Instant booking versus 24 response

[Patricia1889]

Were new to Air Bnb, and when setting up the ad, it seems like we are being heavily pushed to list with instant booking.  We're reluctant to do this, as we have other listing platforms, and would want to make sure that the property has not already been booked by one of those.

Does anyone have experience or comments about this?  thanks, pat

[Emiel1]

@Patricia1889 

As a new host you can start with Instant Booking turned off and if you ready for it, turn it on later.

(BTW I never used IB !).

Please note you can synchronize the calender with other platforms:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/99/how-do-i-sync-my-airbnb-calendar-with-another-calendar

Best regards,

Emiel

[Helen3]

I would recommend all new hosts turn off IB until they become familiar with how Airbnb works and how to vet your guests @Patricia1889 

Have a quick search on this forum and you will see problems new hosts encounter by using it.

I didn't use it for a year and got all the bookings I wanted. (obviously demand will depend on your competition and area.

[Lisa723]

@Patricia1889 we list multiple properties on multiple channels, calendars sync'ed as noted by @Emiel1. We use instant booking on all properties and all channels and have never double-booked. It could happen, but to us it's worth the risk of that eventuality.

[Gordon0]

IB suits me (but not everyone), if you decide not to use it, don't hang around when you get requests. It's all about response times, as would-be guests - quite rightly - want a next-to-instant answer. Sign of the times I'm afraid. 

[Patricia1889]

Thank you for your quick and insightful comments, much appreciated.  I forgot to mention that we are renting for a minimum stay of 31 days, .another reason I’m wary of the instant booking feature