If you have instant booking on, do you really get 24 hours to respond without penalties?   From my experience, it appears not.  

[Clare0]

@Brenton0 With Instant Booking, as the name implies, the booking is instantly confirmed. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/523/what-is-instant-book

Hosts do not Accept or Decline Instant Bookings as they would a Reservation Request.  

[Brenton0]

Okay.  Thanks Clare.   I will now adjust my settings a bit, but as we get more experienced with Airbnb bookings this should become second nature.

Cheers

Brenton