Last minute booking..

Jody141
Level 6
Auburntown, TN

Last minute booking..

This is a new one for me. I went to sleep around 11 pm last night and woke at 5 to find a one night booking for today pending ID verification, 
the profile indicates the person has a verified ID. 
It’s 2 guests and a pet for one night. 
To add, my state just got hammered with snow and many freeways are closed. Not even sure they can travel. 
Additionally I took a break from allowing instabook because I was having some potential scammers so it also seems this person shouldn’t have been able to book without my approval. 
Had anyone experienced this?

11 Replies 11
John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

@Jody141 This has happened to me. In your IB setting you can require an advanced notice to book before the reservation. I have mine set to 2 days before checkin, but may increase that. Then all guest have to send a request to book for those days. If you only set it to one day they can still book the night before, say 11:30 pm. The same cancelation policy applies. However they cancel same day they can also leave a review. 

@John5097 

Wow I thought 24 hour advance literally meant 24 hours prior to check in. Doh! 
I think it’s a good idea to change the settings to 48 hours so thanks for that tip. 

I would be less concerned if the guest had sent a message with an explanation related to the last minute. 

Thanks for your reply. 

@Jody141 

That one threw me a curve ball a few times. 

I just changed mine to require notice 7 days prior to check in. You'll need to check the box to allow request to book in that time frame. You can also adjust other settings in IB. I switch around all the time. 

@John5097 
Good plan. 
So of course the person sent me a message “please cancel”. 
I messaged back explaining that a host can’t cancel without penalty and how to manage the reservation so she could cancel. 
This person can’t leave a review if they cancel, correct? 
Thanks. 

@Jody141 If its canceled same day, say the morning of, they can leave a review. 

Edit, host now have option to issue refund after canceled dates but I haven't done that yet. 

@John5097  If THEY cancel they can leave a review? 

@Jody141 If it’s 24 hours or less to check in, the option to review (host and guest both) is triggered. 

Definitely take @John5097 ‘s advice and adjust your settings. Make sure IB is indeed turned off. Spontaneous setting changes are common on this platform. Check your settings daily.  

@Colleen253 

Good idea to check settings daily, like we do our online bank accounts lol!

 

Thanks for your reply. 

Jody141
Level 6
Auburntown, TN

@John5097  Also- the booking was never confirmed and it was “on hold” on my calendar. So they hadn’t paid anything. 

@Jody141 If the booking is still ‘pending’, ask them to try to withdraw it. 

@Colleen253 

I did. They haven’t done anything nor did they respond. 
it will time out soon. 
Sigh….