Is there a way to create a test booking?

[Clinton17]

Hi,

I have some hotel experience and just like some of the big hotel franchises I want to automate as much as possible the mundane behind the scenes stuff. The technology might fail, but I need to make sure that my automation logic is working as it should and handling the exceptions as it should.

We are about to list our place in Cancun, and I'm surprised that Airbnb doesn't offer a "Test Mode", where I can make several bookings and then make sure I test the various scenarios.

The biggest thing is testing the August Smart Lock integration, but I want to do end-to-end which involves IFTTT (If this, then that) to automate the things which might get forgotten, and in many cases is what IFTTT and Zapier were created to do.

Initially, I was thinking of creating bookings at $1 per night, but after some consideration, I could see that possibly turning into a nightmare.

Does anyone know if Airbnb offers any "test mode" or if there are tricks or tips on how to do it without having someone see (for example) a $1 per night booking and snap it up?  Thanks.

[Letti0]

There is no test mode it's a live listing or not and the least you can charge per night on AirBnB is $10 per night. Had a few friends or family members test it out before going live at no charge, actually stay there yourself for a few nights. I did this. Found one or two issues I needed to correct and when I went live I was fine. One issue was a not having a sewing kit as I had a loose button on a dress, the other was no baby monitor for a friend that wanted to hang out on the patio with family and leave her baby inside sleeping. I have added both. 

[Ariel10]

There is not a way to do a test on your listing 

If you want only to know the steps and a guest feel of your listing , you can go to the tips and tricks section in the community center and there are Serveral examples 

good luck and happy hosting 

[Jose-Raymundo2]

Wanted to ping this thread as I had the same question and I'm wondering if there was been any new development/feature since the original question was asked that would allow us to do test bookings. In particular I'm interested in testing the smart lock integrations and automated messaging.

Is there any way to test it these using some kind of "test-like account"?

[Sarah977]

@Jose-Raymundo2  No.

[Emiel1]

@Jose-Raymundo2 

Only to test if prices and conditions set etc. are correct you can

- simulate a booking on your own listing (BTW i noticed you have no active listing yet)

- Use the price calculator which is hidden inside the listings calender (when managing the listing).

For "testing" other features there is no other option then having a friend make a real booking on your listing.

[Jose-Raymundo2]

Got it. Thanks for the update. I'll be listing a place soon and will have a friend do a real booking to verify the whole setup is working correctly then. 

[Clinton57]

I had the same use case about two years ago. I contacted AirBnB, but they surprisingly had no way to test a listing. So I submitted a "Feature Request" with someone on their Help Desk, but I wasn't expecting it to happen anytime soon.

Instructions to test your booking processes:

I recommend you read these instructions first before doing anything. Then work through each step quickly. You don't want potential guests making a booking on the Test Night. Make sure to have a credit/debit card for payment in front of you.

1. Obtain access to a separate AirBnB account (I used my husband's) and make sure you log in to ensure you have no login issues. Let's call this the Guest Login. I used two different browsers—Firefox (Host Login) and Chrome (Guest Login) on my computer. Make sure to log out of Guest Login if using the same browser before proceeding.
2. Ensure you have a web link to your listing if you don't already have one. I recommend creating a Custom Link (airbnb.com/help/article/2575/how-do-i-make-a-custom-link-for-my-listing). This is the best way to share your listing with friends or potential guests. Copy it down, and make sure you can quickly access it.
3. Change the refund policy for your listing to a Full Refund for cancellations.
4. Then select a Test Date in the far distant future (as far out as possible, but not near any public holidays)—for example, 10-October.
5. Then block the day before and day after the Test Date (e.g., 11-October and 13-October). This will make it more unlikely for an actual potential guest to book it.
6. Set the price for that Test Night to [say] $10. 
7. Using the Guest Login, book the Test Date for your listing, e.g., 10-October. You will be creating an actual booking.
8. Then wait for your automated processes to run:
1. Now AirBnB uses the messaging feature within the app to send the door access details to the future guest. In my experience, it takes less than 2 minutes for everything to be processed. Check the message that appears in the Guest Login messaging/chat regarding the Smart Lock door access codes and instructions on how to use a Smart Lock.
2. I checked in my Smart Lock app to confirm that the Smart Lock was set up correctly.
3. If you have any other automation, such as IFTTT, go and check they ran as expected.
9. Once you're satisfied that the test was successful, I used the Guest Login to cancel the booking. I received a full $10 refund about 7 days later.
10. Then remember to revert the configuration of your listing using the Host Login:
1. Check that the Test Booking is no longer in your listing's calendar.
2. Change your Refund Policy back to your preferred setting.
3. Change the price of the individual night you set to $10, back to auto pricing or manual pricing.
4. Remove the two blocked nights - the one before and immediately after the Test Night.
11. Complete.