Instant booking

[Lulu6]

I am a relatively new host and was not aware of the Instant booking rules and that it was active on my listing. I have had someone book dates which are not available for arrival and have to date always received a request to accept or decline. On this particular enquiry booking was automatic and now we have a situation that it cannot be fulfilled. I have explained all to the potential guest and he is happy with my reason, however the money has already been deducted from his account. How do we reverse this booking without either himself of myself being penalised

[Gijs9]

Hi Denise

I don't know. Tried to find a way to contact airbnb myself but couldn't find out. So in the end I decided to let it go and just block the instant booking since it just doesn't work properly. 

Greetings

Gij

[Shirley90]

How do we block it.  Have been trying to find the solution all day.

[MaryAlice1]

You are right. Instant Book has a computer glitch that allows renters to book even though it is already blocked or reserved. 

[Pin-Ni0]

No the three times free penalty is only valid the first month you try out instant book. Afterward there is penalty. It sucks. It wasn't clear. 

[Emily198]

am rather confused - recently received a questionnaire from airbnb trying to debunk myths about instant booking.  it stated that a host isn't penalized for cancelling.  have the rules changed or are they oversimplying it?  we have not tried it but were thinking about it because of that notice.

[Jasmine82]

They penalized me for cancelling - I won't use it any more because I don't trust AirBnB to be honest. I've also advised my mom and other AirBnB hosts to stop using it. 

[Sandra283]

I also got an instan booking, new to Airbnb, and he took one night in the middle of November, which I hate to say, really screwed-up my renting it for the whole month. Trick is to keep our calendars up to date, and other info as well. That's why people have a minimum 1 month stay or 1 week, etc. It's tough at first because you don't know all the ins and outs, and they expect you to, and give you no grace.  All we can do is appeal to them.

[Victoria57]

There is really no excuse for not being aware of the rules. The help centre articles will gicve you all the information you need and new hosts should read this before they go live. It would save many of the questions we get here in the Community Centre. You should also have checked how your listing looked, that would have shown you clearly that you had Instant Booking on.

[Laura533]

Harsh.  Some community if you get your hands slapped from asking a question or making a mistake.

[Ward1]

I strongly disagree:  Airbnb changes things all the time.  There is no way to 'know everything in advance.'  I just had someone instant book and want to be let in 1/2 an hour after booking.  I work an hour from home, and just had a guest leave this morning.  Getting stuck at work means I won;t be home until about 10PM.  My listing says "Do not instant book this for a one-night stay.  Contact me to be approved for a obe-night stay".  I also put that in my House Rules.  So when I call Airbnb and say, "Someone just instant booked and wants to be let in now," the first Airbnb rep basially saod, "Too bad.  They can do that on Instant Book."  When I hung up with him and called back, the second Airbnb rep said, "You can cancel if you are uncomfortable with any Instant Book," ad she ancelled the reservation with no problem. . . . .Go figure. . . 

[Andre68]

Hi

Please help

So where do you put instant booking off?

[Nady0]

a bit complicated, google it or watch on you tube.

[Gijs9]

Hello Andre,

to cancel instant booking:

1. Go to Your Listing on airbnb.com
2. Click Calendar and More 
3. On the left side click Booking
4. Under Who can book instantly? click NO ONE

[Jonathan-And-Mary0]

I thought when I first added Instant Booking that I would be able to reject the inquiree without penalty but now I don't see that - can anyone find that info?

Also, I thought the guest needed good reviews from other hosts to instant book, and that requirement seems to have been eliminated as well - am I just not finding this ?

Thank you!

[Jillie1]

There is a separate ticking box you can tick to accept only good reviews ......on top of the other requirements.

Jillie