New Here, I was able to Book 3 nights but it is pending.. my question is...

[Renee472]

Before I booked,  I sent host a question, it actually said "Unavailable" near her name.  I do not know what the 'Unavailable" meant,  going back in after I booked these 3 nights, it looked like 2 of the nights were crossed out (but not the 1st night I booked).. so my question is:   Does this mean someone else might have Booked those 2 days BEFORE I did -- but maybe was not confirmed (or was) but I could still book ?

Meaning -- if I was ABLE to BOOK.. does that mean it WAS AVAILABLE.. or a # of people can Book at the same time... and it's not updated.. we just all have to wait during the PENDING till the host confirms who she wants ?

    I hope that made some sense...

Why is their a 3 digit # after my name - when in this community, what does this # mean?

 Thanks for all your help !

[Sarah977]

@Renee472  The 3 digits after your name are just an identifier used on this forum to enable other posters to tag you, as I just did. It doesn't "mean" anything.

So did you send the host an Inquiry (the Contact Host) button, or a Booking Request? That's kind of pertinent info in order to be able to explain what happened.

[Colleen253 · Accepted solution]

@Renee472 When you send an Inquiry for particular dates, it is basically just a question for the host. The dates are just information for the host. Nothing is confirmed, and the host must send a response within 24 hours. 

Anything ‘unavailable’ is just that, unavailable. 

When you send a “request to book” for particular dates, those dates are ‘reserved’ for you and the host has 24 hours to accept or decline.  No one else can take them in the mean time. Once they accept, your booking is confirmed. If they decline, you’re out, and the dates are open again. 

If dates are ‘unavailable’, then you won’t be able to ‘Request to Book’ or ‘Instant Book’ them.

If you Instant Book, your booking is instantly confirmed.

Hopefully that helps you figure out where you stand with your booking. 

[Renee472]

She did confirm my booking earlier this evening...  

So it sounds IF ONE IS ABLE to BOOK AT ALL, that means those dates are AVAILABLE for the taking, and the AirBnB system will automatically cross those dates out for anyone who is seeking that booking ...If they come AFTER  someone else (like me) hit the BOOK Button - where payment comes up -- even BEFORE the host confirms it.

Am I understanding this process correctly? 

 I appreciate all the responses here . 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Renee472 some dates are crossed out because check in or check out is not allowed on those days. A guest can however book a trip that starts (or finishes depending on settings) outside of these dates.

[Renee472]

Oh I never thought of that..

So maybe they have a 2 night mínimum ...the 2 days crossed out were Sat and Sunday ...I booked for 3 nights Fri/Sat /Sun...

[Sarah977]

@Renee472  I'm not sure about this, as I don't use Instant Book, but I think if a host uses IB, an Instant Book will override a pending booking request that the host hasn't yet accepted.

[Renee472]

I have no idea what Instant Book is.

  So there are 2 different ways to book...a booking that showing Pending until confirmed by host  ....and/ or an "Instant Book" ?

[Sarah977]

@Renee472  Yes, Instant Book doesn't require a host to accept, although they can cancel without penalties if something about the guest's communication or reviews sends up red flags.

Hosts who use Instant Book have settings where they can require that guests have some good reviews and have been recommended by other hosts, also that the guest has verified ID, so some guests won't have the Instant Book option available to them, like a brand new guest with no reviews, if the host has checked that requirement, which most IB hosts do.

Many hosts don't use IB at all. I require that all guests send a booking request- as a home share host, I wouldn't feel at all comfortable with a guest just being able to book without having the chance to communicate with them first to get a sense of someone I'm going to share my home with.

And I've also had guests tell me they  wouldn't use IB, especially for a home-share listing, as they also want to get a sense of the host before committing to a booking. This is especially true of women travelling on their own, I've found.

And while lots of hosts love Instant Book, as it streamlines things and doesn't require them to accept or decline within 24 hours, some hosts have stopped using it as they found a lot of bad guests were coming their way and decided it was better to have a chance to vet guests a bit first, in case there were some red flags.